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Playful Learning, Serious Thinking
This pilot session was delivered as a structured two-hour workshop to a mixed group of 25 Year 9 students (aged 13-14) on mid-March 2025 at a secondary school in the East of England. The cohort included a high proportion of students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as identified through the UK Government’s Free School Meals (FSM) and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) indicators.
The session introduced students to systems thinking through a phased delivery format:
- An initial icebreaker introduced students to the concept of systems, what makes them complex, and prompted students to reflect on systems in everyday life.
- This was followed by facilitated gameplay, using Systemisers cooperative board games focused on health, energy, and transport systems. Students worked in teams of five, each supported by a trained facilitator.
- A final reflection activity asked students to identify the skills they used during the session and relate them to core systems thinking principles.
The session was observed by members of the school’s senior leadership team and visited by several teaching staff from across departments. Feedback was gathered from students (via in-session discussion and a post-session online survey), teachers, and Systemisers facilitators.
Key Observations
With a response rate of approximately 80%, the feedback highlighted high engagement and alignment with intended learning outcomes:
- 95% of students enjoyed playing the Systemisers games.
- 95% reported an increased awareness of how systems thinking applies to everyday life and learning.
- 79% expressed interest in learning more about systems thinking and engineering, through enhanced curriculum programmes.
- 63% indicated they would like to take part in further advanced training to become Systemisers School Ambassadors, a peer-led role supporting future in-school delivery.
Feedback from School Staff
I haven't seen them so engaged with an activity since we started the Engineering academy. They enjoyed the inter-team competition and liked the fact they were working as individuals for the benefit of a team – this is a valuable skill for students to learn.
The students were remarkably engaged throughout, and the activities effectively maintained their focus for an extended period. The session fostered crucial skills. Students were required to communicate clearly, learn from their errors, and collaborate effectively. It was particularly rewarding to witness some of the less vocal students find their voice and actively participate, while others developed their listening skills.
The activities were not only strongly aligned with the science curriculum, specifically on the topic of energy, but also complemented our school's focus on developing oracy skills. The ambassadors leading the sessions were excellent. They communicated clearly and patiently with the students, and their approachable manner quickly put everyone at ease. Thank you for this valuable experience, we would be happy to repeat the sessions with more students in the future.
Challenges Identified by Students
Although students were able to engage meaningfully with the session content, they also reported specific challenges:
| Favourite part of the game | Hardest part of the game |
|---|---|
| Making decisions and solving problems (39%) | Managing resources (e.g., time, budget) (46%) |
| Working in a team (35%) | Understanding the game rules (33%) |
| Learning from real-world challenges (13%) | Working with my team (13%) |
| Winning and competing (13%) | Working with different stakeholders (8%) |
Observed Competencies in Practice
Mapping students’ gameplay behaviours to systems engineering skills revealed spontaneous engagement with key concepts, including:
- Recognising trade-offs and competing priorities (33%)
- Making informed decisions with system-wide awareness (25%)
- Preparing for uncertainty and disruption (25%)
- Seeing the broader context or ‘big picture’ (17%)
Conclusion
This pilot demonstrated that game-based delivery of systems thinking is both engaging and effective for students aged 13-14, including those from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds. Even with minimal prior exposure, participants were able to engage with complex systems ideas and demonstrate foundational competencies aligned with systems engineering practice. The positive response from students and staff supports the scalability of this approach across the secondary education sector.