This technical note supports the "Shrimp Commodity Systems Learning Lab" (SCSLL) simulation (UVA-OM-1405S) used in environmental sustainability or systems thinking courses. It offers detailed guidance for the progression of interactive learning experiences in the SCSLL. Through the simulation, users develop an understanding of the issues facing the shrimp industry system and how policy alternatives could improve the industry's typical boom-and-bust patterns. A teaching note (OM-1428TN) is available.

This note provides an introduction to operational systems thinking using the language of stocks and flows and guided by a scientific method-based mapping process. Operational mental models link explicit cause-and-effect relationships to the dynamics (behaviors over time) that unfold within the system. Such mental models improve students' ability to mentally simulate how different interventions in a system will affect its long-term performance.