CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR WICKED PROBLEM SOLVING

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1015081
• Grant No.: 2018-70003-27664
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $297,354.00
• Proposal No.: 2017-06119
• Project Start Date: Apr 1, 2018
• Project End Date: Mar 31, 2023
• Grant Year: 2018
• Program Code: [ER]- Higher Ed Challenge

Recipient Organization
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE
700 UNIVERSITY BLVD.
KINGSVILLE,TX 78363

Performing Department
Agriculture

Non Technical Summary
The goal of this multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary project is to prepare future agriculture, engineering, and natural resource managers to address the complexities of managing for multiple uses and working with stakeholders through the development of graduate student and faculty experiences in Systems Thinking (ST) and Systems Dynamics (SD). Natural resource issues are frequently deemed "wicked problems" that involve "hard systems" (ecosystem structure and processes) and "soft systems" (diverse values of stakeholders) that both inform and are influenced by management decisions. The audience for this project includes Master's and PhD students enrolled in agriculture and natural resource programs at the multiple participating institutions and their faculty mentors. Graduate students in these programs are training to become managers of natural resource systems and will likely be challenged to address wicked problems throughout their professional careers that exist at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems.To address these needs, following objectives guide this project:#1: Develop a one-year fellowship, entitled the "Food, Energy, and Water Systems Fellowship," for graduate students and faculty that joins our four institutions in training the next generation of agriculture professionals who can address wicked food, energy, and water issues.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

0%

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
903	5010	3100	100%

Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
3100 - Management;

Keywords

critical skills develop

curriculum development

dynamic modeling

systems thinking

wicked problems

Goals / Objectives
The goal of this multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary project, entitled "Curriculum Development for Wicked Problem Solving", is to prepare future agriculture, engineering, and natural resource managers or professionals in other related fields to address the complexities of managing for multiple uses and stakeholders through the development of graduate student and faculty expertise in Systems Thinking (ST) and Systems Dynamics (SD). Natural resource issues are frequently deemed "wicked problems" that involve "hard systems" (e.g., ecosystem structure and processes) and "soft systems" [e.g., diverse values of stakeholders (Allen and Gould 1986; Bosch et al. 2007)] that both inform and are influenced by management decisions. However, those who manage such systems are typically trained through coursework and research experiences in single discipline programs (e.g., agriculture, biology, botany, ecology, mechanical engineering, etc.) which follow a traditional reductionist approach (Brewer and Gross 2003; Bosch et al. 2007).This project seeks to address the first two Educational Need Areas: 1) Curriculum Development, Instructional Delivery Systems, and Expanding Student Career Opportunities; and 2) Faculty Preparation and Enhancement for Teaching. To address these needs, we will meet the following objectives:Objective #1: Develop a one-year ST/SD fellowship, entitled the "Food, Energy, and Water Systems Fellowship," for graduate students and faculty that joins our four institutions in training the next generation of agriculture, engineering and natural resources professionals who can address wicked food, energy, and water issues; andObjective #2: Share the ST/SD fellowship curriculum and associated learning materials with other agriculture, engineering, natural resources, or ST/SD graduate programs across the United States who wish to implement similar training and evaluate the use of those materials.Achievement of these two objectives will impact graduate education in several ways. First, graduate students and faculty in our fellowship will develop greater analytical, interpersonal, communication, problem-solving, computational, and decision-making skills and abilities as they learn to integrate ST/SD into their research and collaborate with other students and faculty from other disciplines throughout the fellowship. Faculty fellows will further benefit by developing new ways of thinking and teaching that will enhance their research and mentoring of graduate students. The certificate that fellows receive upon successful completion of the fellowship could be leveraged by the individual fellow for employment or promotion opportunities. Finally, sharing ST/SD materials developed for and by the fellows to a wider audience will provide similar benefits to graduate students, faculty, and professionals in other relevant food, agriculture, natural resources, and human (FANH) and engineering science programs across the United States.

Project Methods
Plan of Operation and MethodologyThis project will develop a one-year ST/SD fellowship for graduate students and faculty at our institutions and provide curricular materials to expand this training to others within and outside of our institutions. In order to achieve these objectives, specific steps will be taken, including: 1) curriculum planning; 2) recruitment of participants; 3) fellowship delivery; 4) curriculum sharing; 5) assessment; and 6) dissemination of final results.Curriculum Planning and Fellowship Delivery- The curriculum will consist of six major activities - 1) an orientation to the fellowship; 2) the "John B. Armstrong Lectureship in Systems Thinking" at TAMUK; 3) local mentorship to assist in the first steps of applying ST to a research question of the fellows' and faculties' choice; 4) a four-day intensive course introducing and practicing SD modeling called SD-MAPS, System Dynamics Modeling for Agricultural and Physical Sciences; 5) individual modeling consultations to incorporate more advanced applications into the selected projects; and 6) a capstone ST/SD course at CSU, entitled "Understanding and Managing Complex Systems".An orientation to the fellowship will provide an initial online connection between all students and faculty involved in the fellowship, will introduce all fellows and the faculty mentors on our team, provide the fellows with a detailed timetable of activities, and define the expectations for the fellowship and all travel details.The second event will be The Armstrong Lectureship on Systems Thinking. The goal of the lectureship is to equip attendees with the ability to apply ST principles in order to improve management capabilities and business operations. Participants in the Armstrong Lectureship include 40-50 natural resource managers, extension agents, professionals from a range of agricultural sectors, farmers, and ranchers. These attendees manage large tracts of land and may have prior experience addressing wicked problems. This lectureship will provide our fellows with the foundational knowledge in ST, including the early steps of the investigative process.Mentorship of fellows by our team at the local level will begin immediately following the conclusion of the Armstrong Lectureship. Each local mentor will work with their fellows on the first two steps of the ST process, investigate a problem at the nexus of food, water, and energy. Project ideas will be generated by each local team. This local mentorship will span the course of one semester. All fellows in the program will meet during one online event that will occur two-thirds of the way through the semester to provide updates on their progress, seek feedback from others, and prepare for the SD modeling process.After local mentoring, the fellows will participate in the SD-MAPS workshop. The workshop, delivered online, will provide the foundational training needed to begin the formal quantitative modeling process. Three modeling cases will provide fellows with exposure to common yet important natural resource management scenarios while simultaneously internalizing and expanding their model building capabilities that will be needed for their own investigations.This next step in the ST/SD process for fellows will be supported in two ways. First, each local mentor will provide individual consultations their assigned team, allowing fellows to follow up with additional questions pertaining to specific modeling challenges. Second, each team will consult with an external SD expert after the first drafts of their models are complete. The consultant will provide detailed feedback regarding areas of needed SD model improvement, analysis, and communication. Consultations will be done either in-person or through online meeting platforms, depending on the proximity between the fellow and the consultant and the preference of the fellows.The fellowship will conclude with a capstone event to be held at CSU called "Understanding and Managing Complex Systems" designed for a broad audience of faculty, extension agents, producers, and students. The primary learning outcome for workshop participants is to develop systematic explanations for why wicked problems occur and how to evaluate actions to improve natural resource management efforts from a systems perspective. Our fellows will also serve as co-instructors during this event when each team delivers a summative oral presentation centered on their fellowship experience. By co-leading the workshop and sharing their project results with this audience, including the expert instructors, each team will gain valuable feedback and critical analysis on the comprehensiveness of their analyses and their use in the real world. Each fellow will receive individualized feedback and a certificate of completion of the fellowship at the end of this workshop.At the end of the fellowship experience, the specific products that this project proposal will be finalized. These include dynamic models that will be classroom ready for teaching in agriculture, engineering, and natural resource management classes along with the accompanying learning materialsRecruitment of Participants- Participants will be recruited from the four partner institutions through electronic advertising and personal contacts. Flyers will be distributed to relevant departments or units in the FANH disciplines at each institution using email or other electronic communications (e.g., social media, websites). Each electronic contact will be followed up with personal visits to graduate classrooms and laboratory and faculty meetings when possible. The goal will be to recruit 6 fellows per institution; an equal number of faculty and graduate student fellows will be recruited when possible.Curriculum Sharing-ST/SD curriculum and associated learning materials for agricultural and natural resource management programs is lacking but certainly needed. There are two primary mechanisms we will employ to share the developed curriculum and learning materials with a wide audience in higher education: (1) presentations to and publications within the professional societies of which we are members (e.g., American Fisheries Society, American Society of Animal Science, Society for Range Management, Soil and Water Conservation Society, etc.); and (2) our online learning portal. The first mechanism will reach audiences of university educators and graduate students in a variety of FANH-related fields. The second mechanism will reach a broad audience professionals, university educators, and graduate students who have or are seeking expertise in ST/SD. One online portal will be hosted by the Agriculture and Food Special Interest Group (AgFSIG) of the System Dynamics Society (http://www.agriculture-and-food.com). The AgFSIG was created in 2016 to provide a platform for SD collaboration, sharing, and networking for those professionals in agriculture, engineering, and natural resource management areas. One member of our project team was a founding member of this group and is strongly involved in its continuation. A second online portal may include collaboration with an NSF-funded INFEWS-ER project with which one of our project team members is involved. Both of these virtual environments will allow us to reach the broadest audiences possible. Users can use either of these platforms to not only download, use, and share the materials but also to connect with other agriculture and food system-relevant scientists from around the world.Assessment and Dissemination Achievements of meeting our two objectives will be measured in various ways and involve multiple audiences, depending on the objective and measure. A detailed description of all assessments used for each objective is provided in "Evaluation Plans". Results will be shared through presentations, peer-reviewed journals, and a final report as described in the "Dissemination Plan".

Progress 04/01/22 to 03/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All objectives were met in the final no-cost extension year.

Publications

Progress 04/01/18 to 03/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiencesincluded 2 undergraduate (one fall, one spring) and 1 graduate (fall semester) courses offered over the five years of the total project activity. The undergraduate courses (totaling around 200 students) included majority of students with Hispanic backgrounds, where historically there has been some social, economic, and/or educational disadvantages. The graduate student audiencetotaled30 students. All of the students were exposed to and engaged with a number of new curriculum and instructional case studies and associated materials stemming directly from the grant effort (see below). In addition, we hosted a Systems Thinking Lectureship in August 2019, August 2020, and August 2021 that included all Fellowship students and faculty (16 total) and all PIs (5) as well as 25 other participants (students, faculty, industry professionals). Two webinars were hosted that included our Fellowship participants. Effortsincluded development of new curriculum andcourse material that directly supports the creation and execution of the Fellowship program. This new curriculum included a list of learning outcomes and activities used to reach those outcomes (i.e., the systems thinking processes at the core of the grant program), as well as 7 case studies that profile complex agricultural or natural resource management problems from a variety of industries and perspectives. Substantial effort was made in hosting our Systems Thinking Lectureship and the two webinars in which student fellows participated. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We hosted the Systems Thinking lectureship that included approximately 75 participants (students, faculty, and industry professional). We also held several webinars that can be accessed online. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Case study example and material have been disseminated through the lectureships as well as numerous peer-reviewed papers (bothpublished and under review, see Products) and conference presentations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: We implemented the fellowship program. This included recruiting all participants, conducting the Systems Thinking Lectureship, conducting 2 online webinars in systems thinking in agriculture, and prepared the capstone event. Objective 2: One invited presentation was given to the System Dynamics Society Agriculture and Food Special Interest Group (available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZLvIlP-uo),several webinars have been made available online (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeOZnMnFI1CqYiKf0D45Xjg), as well as numerous publications (see Products) and case study material disseminated by the lectureship program.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Flores?Lopez, C., Turner, B. L., Hanagriff, R., Bhandari, A., & Sinha, T. (2022). South Texas Water Resource Mental Models: A Systems Thinking, Multi?stakeholder Case Study. Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education, 176(1), 15-35.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Kodali, S., Flores-Lopez, C., Lobdell, I., Branson, K., Russell, J., Michna, L., Turner, B.L. A case of one-step forward and two steps back? An investigation of weed herbicide resistance using a simplified agroecosystem dynamics model. Agricultural Systems, in review
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2023 Citation: Crozier, S., Worthington, J., Wright, M., Michna, L., Turner, B. L. (2023). Exploring Wild Horse Population Dynamics on US Public Rangelands Using a Simple Systems Simulation Model. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 88, 47-61.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Harrison, M.A., Sheehan, J. J., Seidel Jr, G. E., Mooney, D.F., Rhoades, R. D., and Ahola, J. K. 2021. Evaluation of Biological and Economic Efficiency of the All Heifer No Cow Beef Production System Using a Systems Dynamics Model Based on 6 yr. of Demonstration Herd Data. Journal of Animal Science. 2021. Vol. 99 (1) 405.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Mcquagge, M., Hoffman, L., Ahola, J., Mooney, D., Garry, F., and Rhoades, R. 2021. Abstract: A Cow-Calf Enterprise Analysis of Key Performance Indicators and Financial Profitability on Colorado Ranches. Western Section Animal Science Conference.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Rhoades, R.D., and Menendez, H. 2021. A Systems Approach to Ranching: Feeding Cows During Feed Shortages. Proceedings Paper: The Range Beef Cow Symposium XXVII. Rapid City, SD.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2023 Citation: Turner, B.L., Goodman, M. Capturing the science behind the craft: a reporting framework for generating confidence in non-simulated models. System Dynamics Review, in review
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Kodali, S., Flores-Lopez, C., Chumbley, S., Turner, B.L. 2021. Despite modern advancements in cropping systems, why does herbicide resistance continue to outpace human innovation? 39th International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, Chicago, IL, USA, July 26-30, 2021
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Turner, B.L. 2021. Soil as an Archetype of Complexity: A Systems Approach to Improve Insights, Learning, and Management of Coupled Biogeochemical Processes and Environmental Externalities. Soil Systems 5(3), doi: 10.3390/soilsystems50300.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Turner, B.L., Wuellner, M., Cortus, E., Chumbley, S. 2021. A novel approach to teaching complex systems problem-solving using interdisciplinary system dynamics and a multi-university cohort model. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, doi.org/10.1002/sres.2778.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Turner, B.L., Goodman, M., Machen, R., Mathis, C., Rhoades, R., Dunn, B. 2020. Results of Beer Game Trials Played by Natural Resource Managers Versus Students: Does Age Influence Ordering Decisions? Systems 8(4):37, doi.org/10.3390/systems8040037.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Turner, B.L. 2020. Model laboratories: a quick-start guide for design of simulation experiments for dynamic systems models. Ecological Modelling 434:109246, doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109246.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Turner, B.L., Kodali, S. 2020. Soil system dynamics for learning about complex, feedback-driven agricultural resource problems: model development, evaluation, and sensitivity analysis to biophysical feedbacks. Ecological Modelling (doi: j.ecolmodel.2020.109050).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chumbley, S., Turner, B.L., Wuellner, M., Cortus, E., Rhoades, R. 2020. Measuring the Impact of a Systems Thinking Lectureship on Student Learning. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Conference, Las Cruces, NM, June 16, 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chumbley, S., Turner, B.L., Wuellner, M., Cortus, E., Rhoades, R. 2020. Authentic leadership in Systems Thinking. North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Conference, Las Cruces, NM, June 16, 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Iranah, P., T. Cassidy, A. Medaries, and M. Wuellner. 2020. A systems dynamics modelling of the continuing challenges in private land conservation in the United States (Oral presentation). North American Congress for Conservation Biology. Society for Conservation Biology. Virtual.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Bhandari, A.B., Chumbley, S.B., Dominguez, L., Turner, B.L. 2021. Assessing Coaches Experience on Virtual Collegiate Soil Judging Contest during COVID-19 Pandemic. North American Colleges and Teachhers of Agriculture (NACTA) Virtual Conference

Progress 04/01/21 to 03/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All objectives were met during the final no-cost extension year.

Publications

Progress 04/01/20 to 03/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences included 2 undergraduate and 1 graduate courses. The undergraduate courses (totaling around 80 students) included majority of students with Hispanic backgrouds or were from south Texas, where historically there has been some social, economic, and/or educational disadvantages. The graduate course totaled 6 students. All of the students were exposed to and engaged with a number of new curriculum and instructional case studies and associated materials stemming directly from the grant effort (see below). In addition, we hosted a Systems Thinking Lectureship in August 2019 that included all Fellowship students and faculty (16 total) and all PIs (5) as well as 25 other participants (students, faculty, industry professionals). Two webinars were hosted that included our Fellowship participants. Efforts included development of new curriculum and course material that directly supports the creation and execution of the Fellowship program. This new curriculum includes a list of learning outcomes and activities used to reach those outcomes (i.e., the systems thinking processes at the core of the grant program), as well as 7 case studies that profile complex agricultural problems from a variety of industries and perspectives. Substantial effort was made in hosting our Systems Thinking Lectureship and the two webinars. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting year's activities (Year 3 of our proposed project) will include: • Organizing and facilitating the capstone event for Fellowship participants • Hosting at least 1 additional webinar • Constructing a website to be able to host and disseminate teaching materials and other project products • Complete final analyses of Fellowship learning assessment data • Complete at least 2 peer-review paper submissions that cover 1) our assessment results, and 2) our cohort approach to systems education in agricultural and natural resource sciences

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Over the most recent reporting period, we have accomplished under these goals the following: Objective 1: We implemented the fellowship program. This included recruiting all participants, conducting the Systems Thinking Lectureship, conducting 2 online webinars in systems thinking in agriculture, and prepared the capstone event. Objective 2: One invited presentation was given to the System Dynamics Society Agriculture and Food Special Interest Group

Publications

Progress 04/01/19 to 03/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiencesincluded 2 undergraduate and 1 graduate courses. The undergraduate courses (totaling around 80 students) included majority of students with Hispanic backgrouds or were from south Texas, where historically there has been some social, economic, and/or educational disadvantages. The graduate coursetotaled6 students. All of the students were exposed to and engaged with a number of new curriculum and instructional case studies and associated materials stemming directly from the grant effort (see below). In addition, we hosted a Systems Thinking Lectureship in August 2019 that included all Fellowship students and faculty (16 total) and all PIs (5) as well as 25 other participants (students, faculty, industry professionals). Two webinars were hosted that included our Fellowship participants. Effortsincluded development of new curriculum andcourse material that directly supports the creation and execution of the Fellowship program. This new curriculum includes a list of learning outcomes and activities used to reach those outcomes (i.e., the systems thinking processes at the core of the grant program), as well as 7 case studies that profile complex agricultural problems from a variety of industries and perspectives. Substantial effort was made in hosting our Systems Thinking Lectureship and the two webinars. Changes/Problems:Due to our state and university responses to the coronovirus outbreak, the planning and execution of our capstone event (orginally planned for May 2020) has been post-poned to some time to be deterimined in Fall or Winter 2020/2021. This has slowed our rate of expenditure since the capstone event was one of the highest cost centers in our program. Due to this we will be following up about no-cost extension possibilities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We hosted the Systems Thinking lectureship that included nearly 50 participants (students, faculty, and industry professional). We also held several webinars that can be access online. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?1 peer-reviewed paper published, 1 peer-reviewed paper in review, 2 accepted peer-reviewed conference abstracts What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting year's activities (Year 3 of our proposed project)will include: Organizing and facilitating the capstone event for Fellowship participants Hosting at least 1 additional webinar Constructing a website to be able to host and disseminate teaching materials and other project products Complete final analyses of Fellowship learning assessment data Complete at least 2 peer-review paper submissions that cover 1)our assessment results, and 2) our cohort approach to systems education in agricultural and natural resource sciences

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Over the most recent reporting period, we have accomplished under these goals the following: Objective 1: We implemented the fellowship program. This included recruiting all participants, conducting the Systems Thinking Lectureship, conducting 2 online webinars in systems thinking in agriculture, and prepared the capstone event. Objective 2: One invited presentation was given to the System Dynamics Society Agriculture and Food Special Interest Group (available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGZLvIlP-uo). Also several webinars have been made available online (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeOZnMnFI1CqYiKf0D45Xjg)

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Turner, B. L., & Kodali, S. (2020). Soil system dynamics for learning about complex, feedback-driven agricultural resource problems: model development, evaluation, and sensitivity analysis of biophysical feedbacks. Ecological Modelling, 428, 109050.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Turner, B.L. Model laboratories: a quick-start guide for design of simulation experiments for dynamic systems models. Ecological Modeling (in review)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chumbley, S., Wuellner, M., Turner, B.L., Cortus, E., Rhoades, R. (2020). Measuring the Impact of a System Thinking Lectureship on Student Learning. NACTA Journal, Vol. 64, Supplement 1.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Chumbley, S., Wuellner, M., Turner, B.L., Cortus, E., Rhoades, R. (2020). Authentic Leadership in Systems Thinking. NACTA Journal, Vol. 64, Supplement 1.

Progress 04/01/18 to 03/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiencesincluded 2 undergraduate and 1 graduate courses. The undergraduate courses (totalling around 75 students) included majority of students with Hispanic backgrouds or were from south Texas, where historically there has been some social, economic, and/or educational disadvantages. The graduate course totaled 6 students. All of the students were exposed to and engaged with a number of new curriculum and instructional case studies and associated materials stemming directly from the grant effort (see below). Effortsincluded development of new curriculum andcourse material that directly supports the creation and execution of the Fellowship program. This new curriculum includes a list of learning outcomes and activities used to reach those outcomes (i.e., the systems thinking processes at the core of the grant program), as well as 7 case studies that profile complex agricultural problems from a variety of industries and perspectives (initial material is complete but all cases are still in development/refinement). The cases in their current form have been implemented into the classes above and will be used to complete the Fellowship program for the recruited students over the next 12 months. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting year's activities (Year 2 of our proposed project) will include the bulk of the activity associated with this program. We will: finalize recruiting of Fellowship participants conduct Systems Thinking workshop conduct Systems Thinking mentoring activities conduct System Dynamics modeling training and mentoring activities plan and organize the Capstone Workshop (where Fellows will present out their final projects and Systems models)to be held at the beginning of Year 3 of the project begin construction of webspace needed to store and disseminate the associated learning materials

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The goal of this multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary project, entitled"Curriculum Development for Wicked Problem Solving", is to prepare future agriculture, engineering, and natural resource managers or professionals in other related fields to address the complexities of managing for multiple uses and stakeholders through the development of graduate student and faculty expertise inSystems Thinking(ST) andSystems Dynamics(SD).Natural resource issues are frequently deemed "wicked problems" that involve "hard systems" (e.g., ecosystem structure and processes) and "soft systems" (e.g., diverse values of stakeholders)that both inform and are influenced by management decisions. However, those who manage such systems are typically trained through coursework and research experiences in single discipline programs (e.g., agriculture, biology, botany, ecology, mechanical engineering, etc.) which follow a traditional reductionist approach.The two objectives within this goal were to: 1)Develop a one-year ST/SD fellowship, entitled the "Food, Energy, and Water Systems Fellowship," for graduate students and faculty that joins our four institutions in training the next generation of agriculture, engineering and natural resources professionals who can address wicked food, energy, and water issues; and 2) share the ST/SD fellowship curriculum and associated learning materials with other agriculture, engineering, natural resources, or ST/SD graduate programs across the United States who wish to implement similar training and evaluate the use of those materials. Over the most recent reporting period, we have accomplished under these goals the following: Objective 1:development of new curriculum andcourse material that directly supports the creation and execution of the Fellowship program. This new curriculum includes a list of learning outcomes and activities used to reach those outcomes (i.e., the systems thinking processes at the core of the grant program), as well as 7 case studies that profile complex agricultural problems from a variety of industries and perspectives (initial material is complete but all cases are still in development/refinement). To date, these materials have also been used in2 undergraduate and 1 graduate courses (change in knowledge as these students have begun internalizing the systems thinking principles and change in action since they have been able to experiment with their decisions in the case study models). The undergraduate courses (totalling around 75 students) included majority of students with Hispanic backgrouds or were from south Texas, where historically there has been some social, economic, and/or educational disadvantages.In developing the 7 case studies, we alsoanalyzed similar cases from other disciplines, locatedlearning assessments, surveys, and instruments from other systems thinking programs not related to agricultural sciences, as well as developed thebackground information, readings, and data for each case, systems models useful for teaching the systems thinking principles for 4 of the 7 cases, as well as the student and teacher resources needed to run each model. Objective 2: No major accomplishments here as the final Fellowship material will be forthcoming over the next reporting year.

Publications