From Complexity to Clarity: Applying Systems Thinking and Mapping to the Co-creation of Learning Idns

This case study examines how two areas within Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs)—systems thinking and mapping, and digital learning and education—come together to create communicative and transformative tools for tackling today’s complex challenges. These domains foster better understanding of interconnectedness among humans, other species, and machines, and these streams can combine in the form of an IDN. Systems thinking and mapping enable stakeholders to combine their expertise on complex topics, serving as an initial step in creating a collective Learning IDN. Specifically, Causal Loop Diagrams (CLD) are effective tools for preparing diverse stakeholder teams to develop an IDN that reflects their topic’s foundations, interconnections, and pathways. This research investigates systems mapping as a basis for creating an IDN, drawing on a facilitated workshop on Systems Thinking and Mapping held in May 2024 in Murcia, Spain, and previous research. The workshop involved academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, designers, communicators, and technologists interested in developing IDNs. Facilitators provided a framework for stakeholders to form topic-focused interest groups and use systems thinking to interpret their respective realities and problem spaces. This paper demonstrates how a workshop using CLD mapping with diverse stakeholders can lay the foundation for a collaborative Learning IDN. This process fosters collective understanding and shared sense-making through creating a systems map, serving as both a visualization of group sense-making and an artifact representing a complex problem. The dual roles of the systems map—visualizing shared understanding and facilitating group discussion—are crucial for developing a comprehensive understanding of complex topics.