The food-energy-water nexus: Using Hydroviz to support undergraduate students’ systems thinking about complex socio-hydrologic issues

This study assessed the systems thinking skills–consisting of seven constructs–of undergraduate students in a food-energy-water nexus module. The module featured a four-part assignment using a data visualization tool, Hydroviz, to analyze food, energy, and water data in a U.S. region and address a socio-hydrologic challenge. The research questions were (1)<i> what systems thinking constructs were students able to engage in most effectively?</i>,<i> </i>(2)<i> in what ways do students’ tasks with higher and lower systems thinking scores differ?, </i>and (3)<i> what factors (e.g., conceptual understanding, socio-scientific reasoning, demographics, curricular resources, and </i><i>Hydroviz) support students’ systems thinking outcomes? </i>Data from <i>n = </i>94 students included demographics, pre-assessments and assignments, and interviews with 13 students. Results showed moderate enaction of systems thinking skills, with students emphasizing problem framing and goal setting, and prioritizing technical over contextual aspects. Curricular resources effectively supported data exploration, system connections, leveraging prior knowledge, and identifying management solutions.