Systems thinking
This resource helps Digital Technologies teachers understand systems thinking and how it can be included as part of their teaching, aligned with the Australian Curriculum from Foundation to Year 10.
What you'll find
- Clear explanations of key systems thinking concepts
- Ideas that support the progressive development of systems thinking
- Practical classroom activities
- Resources to help in planning and assessment
Applying systems thinking
Systems thinking is not listed as a separate set of content descriptions in the Australian Curriculum. Instead, it is built into Digital Technologies learning. Students use it when they explore digital devices, networks, algorithms, cyber security and the impacts of digital solutions.
Systems thinking helps students understand how parts work together to form a whole. In Digital Technologies, this might mean looking at how the screen, camera, app, storage and network connection of a tablet work together to take and share a photo.
As students progress, they move from identifying parts of a system to explaining how those parts interact. They also learn that one system can be part of a larger system, such as a laptop connected to a school network, or many networks connected through the internet.
Systems thinking also helps students consider consequences. When students design or evaluate a digital solution, they can ask, ‘Who uses this?’, ‘What other systems does it affect?’, ‘What might change if one part fails or behaves unexpectedly?’
What is systems thinking?
Systems thinking is a way of looking holistically at how parts interact to shape the behaviour of a whole system. Systems thinkers consider the system’s purpose, its parts, the order of events, and any feedback loops that affect what happens next.
Systems thinking complements computational thinking. Computational thinking often breaks a problem into smaller parts so it can be solved step by step. Systems thinking widens the lens: it asks how those parts influence one another, how the whole system behaves, and why a change in one part can affect other parts.
A simpler explanation can help …
A simpler explanation can help …
Systems thinking is about seeing the relationships between the parts that make up a system. When one part changes, other parts may also change, and the whole system may behave differently. This helps students explain behaviours that are hard to understand by looking at each part on its own.
Why is it relevant?
Systems thinking helps students see the ‘big picture’. Students learn to notice how parts affect each other and how changes in one part can affect the whole system.
This helps them explain and predict problems. For example, students can consider why a school network slows down when many devices connect at once, why a program produces unexpected results when one step changes, or why a digital solution affects users in unintended ways.
These skills support Digital Technologies and other learning areas by helping students understand how parts, people and processes work together.
Key terms in the curriculum
While it has broad applicability, systems thinking is most directly applied in specific contexts in the Digital Technologies curriculum.
| System | A group of interacting elements that form a unified whole and function together for a purpose |
|---|---|
| Impact | The effect that an action, change or decision has on parts of a system, the whole system, or connected systems |
| Interactions | The connections or relationships between parts of a system that influence how those parts, or the whole system, behave |
| Digital system | A system that processes data in binary, made up of hardware, controlled by software |
| Network | Digital systems connected to share information or processing |
| Hardware | Physical parts of a digital system |
| Software | Programs, procedures and routines that ‘run’ on a digital system |
| System | A car engine is a system because its parts work together to make the car move. A digital device is also a system: hardware and software work together so the device can perform tasks. Some systems are designed for a clear purpose, while others – such as ecosystems or social groups – emerge from the interactions between their parts. |
|---|---|
| Impact | Actions in one part of a system can change what happens in another part. For example, if many students use a school network at the same time, the network may slow down, which affects how quickly files, videos or learning apps load. A digital solution can also affect people and other systems. For example, a new online booking system might make it easier for families to make appointments, but it may also change staff routines, require new privacy protections and affect people who have limited internet access. |
| Interactions | Digital systems connected to share information or processing. When digital systems connect to each other, common software (protocols) and additional hardware (modems, routers, access points) are required. Examples:
|
| Digital system | A laptop or mobile phone is a digital system made up of parts, such as a camera, storage, processor, operating system and apps. These parts work together so the device can perform tasks. The device can also be part of a larger digital system. For example, when someone uses a banking app, their phone connects with networks, bank servers and security systems so they can manage their account. |
| Network | A system made from connected devices. Rules and protocols help the devices communicate and share data. The internet is a very large system made from many smaller networks. If one part has a problem, such as a power outage or cyber attack, it can affect other parts of the system. |
| Hardware | Physical parts of a digital system, for example, a laptop, keyboard, monitor, mouse, or printer. |
| Software | Programs, procedures and routines that ‘run’ on a digital system, for example the operating system and associated applications such as word processing programs, browsers and spreadsheeting programs. |
Connections to digital systems
In the Digital Technologies classroom, the ‘Digital systems’ topic provides one of the clearest starting points for applying systems thinking.
Students progressively explore hardware, software, networks and protocols, and use systems thinking to examine how components connect, interact and affect one another.
To explore more, refer to Digital Systems.
What to teach?
Systems can be introduced early, from Foundation, and build in complexity right through to Year 10.
Here’s how the concept develops across year bands:
Systems thinking in Foundation
Expectation for this band
Students can:
- recognise that a system is made up of parts
- use a digital system to complete a simple task.
The focus is on seeing systems as made up of parts that work together for a purpose.
What this looks like in practice
Students use systems thinking when they:
- use parts of a digital system, such as the touchscreen or keyboard of a tablet or computer
- use a digital system for a purpose, such as taking a photo with the camera and viewing it on the screen
- identify body parts that work together to do a familiar task, such as clapping, drawing or walking.
By completing this activity, students will see that different parts of a tablet help them do different things, and that the parts work together.
Retrieval: Show students a tablet. Ask: What parts can you see? What does one of these parts help us do?
Model the thinking with one familiar part of a tablet, such as the touchscreen. Ask, ‘What does the touchscreen help me do?’ Students might say it helps them tap, swipe, select, draw, type or open something. Explain that the touchscreen is one part of the tablet that helps us complete tasks.
Set aside time for students to use classroom tablets in pairs. Students perform a simple task on the tablet, such as typing their name, drawing a picture or taking a photo. (For privacy, avoid taking photos of themselves or their classmates.)
Students, in pairs, then explore parts of the tablet that work together to complete the task:
- Which part of the tablet lets me type or draw?
- Which part of the tablet shows what I typed or drew?
- Which part of the tablet makes sounds?
- Which part of the tablet ‘sees’ the surroundings to take a photo?
Through discussion, students notice that a tablet is a system because its parts work together to help them complete a task.
Evidence of learning
You might notice that students:
- perform a simple task on a device using more than one part
- demonstrate or explain which parts of the device they used to perform the task
- describe what one part of the device helps them do.
Common misconceptions or errors to watch for
- Assuming that a digital device such as a tablet or laptop has only one purpose
- Not yet recognising that parts of a system work together to complete a task.
Systems thinking embedded in Foundation Digital Technologies
These examples illustrate the connection between content descriptions and the teaching activities in this guide.
| Recognising systems as parts working together for a purpose |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
Systems thinking in Years 1-2
Expectation for this band
Students use systems thinking when they:
- identify and compare parts of a system
- describe how parts work together to complete a purpose.
The focus is on recognising that systems have different parts, and that those parts work together to complete tasks or meet needs.
What this looks like in practice
Students use systems thinking when they:
- name different hardware components of a digital system, such as a tablet, computer or smartphone
- identify apps or software used to complete a task
- recognise that hardware and software often work together to complete a task
- consider what would happen if a part was missing or not working
- apply the same thinking to a familiar non-digital system, such as a classroom, plant or animal.
Systems thinking is embedded in examples that illustrate how students work with the content descriptions in practical ways.
In this activity, students identify which hardware and software parts work together to complete common tasks on a device.
Retrieval: Who am I?
Give students simple clues about a hardware or software part of a familiar device. Give two options for what the part might be. Students guess the correct part, then say whether it is hardware or software and what task it helps complete
- ‘I play sounds so you can hear them. Who am I: speaker or keyboard?’
- ‘I help you find information online. Who am I: web browser or camera?’
- ‘I show pictures, words and videos. Who am I: keyboard or screen?’
As a class, choose one familiar device, such as a tablet. Provide sticky notes (all of the same colour) for labelling the hardware parts of the device.
For example, yellow sticky notes could show visible hardware parts, such as:
- screen/touchscreen
- keyboard
- mouse or touchpad
- camera
- microphone
- speaker.
Teachers may also introduce hidden parts, such as a power source or wi-fi connection.
Provide sticky notes of a different colour for labelling the software on the device.
For example, blue sticky notes could show:
- camera app
- messaging app
- web browser.
On the board, write a few tasks the device can help someone complete, such as:
- taking and viewing a photo
- typing and sending a message
- recording and playing back sound
- finding information online.
For each task, ask students to choose the hardware and software parts that help complete it.
For example:
- Taking and viewing a photo: camera, touchscreen/screen, power source, camera app
- Typing and sending a message: screen/touchscreen or keyboard, power source, messaging app, wi-fi connection
- Recording and playing back sound: microphone, speaker, screen, power source, recording app, volume control
Discuss:
- which parts are hardware
- which parts are software
- which parts are used in more than one task
- what might happen if one part was missing or not working
- what this shows about how a device works as a system.
Through discussion, students recognise that a digital device is a system because hardware and software parts work together to complete tasks.
To bring the activity together, students create a simple poster showing the steps needed to take and view a photo on a tablet. The poster could include labelled drawings or words for the hardware and software parts used, such as the touchscreen, camera and camera app, so students can show how the parts work together to complete the task.
Optional: Carry the principle over to a non-digital system. Your body is also a system. What parts of your body need to work together so you can get dressed for school?
Evidence of learning
You might notice that students:
- suggest hardware and software parts of a device
- identify parts that help complete a task
- explain that hardware and software can work together to complete a task
- notice that some parts are used for more than one task.
If students can recognise that there are always multiple components involved in accomplishing even simple tasks, they are developing basic systems thinking.
Common misconceptions or errors to watch for
- Confusing hardware and software
- Focusing only on the most obvious part of a task, such as the camera for taking a photo
- Assuming an app is all you need to complete a task.
Address these explicitly during discussion.
Systems thinking embedded in Years 1–2 Digital Technologies
These examples illustrate the connection between content descriptions and the teaching activities in this guide.
| Recognising systems as parts working together for a purpose |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
| Considering the relationships between parts and the whole system |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
Systems thinking in Years 3-4
Expectation for this band
Students use systems thinking when they:
- describe and compare different systems they are familiar with
- identify parts of a system and describe how each part contributes to what the system can do
- recognise that two systems can connect or communicate.
The focus shifts from naming parts to comparing whole systems and explaining how systems can connect or communicate.
What this looks like in practice
Students use systems thinking when they:
- compare a tablet or phone with a laptop or desktop computer, and explain how their different parts make them suited to different tasks
- identify peripherals, such as a mouse, keyboard, game controller or remote control, and describe how they extend what a system, such as a computer, game console or smart TV, can do
- show how two digital systems communicate, such as using a phone or tablet to send a photo to a computer, then identifying the parts used in each system to send, receive and display the photo
- apply the same thinking to a familiar non-digital system, such as a classroom, plant or animal.
In this activity, students explore how parts of a digital system depend on one another to complete different tasks.
Retrieval: Refresh students’ understanding of digital systems. Ask: What is one piece of hardware on a computer? What is one app or piece of software? What task does each help complete?
List parts of a familiar digital system, including peripherals:
| Hardware | Software |
|---|---|
|
|
Discuss ‘what if’ questions and include follow-up:
- What if this part was missing or not working? Which tasks would be affected?
Could another part help complete the task? How would the rest of the system be affected?
Examples:
- What if the webcam was missing or not working?
The camera app might still open, but I could not take a new photo with that camera. I could still view existing photos and do many other tasks. - What if the camera app was missing or not working?
I could not use that app to take a new photo. I might be able to use another app, but I still need both hardware and software to complete the task. - What if the mouse was missing or not working?
I might still be able to do some things using a touchpad, touchscreen or keyboard. - What if the power source was missing or not working?
The device might not turn on. If it can be plugged into another power source, some tasks may still be possible. - What if the screen was missing or not working?
Many tasks would be harder because I could not see what the device was showing. Some users may use accessibility tools, such as a screen reader or voice control, to help use the device in another way.
Discuss what these examples show about systems:
- Some parts are needed for many tasks.
- Some tasks can be completed in more than one way.
- One part not working can affect other parts or the whole system.
- Hardware and software often need to work together.
Explore accessibility features, such as screen readers, voice control, captions or alternative input devices. How can these features help people use a device when one usual way of interacting is not available?
Optional: Apply the same question over to a familiar non-digital system. What happens to a classroom routine if one role is missing? What happens to a plant if it does not get water or sunlight?
Evidence of learning
You might notice that students:
- describe what a part helps the system do
- explain whether a specific part is needed for a task
- look for ways to complete a task if one part is missing or not working
- ask what might happen to other parts of the system when one part is missing or not working.
If students can explain how removing parts of a system affects the whole system, they are developing basic systems thinking.
Common misconceptions or errors to watch for
- Thinking of parts as a list of separate items, rather than as parts of a system working for a purpose
- Assuming that every part is needed for every task
- Linking a task to only one obvious part, such as the webcam for taking a photo
- Assuming that if one part is missing or not working, the whole system cannot be used.
Address these explicitly during discussion.
Systems thinking embedded in Years 3-4 Digital Technologies
These examples illustrate the connection between content descriptions and the teaching activities in this guide.
| Recognising systems as parts working together for a purpose |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
| Considering the relationships between parts and the whole system |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
Systems thinking in Years 5-6
Expectation for this band
Students use systems thinking when they:
- investigate the parts of a digital system and explain how they work together for a purpose
- recognise that smaller digital systems can connect and work together as part of a larger system, such as a school network.
The focus includes investigating components in one device and moving to exploring how devices connect and work together as part of a larger system, such as a school network.
What this looks like in practice
Students use systems thinking when they:
- describe how internal components of computers and tablets – such as CPU, memory, storage and network adapter – work together with external components, such as a screen, keyboard, mouse, camera or speakers
- observe the behaviour of their coded projects to help find errors or bugs in an algorithm part, code part or user interface part within the whole system
- show how devices connect through a larger system, such as the school network, to send and receive data
- apply this way of thinking to a non-digital hierarchy of systems, such as cell → organ → body, or pistons → engine → car, or family → community → nation
By the end of the activity students recognise that each digital device is a system, and that connected devices can work together as part of a larger system, such as the school network.
Assumed prior knowledge: Students have previously investigated the main internal components of a computer and their functions.
Retrieval: Ask students to recall what they know about the internal parts of a computer. Which part stores files and apps? Which part processes information? Which part helps the computer connect to a network?
For this activity, students demonstrate or discuss simple communication between two digital devices using a classroom network or service.
This could be:
- taking and sharing a photo from their tablet and sending it to a classroom learning platform, then viewing it on a webpage using a different device such as a laptop
- typing and sending an email from one device and viewing it on another device.
Students next list the steps taken on the first device. This is System A.
Prompt students: What parts of the system were used? Focus on the flow of data from one part of the system to another.
- I used the touchscreen, camera hardware and camera app to take a photo.
- The CPU processed the visual data from the camera into an image file.
- The image was kept in the phone’s storage memory.
- I used my school’s learning app or a messaging app to send the photo.
- The wi-fi/network adapter transmitted the data.
Next, students list the steps taken on the second device. This is System B.
- I used the mouse/touchpad, screen and browser app to find the photo.
- The wi-fi/network adapter received the data.
- The CPU processed the image file into a visual image on the screen.
Next, the class discusses what happened between the two devices. How did the photo or message get from System A to System B?
For this communication between System A and System B to happen, both devices are connected through a larger system (System C): the network.
- This system is called a network.
- Often, we cannot see wires between devices because the communication is wireless.
- Our two devices (System A and System B) each contain specialised hardware and software components with the job of communicating as part of a network.
- The network even has its own hardware and software to allow the devices to connect and to manage the data flowing between them.
To make the idea concrete, students can work in teams to build a model of a school network using recycled materials, such as boxes, cardboard tubes, bottle tops, string, wool and scrap paper.
Each team models at least two connected devices. Their model should show internal components (such as CPU, memory, storage and network adapter) and external components (such as screen, keyboard, mouse, camera, microphone and speakers).
Students use string, arrows or labels to show how data moves between parts inside a device and between devices through the larger network. They should include network parts such as wi-fi, cables, router or access point, and may include a server or cloud service if relevant.
Teams present their model and explain how the smaller systems work together within the larger school network. Prompt students to consider: What happens if one device, connection or network part is not working?
Optional: Include a focus on privacy and security. Discuss how password protection helps control access to devices, accounts or files, then ask students to show this in their model using labels, barriers or checkpoints.
Evidence of learning
You might notice that students:
- list steps that follow the flow of data in each device
- suggest ways the data was transmitted from one device to another
- recognise that devices need to connect through a larger system, such as a network, to communicate.
If students can explain how each device works as a system and how connected devices work together as part of a larger network, they are developing their systems thinking.
Common misconceptions or errors to watch for
- Misidentifying the internal components of each device, or their roles
- Listing steps that do not relate to the flow of data in the device
- Assuming that the two devices have identical parts
- Assuming that the devices communicate without being part of a network (which is not common with most modern devices).
Address these explicitly during the task using questioning and feedback.
Systems thinking embedded in Years 5-6 Digital Technologies
These examples illustrate the connection between content descriptions and the teaching activities in this guide.
| Recognising systems as parts working together for a purpose |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
| Considering the relationships between parts and the whole system |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
| Recognising smaller systems within a larger system |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
Systems thinking in Years 7-8
Expectation for this band
Students use systems thinking when they:
- investigate rules and protocols that enable digital systems to connect and work together within larger systems (suprasystems), such as networks and the internet
- observe system behaviour to understand how parts function and to trace problems
- describe positive (reinforcing) and negative (balancing) feedback loops
consider how components of a digital solution interact with each other and with existing systems - look for patterns that help explain the impact of digital solutions on users, networks and other systems.
The focus on systems within systems becomes more rigorous. Students examine how larger systems (suprasystems, such as networks and the internet) use rules and protocols that shape how connected devices communicate and behave.
What this looks like in practice
Students use systems thinking when they:
- study network protocols that must be followed by different digital devices communicating over the internet, such as packet switching, TCP/IP and data encryption
- debug algorithms or implemented code by observing and tracing unexpected behaviours of the whole program
- consider the impact of new digital solutions on existing systems, including users
- explore examples of positive (reinforcing) feedback loops in digital systems, such as social media echo chambers and machine learning bias amplification
- explore examples of negative (balancing) feedback loops in digital systems, such as TCP congestion control, and rate limiting/throttling
- carry these principles over to non-digital systems, such as social expectations (rules or scripts) within herds and societies, and feedback loops that correct or exacerbate weather effects.
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to explain how feedback loops can affect the populations in a simplified predator–prey system.
Retrieval: Ask students what they know about relationships between predators and prey. For example: What might happen to a rabbit population if there are more foxes? What might happen to a fox population if there are fewer rabbits?
In this activity, students use a simple algorithm to model the relationship between fox and rabbit populations in a simplified ecosystem. The model gives students a concrete way to apply coding skills while exploring how feedback loops can affect a system over time.
The model begins with a set number of rabbits and foxes. Each week, rabbits reproduce, foxes hunt rabbits, fed foxes reproduce and hungry foxes may die. Students then observe how changes in one population affect the other.
Algorithm design: In rough form, the pseudocode for the algorithm is as follows:
rabbits ← 200 // The rabbit population
foxes ← 20 // The fox population
rabbit_birth_rate ← 0.065 // The rate rabbits reproduce each week
fox_hunt_rate ← 0.0035 // The chance a fox catches a rabbit
fox_birth_rate ← 0.15 // The rate fed foxes reproduce each week
fox_starvation_rate ← 0.03 // The rate hungry foxes die each week
FOR each week
ADD rabbits based on rabbit_birth_rate
// Simulate hunting.
FOR each fox
FOR each rabbit
Use fox_hunt_rate to simulate a hunt
IF successful
This fox is fed and stops hunting
END IF
END FOR
END FOR
SUBTRACT rabbits according to fed foxes
ADD foxes based on fox_birth_rate with fed foxes
SUBTRACT foxes based on fox_starvation_rate with hungry foxes
END FOR
With the rates in this algorithm, the model usually produces a boom-bust cycle. The rabbit population increases until the growing fox population causes a sharp decline. As rabbits become scarce, many foxes starve. When fox numbers fall, the rabbit population can recover, and the cycle begins again.
Implement: The algorithm can be implemented in a general-purpose programming language like Python using ‘turtle pens’ to draw a plot as you go. Alternatively, populations could simply be outputted as number values, then copied into a spreadsheet to visualise.
Discuss: Once students have a visual plot, attention can shift from the algorithm itself to the relationships revealed between the two populations.
- What pattern is evident in this system?
- Are positive (reinforcing) and negative (stabilising) feedback loops occurring? Hint: boom-bust cycles are usually a sign that positive feedback loops are occurring for at least part of the cycle.
- How is this simplified model different from a real ecosystem?
- What could be adjusted so that the populations become steadier, rather than following a boom-bust cycle?
Evidence of learning
You might notice that students:
- describe the two populations as parts of a system
- identify a positive (reinforcing) feedback loop, such as the run-away population growth of the animals: more rabbits → more births → more rabbits
- identify a negative (stabilising) feedback loop, such as when foxes prey on rabbits: more rabbits → more foxes → fewer rabbits
- suggest reasons why the relationship is not stable, for example, delayed responses between the different feedback loops
- suggest ways that real-world systems are more complex than this model, for example, seasons, other predators or prey, food for rabbits, movement, human impact.
Common misconceptions or errors to watch for
- Incorrectly defining positive feedback loops as ‘good’ and negative feedback loops as ‘bad’
- Assuming relationships in real-world ecosystems are as simple as this model.
Systems thinking embedded in Years 7-8 Digital Technologies
These examples illustrate the connection between content descriptions and the teaching activities in this guide.
| Recognising designed systems working together for a purpose |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Example in practice
|
| Considering the relationships between parts and the whole system |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
| Recognising smaller systems within a larger system (suprasystem) |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
Systems thinking in Years 9-10
Expectation for this band
Students use systems thinking when they:
- observe the behaviour of whole systems to understand the function of their parts and trace problems
- describe positive (reinforcing) feedback loops and negative (balancing) feedback loops, and look for patterns that indicate their presence
- think holistically about how new or changed components interact with existing components, systems and users
- explore emergent behaviour in complex systems, where simple rules or interactions can produce unexpected whole-system patterns.
In Years 9 and 10, students apply systems thinking to complex digital systems. They investigate how components interact, how feedback loops influence system behaviour, and how new digital solutions can affect wider systems.
What this looks like in practice
Students use systems thinking when they:
- simulate packet switching within a network and identify feedback loops that can contribute to data bottlenecks
- debug algorithms or implemented code by observing and tracing unexpected behaviours of the whole program
- analyse cyber threats as systems that can use positive (reinforcing) feedback loops, such as computer worms and botnets
- consider the impact of new digital solutions on existing systems, including users, networks, services and organisations
- observe emergent behaviour through an algorithm such as Conway’s Game of Life, where simple rules produce complex patterns that are not explicitly programmed.
- they can also apply these ideas to non-digital systems, such as feedback loops that contribute to traffic gridlock or rapid population growth.
Groups of student research botnets, a phenomenon where internet-connected devices, including personal computers, become infected with malware and are secretly controlled by a cybercriminal. Each infected device becomes a ‘bot’ or ‘zombie’.
Retrieval: Ask students to recall what they know about malware, networked devices and feedback loops. What makes a device vulnerable to malware? How can one infected device affect other devices? What makes a feedback loop reinforcing?
Groups are assigned different cyber attacks that botnets are used for:
- distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks – thousands of bots send requests to a website at the same time, overwhelming it so legitimate users can’t access it.
- spam emails – each bot sends large numbers of unwanted emails, making it harder to block because they come from many different devices.
- malware – bots attempt to infect other computers, growing the size of the botnet.
- password attacks – bots try stolen usernames and passwords against online accounts or make repeated password guesses.
Students describe the infected devices as systems and identify the larger system (suprasystem, such as the internet or a network) that allows malware to spread between them.
They also include a discussion of the positive (reinforcing) feedback loop that occurs:
More infected devices →
More devices available to attack others →
More successful infections →
Even more infected devices →
Finally, students describe mitigations used by cyber security professionals to slow or stop this feedback loop, such as applying security patches, blocking suspicious network traffic, strengthening passwords, using multi-factor authentication or isolating infected machines.
Optional: Students compare this process with the spread of a virus among biological organisms.
Evidence of learning
You might notice that students:
- identify that devices are systems participating in a suprasystem – the internet
- explain how the infected devices go on to infect other devices – a positive feedback loop
- use systems thinking principles to suggest ways to mitigate these forms of attack.
Common misconceptions or errors to watch for
- Incorrectly defining the relationships between systems, subsystems and suprasystems
- Identifying the researched phenomenon as a negative feedback loop
- Assuming that all mitigations work the same.
Systems thinking embedded in Years 9-10 Digital Technologies
These examples illustrate the connection between content descriptions and the teaching activities in this guide.
| Recognising systems as parts working together for a purpose |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
| Considering the relationships between parts and the whole system |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
| Identifying subsystems and suprasystems |
|---|
Relevant ACARA content descriptions
Examples in practice
|
Plan your teaching
Explore sample units and lessons.
These sample units can be used to incorporate elements of the computational thinking process.
Foundation: Using digital systems safely
Years 1–2: Using digital systems safely
Years 3–4: Digital systems, safety and security
Years 5–6: Using digital systems, safety and security
Years 7–8: Hardware, networks and cyber threats, Habits of a systems thinker
Years 9–10: Cybersecurity, Systems thinking and AI applications
Use this planning template to record relevant information as you view a scope and sequence topic for your year level.
Research-informed teaching
Evidence-based approaches
- Unplugged learning (familiar routines and examples)
- Semantic waves (concrete → abstract)
- Dual coding (visual + verbal)
- Worked examples with gradually reduced scaffolding
- Culturally responsive pedagogies
Unplugged learning (familiar routines and examples)
Research from CS Unplugged shows that introducing computing concepts without devices helps students focus on core ideas before adding technical complexity.
What this looks like in practice:
- Begin with a visible or tangible representation (objects, images, symbols or simple grids).
- Use everyday language to describe what the representation shows, before introducing formal terms.
- Focus discussion on how information is represented and how different parts of a system interact.
- Use physical or visual models to show that digital systems are made up of connected components that work together to achieve a purpose.
- Encourage students to identify inputs, outputs, pathways, rules and feedback within the system.
- Introduce formal concepts (such as network, router, packet and IP address) once students understand the underlying system.
Example:
When introducing how messages travel across a network, a teacher first uses a school-based role-play instead of digital devices. Students relate computer network terms to familiar parts of the school, such as room names as addresses, hallways as the network, the school map as a domain name system (DNS), individual students as nodes, and the office as a router.
One student writes a short message and, with the help of others, sends it to another location in the school by following agreed rules. The message is then broken into three smaller parts (packets), with three students each carrying one part. Students discuss how the parts need destination information and sequence numbers so the full message can be reassembled correctly.
The teacher explicitly draws attention to the network as a system, asking students to identify its components, connections, rules and purpose. Students explore questions such as: ‘What happens if a hallway is blocked?’ ‘What if a packet goes to the wrong address?’ ‘How does changing one part affect the whole system?’ They learn that networks rely on the coordinated interaction of many connected components and that changes in one part of the system can affect overall performance and reliability.
Semantic waves (concrete → abstract)
Research from the National Centre for Computing Education shows that students understand abstract ideas more deeply when teachers deliberately move between everyday examples and formal terminology.
What this looks like in practice:
- Start with a familiar, concrete example such as a digital device, a peripheral or a simple network model.
- Ask students what they notice about what each part does and how the parts work together.
- Encourage students to identify relationships between components and the purpose of the overall system.
- Introduce formal terms such as ‘hardware’, ‘software’, ‘input’, ‘output’, ‘network’ or ‘encryption’.
- Revisit the example and describe it using digital systems and systems thinking vocabulary.
Example:
When introducing encryption, a teacher begins with a familiar padlock-and-box demonstration to show how messages can be protected. Students first describe what they see in everyday language, such as one key opening one lock, or one person keeping a key while others use the lock.
The teacher then introduces formal terms such as ‘symmetric encryption’, ‘asymmetric encryption’, ‘public key’ and ‘private key’, linking each term back to the physical demonstration. Students examine the system by identifying its components (sender, receiver, keys and message), the relationships between those components, and the rules that allow information to be protected.
Students move between the concrete example and the formal language as they explain how each part contributes to the overall security of the system and predict how changes to one component, such as a compromised key, affect the behaviour of the entire system.
Dual coding (visual + verbal)
Research synthesised by Richard E. Mayer shows that students learn new concepts more effectively when information is presented using both words and visuals, reducing cognitive load and supporting deeper understanding.
What this looks like in practice:
- Present new concepts using both spoken or written explanations and visual representations.
- Use diagrams, images, symbols or simple models alongside verbal descriptions.
- Explicitly link the visual elements to the language being used.
- Highlight how components are connected and interact within a system.
- Revisit the concept using both modes together to reinforce understanding.
Example:
When introducing digital systems, a teacher shows a diagram of a digital system with arrows illustrating the flow of information between inputs, processing and outputs. Alongside this, they use a Venn diagram to classify peripherals as inputs, outputs or both
Students hear terms such as ‘input’, ‘output’, ‘processing’ and ‘peripheral’ while seeing examples represented visually. A keyboard is shown sending data into the system, a speaker receives information from the system, and a touchscreen performs both functions.
The teacher explicitly discusses how the components interact and asks students to trace the flow of information through the system. Students use both the visual representations and the verbal explanations to explain how individual components contribute to the operation of the system as a whole.
Worked examples with gradually reduced scaffolding
Research synthesised by Australian Education Research Organisation shows that modelling worked examples and gradually reducing support improves learning of complex procedures.
What this looks like in practice:
- Model a complete example of how hardware and software work together in a familiar digital task.
- Make the thinking visible by naming the parts involved and explaining the role each one plays.
- Highlight the interactions between components and the overall purpose of the system.
- Provide partially completed examples with prompts or diagrams for students to finish.
- Gradually remove support so students can independently explain how components work together within a system.
Example:
The teacher begins with a familiar task, such as taking a photo on a tablet. They model the example by identifying the hardware (camera, screen, touchscreen and storage) and the software (camera app) involved, explaining how information flows between components and how the software coordinates their actions.
Students then create a simple system map showing inputs, processes and outputs. Next, they complete a partially scaffolded example for a different task, such as recording sound or typing a short message, using a diagram with some components and connections already labelled.
Finally, students choose another familiar task and independently identify the components, interactions and information flows involved, explaining how the system achieves its purpose and how a change to one component could affect the whole system.
Culturally responsive pedagogies
Culturally responsive pedagogies recognise and value students’ cultural identities, experiences and ways of knowing, and use these as a foundation for learning.
What this looks like in practice:
- Connect new digital systems concepts to culturally grounded examples of communication, exchange and trust.
- Invite students to compare how different systems are organised to achieve a purpose.
- Explore how people, places, pathways, rules and relationships contribute to the functioning of systems.
- Using analogies carefully and respectfully, make clear that digital networks and First Nations trading routes are not the same thing, but can be compared in limited ways to support understanding of movement, connection, access and trust.
- Where possible, co-design learning with local communities or draw on First Nations–led resources and perspectives.
- Ensure cultural examples are used respectfully and purposefully to support learning.
Example:
Students explore the roles of network components such as nodes, routers, switches and protocols, then compare these with First Nations trading routes used for millennia. For example, nodes may be compared to places where goods were exchanged, pathways to the routes connecting places, and protocols to the rules and customs that supported trade.
The teacher guides students to examine both examples as systems made up of interconnected parts working towards particular purposes. Students identify components, connections, flows and rules within each system and discuss how these influence movement, access and communication.
This helps students understand that systems thinking involves looking beyond individual parts to understand how relationships and interactions shape the behaviour of the whole system.
Important guidance:
- Make clear that this is a comparison for learning, not a claim that the systems are the same.
- Use First Nations examples respectfully and purposefully, recognising cultural, social and historical significance.
- Where possible, co-design with local communities or use First Nations–led resources.
Check understanding
- 1–2: Checklist
- 3–4: Assessment advice
- 5–6: Work sample
- 7–8: Rubric
- 9–10: Work sample
Teachers can assess student learning in a range of ways, including through checklists, observations, rubrics and student work samples. The examples below draw on digital systems contexts in Years 1 to 6, then focus on impact of digital solutions to address systems thinking habits more explicitly in Years 7 to 10.
- Foundation: We’re going on a computer hunt. This at-home activity can be used to assess students’ understanding of digital systems and their parts.
- Years 1–2: Clever computers. This lesson includes a culminating task with a focus on identifying hardware and software.
- Years 3–4: Peripherals. This lesson includes a recording sheet on which students identify and classify digital system peripherals.
- Years 5–6: Digital systems assessment. This task provides an assessment of students’ skills and knowledge of hardware and software as well as networks for a purpose.
- Years 7–8: Habits of a systems thinker. This lesson includes a worksheet, final task and self-assessment sheet with a focus on impact of digital solutions.
- Years 9–10:
- Systems thinking and AI applications. This lesson includes a case study task and worksheet with a focus on impact of digital solutions.
- Dynamic route planning. This lesson explores how AI-powered navigation systems use real-time traffic data and historical patterns to provide dynamic route recommendations.
Deepen your understanding
Explore these resources for further background to help teach about systems thinking:
- Tools for systems thinkers (opens external website in a new window) – this article describes systems thinking with six fundamental concepts
- Hello Ruby (opens external website in a new window) – videos and other teacher resources on digital systems designed for lower primary years
- Computer networks: Crash Course (opens external website in a new window) – short video that introduces network concepts
- The internet: Crash course (opens external website in a new window) – short video that builds on network concepts
- There and back again: a packet's tale. How does the internet work? – Short video that follows a packet of data as it flows through circuits, wires and cables, to a host server, and then back again.
Supporting resources
- Habits of a systems thinker cards (PDF) (opens in a new window) (Waters Center for Systems Thinking) [PDF]
- Digital Systems cards (PDF) (opens in a new window) [PDF]
- ACARA Systems Thinking poster (jpeg) (opens in a new window) [jpeg]