Welcome to SyM Bowl 97!
I have not been contributing to this list lately, but I have been following
it regularly. Just been too busy.
Most of you know that we ran the first "SyM Bowl" (Systems Modeling Bowl)
last April, a competition among high school SD students in the Portland OR
area. Although we pretty much made it up as we went along, the event
itself went like clockwork. This years event will be almost a carbon
copy, although including what we hope will be incremental improvements.
SyM Bowl evolved from the CC-STADUS (NSF) grant here in Portland, in which
we have been training high school teachers in System Dynamics (see message
#0770 by Diana Fisher, forwarded by JW Forrester from the K-12 SD list).
Teachers are expected to build their own models (in small groups), with the
ultimate goal of developing new cross curricular (CC) materials. In
addition, they are encouraged to -use- SD models, tutorials, etc. in their
classwork, to encourage high school students to build their own models, and
as resources and expertise become available, to teach courses in SD
modeling and simulation.
SyM Bowl 96 was held at (and co-sponsored by) Oregon Health Sciences
University (OHSU) and the Portland VA Medical Center. (I am a Research
Pharmacologist at the Portland VA Medical Center and Associate Professor at
OHSU). My not-so-hidden agenda is to simultaneously increase the
visibility of SD within the biomedical community. SD has tremendous
potential in this realm, but so far is under-recognized. (See recent post
by Jim Hargrave to see some positive work in this area.)
The SyM Bowl Concept:
Teams of 2-4 students identify a problem (any area), identify reference
behaviors, find experts and reference materials, build a model (simple to
start with!), state assumptions, discuss parameter values, conduct
sensitivity analyses, consider loop behaviors, and draw conclusions.
Wayne Wakeland, Ph.D., Systems Science dept. Portland State University is
the judging supervisor. Six judges are drawn from PSU, OHSU, local SD
consultants, and teachers.
We have worked long and hard at developing what we feel are appropriate
criteria. However, we will be actively seeking evaluations and
suggestions from many of you in the next few months. We want to be sure
that this program encourages good modeling practice, and does not evolve
into a flashy competition with no underlying substance.
The Event Itself:
A paper (50%) is required (1 week in advance). The writing, formulation
of the problem, etc. provides 25% of the score; modeling expertise provides
25% of the score. Papers are evaluated before the day of the event.
Poster presentation (25%). On the day of the event, teams present their
models in an open-house forum (9:00-11:30). Each team has a table and a
computer, and they develop a background poster to illustrate their project.
This session is open to the public, and students are encouraged to
circulate and observe other projects. We had 16 teams (42 students) last
year. (Ideal size = 15-20 teams.)
Formal presentation (25%) Five finalist teams are selected during lunch.
Each team then presents a 15-min talk (overhead transparencies) to the
whole audience in an auditorium. After a 30-min break we conclude with an
awards ceremony.
Awards include certificates for every participant, plaques for each
individual on the five finalist teams, STELLA for each individual finalist
(generously provided by HPS), and cash prizes for each individual on the
top 3 teams ($250 1st, $150 2nd, $75 3rd). (Note that prizes go to each
ndividual, not to teams, to avoid encouraging a team of 1 or 2 to increase
the share; these kids are not dumb!)
SyM Bowl Foundation:
As a result of SyM Bowl 96, and presentations at the K-12 System Dynamics
and Systems Thinking meeting at Wheaton College (June 96) and the
International SD Meeting (Cambridge, MA, June 1996), we have received
offers for several donations. Unfortunately, we did not have the
infrastructure required to accept these donations. This led to the
establishment of a non-profit corporation (SyM Bowl Foundation), with an
initial Board of Directors, and a pending application for non-profit
501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
Our intention is for SBF to serve as the umbrella for similar events
elsewhere. We hope to provide materials, schedules, judging criteria, etc.
for other interested academic or community groups. Future groups will need
some semblance of organization (as a chapter of SBF, for example), but will
-not- have take on the burden of IRS approval, etc.
This structure will allow us to seek donations and apply for grants.
(If anyone has the irresistable urge to send a donation, checks should be
made out to SyM Bowl Foundation, and mailed to:
SyM Bowl Foundation
12140 SW Merestone Ct.
Tigard OR 97223
)
Scheduled Visitors to SyM Bowl 97:
Nan Lux (MIT) will attend. Nan is going to work with our local VA and OHSU
video people to collect footage of this event. We would like to see this
evolve into a program suitable for teachers, administrators, and perhaps
local cable access (ours and yours).
Allen Boorstein (NYC), a friend to SD and education and an enthusiastic
supporter of SyM Bowl.
Mom (Seattle, WA).
Will Costello will be bringing a team of students from Vermont! We are
delighted at the chance to see their work, and to let them participate in
this event.
Barry Richmond, Pres. High Performance Systems, Inc. will attend and will
serve as a judge.
Various teachers and student visitors will be attending from around the NW
(from Seattle WA to Roseburg, OR, etc.)
Invitation:
If anyone has an irresistable urge (like Barry did!) to come see what is
happening, please feel free. (Dont wait for the video!) We will be happy
to provide travel and lodging advice.
SyM Bowl 97
April 25, 1997
OHSU - 9:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Ed Gallaher, Ph.D.
VA Research Pharmacologist
Assoc. Prof., Physiol/Pharmacol and Behavioral Neuroscience
O.H.S.U.
gallaher@teleport.com