Recent studies have illustrated the importance of systems thinking (ST) mindset in sustainability practices in agriculture and engineering fields. Donella Meadow’s Thinking in Systems (2008) posits a critical framework for addressing complex problems in sustainability with an emphasis on mindset and methodological shift focusing on holistic and long-term thinking. The purpose of our study was to explore the impact of active learning pedagogical approaches in fostering foundational ST concepts in a ‘Global Food Production and Health’ class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (n = 148, response rate = 70%) during the Spring of 2024. Students created concept maps representing complex agroecosystems as part of a Project-Based Learning activity designed to develop ST skills. A qualitative research design assessed the level of understanding of ST concepts through a pre- and post-survey questionnaires and concept map analysis. Students’ responses to pre- and post-survey questionnaires were interpreted using Arnold et al., (2017) systems thinking skill assessment rubric with an emphasis on mindset to reveal their understanding of the aspects of ST. Concept-map analysis revealed that students demonstrated a moderate understanding of key ST concepts, with an average score of 62%. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in students' self-reported knowledge of ST's application in real-life situations, with mean scores increasing from 3.35 to 3.80 out of 5. This improvement reflects a shift towards a more holistic worldview that values interconnectedness and interrelationships, as evidenced by their concept map analyses. Our results indicate that integrating ST as a primary learning objective within the curriculum, alongside the use of innovative tools such as modeling and simulation to construct representations of complex agroecosystems, can effectively foster a ST mindset. Future research should focus on implementing a longitudinal study across our program to evaluate students' ST skills and their application in real-time problem-solving.