A scaffolded group-based Soft Systems Methodology approach for learning and teaching wicked problems

Abstract

As the future leaders of a society that is increasingly complex and challenging it is important that higher education students have a good grasp of social, political, economic and environmental issues and also feel equipped to propose reasonable recommendations. This can seem a daunting prospect for anyone let alone higher education students some of which may have little or no prior experience of working in these areas. This paper discusses the use of the Soft Systems Methodology in a scaffolded, group-based approach to provide postgraduate students with a framework to learn about and engage with complex issues. A case study of techniques used at a UK university are discussed together with examples of complex problems that have been used in the classroom and selected for assessments as a way of illustrating the sorts of problems that students tackle.