Abstract for: From Plausible Futures to Systems Modeling: Integrating Scenario Planning and System Dynamics through Co-Teaching

Scenario planning and system dynamics are widely used systems thinking methods, yet they are often taught separately, reinforcing a divide between qualitative and quantitative reasoning in undergraduate STEM education. This separation limits students’ ability to integrate creativity, moral imagination, and formal modeling when addressing complex, uncertain sociotechnical challenges. This work‑in‑progress examines an emergent pedagogical integration developed through a co‑taught undergraduate Holistic Problem‑Solving workshop. Scenario artifacts—drivers, timelines, and narratives—were intentionally translated into behavior over time graphs, causal loop diagrams, and preliminary stock‑and‑flow structures, creating a unified instructional pathway that links scenario construction and system dynamics modeling. Classroom enactment revealed that scenario timelines surface students’ implicit assumptions and mental models, which can be formalized through feedback structures. Co‑teaching moments demonstrated how different starting points produce divergent causal interpretations, reveal assumptions, increase students’ capacity to engage multiple perspectives, and strengthen conceptual understanding of feedback, delays, and model boundaries. The proposed framework demonstrates that integrating scenario planning with system dynamics can strengthen systems thinking pedagogy by formally incorporating qualitative perspectives into modeling practices. For educators and researchers, it provides practical scaffolding approaches, supports more robust model conceptualization, and enables new methods for assessing creativity, imagination, design fiction, ethical reasoning, and learning in future‑oriented systems thinking education. Improve writing and help with the structured abstract.