Abstract for: Experiential Learning and Visualization in Group Model Building Workshops for Sustainable Environments

Group model building (GMB) workshops are structured activities designed to capture the insights of stakeholders about a given issue. By tapping into these personal viewpoints on systems complexity, GMB workshops help to develop formal models of the explored problem. However, the traditional methods used to extract these mental models in GMB workshops often overlook the styles of cycles of how individuals learn, which are the preferred ways individuals process and internalize information in their mental models. While some literature in systems thinking has acknowledged the importance of incorporating learning cycles and styles into teaching system dynamics, such consideration has not been accounted for within GMB workshops. This paper reflects on the idea of learning about systems thinking. It is situated in an intersected field of learning cycles and systems thinking, with a particular emphasis on how the 'experiential learning framework'—a learning theory that defines learning as a process whereby learning is generated and grounded through the experience—can be applied to enhance understanding and learning generation within these workshops. This paper proposes ideas for incorporating the learning cycles into GMB activities, thereby refining the systems learning process and promoting more effective systems thinking for a healthy and sustainable environment.