Example Artifacts
These are facilitator examples, not answer keys. Use them to show students what a workable artifact can look like without implying that there is only one correct answer.
Use them flexibly across school, homeschool, library, apartment, neighborhood, community-center, and classroom settings. Swap in fictional or school-based examples when private family details are not needed.
Example 1: Systems Log Entry
Date: Week 5
Today's system: The carbon cycle in a loaf of bread
Observation:
Bread came from wheat.
Wheat grew by taking in CO2, water, and sunlight.
When I eat the bread, some of that carbon returns to the air through respiration.
Diagram:
air -> wheat -> flour -> bread -> person -> air
Prediction:
If the bread goes moldy instead of being eaten, the carbon still returns through decomposition.
Revision:
I used to think food "disappeared" after eating. Now I think the carbon changes location.
Example 2: Terrarium Observation Log
| Day | Condensation | Soil | Plants | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | small drops on lid | damp | upright | built today |
| 2 | more drops in morning | damp | upright | sunlight was indirect |
| 3 | fog on one side | damp | upright | jar warmer after lunch |
| 4 | fewer drops | slightly dry at top | one leaf bent | moved jar farther from window |
Example 3: Water Cycle Sketch Description
Reservoirs shown:
- ocean
- cloud
- mountain snow
- river
- groundwater
Arrows shown:
- evaporation from ocean to cloud
- precipitation from cloud to land
- runoff from land to river
- infiltration from land to groundwater
- groundwater flow to river and ocean
Power source labeled:
- sunlight drives evaporation
Example 4: Product Lifecycle Audit
Example object
Plastic water bottle
| Stage | Example notes |
|---|---|
| Raw material | Petroleum or natural gas feedstock |
| Processing | Refined and turned into PET pellets |
| Manufacturing | Bottle formed, capped, labeled, filled |
| Distribution | Trucked to warehouse and store |
| Use | Drunk in about 10 minutes |
| End of life | Recycling bin, trash bin, or litter path |
| Open-loop point | Many bottles leave the loop after a very short use phase |
Example 5: Resource Pool Game Tracking Table
| Round | Pool before | Player A | Player B | Pool after harvest | Regen | Pool after regen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| 3 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
Short facilitator note:
"This group understood the rule but drifted above the regeneration rate in Round 3. That is the useful moment."
Example 6: Open-Loop Process Diagnosis
Process being diagnosed:
Classroom handout use
Inputs:
- copy paper
- printer toner
- electricity
- teacher prep time
Useful output:
- students receive directions and practice pages
Waste output:
- one-sided pages thrown away after one lesson
Where the loop opens:
- paper leaves the classroom as trash instead of being reused for scratch work or replaced by a lower-paper routine
Simple redesign direction:
- use a two-tray system: "use once" and "reuse backs"
Example 7: Capstone Proposal Excerpt
Current state:
Our classroom throws away about 40 one-sided practice pages each week.
Problem statement:
The current routine sends reusable paper to trash instead of a second-use system.
Proposed redesign:
Place a clearly labeled scratch-paper tray beside the printer and add a one-minute end-of-day sorting routine.
Expected outcome:
Reuse at least half of the one-sided pages within one month.
Example 8: Specs Sheet
| Field | Example entry |
|---|---|
| System | Classroom paper reuse routine |
| Scope | Printer table and writing station only |
| Input rate | About 40 one-sided pages per week |
| Operator | Teacher plus two rotating student helpers |
| Space required | One paper tray and one sign |
| Success metric | At least 20 pages reused per week |
| Review interval | Check weekly for one month |
Example 9: Failure-Mode Worksheet
| Component | Failure mode | Likelihood | Severity | Detection | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reuse tray | fills up too fast | medium | minor | pages spill onto table | empty tray twice a week or add a second tray |
| Sorting routine | students forget which pages qualify | medium | moderate | tray contains two-sided pages | add a picture example and model the rule again |
| Teacher routine | tray is not checked regularly | medium | moderate | paper pile grows without reuse | add a weekly reminder and assign rotating helpers |
Example 10: Five-Section Pitch Outline
1. Current state
Our classroom throws away one-sided practice pages every day.
2. Why it matters
Paper that could still serve a second use is leaving the system too early.
3. Proposed solution
Create a clearly labeled scratch-paper tray beside the printer and require one-sided pages to go there first.
4. What it requires
One tray, one sign, and a two-minute teacher routine at cleanup.
5. Expected outcomes
Lower paper purchasing over time and less paper entering the classroom trash stream.
Example 11: Attribution And Accessibility Note
Outside information I used:
- one school paper-use count from our class cleanup routine
- one article about paper reuse from a trusted education source
AI help I used:
- a brainstorming prompt to help me shorten my title
How I checked it:
- I rewrote the title in my own words and kept only ideas that matched our class evidence
Accessibility step:
- I used large labels, dark marker, and a simple diagram so the audience could follow the idea quickly
How To Use These Examples Well
- Show one example before students start.
- Do not show every example at once.
- Invite adaptation, not copying.
- Point out that good work can be simple if the system logic is clear.