This video was created by Noreen Rodriguez Lippincott and the School Improvement Leads team led by Jennifer Yales. It is designed to be a simple first introduction to the Systems Thinking Iceberg. It outlines the basic structure of this archetype, illustrating it with an example that fits the school improvement context.

During a Compassionate Systems in the Classroom workshop, two primary school teachers, Lexi (Year 2 teacher) and Zara (Year 5 teacher), decided to use the Iceberg model to help uncover underlying structures and mental models that contribute to the system of students’ self-perception of ability in mathematics.

During the review and reimagining of the IB Programme Standards and Practices the aspirational iceberg was used as a framework for the final design. The framework recognizes each school as a dynamic ecosystem working towards a clear purpose for its community. While particularly relevant to IB schools that approach can be used by any school. This resource is shared by the Compassionate Systems Master Practitioner who led the review in her role as an IB Global Head.

This school used the Iceberg as a Foundation for reviewing their Primary Years Curriculum to embed learner agency at all levels of their units of inquiry.

Educators at this International School in Asia used the iceberg to consider the current model of support that was in place at the school and to identify changes that may be needed in order to offer ‘an exceptional model of support’.

This resource shares three guiding frameworks for the Iceberg developed by Dr. Shirley Giroux, one of our Master Practitioners based in British Columbia. An Aspirational Iceberg, an Explanatory Iceberg and a Triangle of Insight Iceberg. They were developed to support to support teachers' expedient practice with the tools and approaches of Compassionate Systems Leadership.

This example is shared by Jennie Snyder, Deputy Superintendent for the Instructional Services Division at the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE). In Spring 2021 schools were beginning to reopen for the first time in over a year, Jennie’s team was hearing educators in the county referencing “returning to normal” — some longed to return; others expressed concerns about returning. Jennie facilitated a reflective conversation with the team focused on a key question: “What do we want to grow?” They used the Iceberg to capture their aspirations and vision for students. Shared here are the different versions of the Iceberg that were generated alongside a compilation of the ideas generated.

Many not-for-profit organizations are highly motivated by their desire to love and support the communities they serve, often with altruistic actions emerging as a result. Is this a sustainable way to serve communities? Or could moving from a model of altruism to a model of liberation improve that experience for staff and community alike? This example uses an aspirational iceberg to explore the underlying structures that could help move from altruism to liberation.

This example is shared by Jen Taylor, an Education Programs Consultant within the California Department of Education. During Region Meetings, she engaged in a variety of practices, including using compassionate systems tools to navigate complex issues. An example of this was taking a local issue of “staff workforce” and using the Systems Thinking Iceberg to think through some of the conditions that are below the surface.

Many not-for-profit organizations are highly motivated by their desire to love and support the communities they serve, often with altruistic actions emerging as a result. Is this a sustainable way to serve communities? Or could moving from a model of altruism to a model of liberation improve that experience for staff and community alike? This example uses an aspirational iceberg to explore the underlying structures that could help move from altruism to liberation.

Colleen Broderick is Deputy Director at the International School of Zug and Luzern. In this example she was looking at teacher observations and was seeking to understand how to create visibility of an educator’s strengths and challenges so they could find peer support for their work. Her initial intent was to integrate a learner snapshot model she had successfully used previously. The use of the iceberg highlighted that they were headed in the wrong direction without putting other structures in place.

Colleen Broderick is Deputy Director at the International School of Zug and Luzern. In this example she used the iceberg as part of a workshop for the Educational Collaborative of International Schools focusing on the Compassionate Systems Framework as a means of cultivating inclusion and well-being. This resource includes examples of how the iceberg has evolved as a practice within her school community.

Angele Law (Master Practitioner) shared the System Iceberg and the Shifting the Burden models at her “Principals Roundtable”. The goal was to help them recognize how mental models and the structures that the adults create influence students’ behavior & mindsets, as well as consider the unintended consequences of actions/quick-fixes they have taken. She decided to introduce the two tools together because they complement each other nicely, with the System Iceberg helping participants with the problem analysis aspect, while Shifting the Burden Model helps with the solution generation aspect. She followed the presentation with an exercise for them to practice the two tools. Angele also shared in a Reflection used the Iceberg tool to deeply reflect on: “Why Teachers Rarely Speak Up In Meetings“.

The Center for Systems Awareness Youth Leaders have been working with student groups from around the world. These examples show how students have been using the systems thinking iceberg to understand the underlying structures that give rise to current events they see happening all around them.

The slide deck includes a detailed outline of the tool as well as a coaching activity designed to help participants to create and share an iceberg of their own. The deck also includes a prompt slide that can be used to help practitioner’s draft their iceberg. The prompt includes guiding questions for each level of the iceberg to help if they get stuck.