[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# New Hope for Policy Schools

Examining systems thinking solutions to improve policy education

Aljrarri W, Bustamante J, Ingwell A, Labrada T, Nadig B, Shin J, Cabrera, and Cabrera, Journal of Systems Thinking, 2024

## Abstract

A quasi-experimental study of whether a one-to-two minute video teaching a single structural move changes how people approach a realistic policy problem. N = 988, 1,976 observations. Each arm was scored for whether that specific move appeared in the response.

## What they found (results)

Odds ratios: Is/Is Not 5.517, Zoom In/Out 2.668, Part Party 2.474, RDS Barbell 5.085, Perspective Circle 4.740, all p < 0.01. With demographic controls the effects grow rather than shrink. Aggregate base rate rose from 14.47% to 39.17%.

## Response

Move-specific rather than general improvement, since each arm was scored for its own move. The limits are stated plainly in the paper: no control arm anywhere, binary coding by a language model, immediate post-test only, and treatment order uncounterbalanced.

[Read the paper](https://doi.org/10.54120/jost.00000101)