Abstract for: Seeing What Was Invisible: Journaling, Stockfinder, and the Emergence of Systemic Thinking in Organizational Change Education

Developing systemic thinking in non-technical audiences is a challenge in System Dynamics education. Traditional formal modeling methods limit accessibility and early engagement. This paper presents a new approach that combines structured journaling with the Stockfinder tool to help undergraduate business students build systemic thinking skills. The four-week intervention in an Organizational Change course included observation, journaling, peer review, and exposure to core System Dynamics concepts: stocks, behavior over time, variables, and feedback loops. The aim was to build foundational skills in noticing and describing accumulation and change before formal modeling. Engagement levels varied. Some students moved from isolated observations to integrated system representations. Notably, students identified accumulation of stress, anxiety, and fatigue through journaling, revealing feedback dynamics rooted in their experiences. Findings suggest that structured journaling can serve as both a learning tool and a means to detect system structures, thereby increasing the accessibility and real-world relevance of System Dynamics concepts. The paper argues that regular observation is key to Systems Thinking and recommends including phenomenon-driven sessions in experiential education. Proofreading, grammar and style corrections.