Beyond Metaphor: Using Concepts and Methods from the Ecological Sciences to Assess Learning Ecosystems

• In Event: Asset-Based Ecosystem Learning Research: Toward Just Education Renewal?

Abstract

Objective
Although superficially both the biological and the social sciences utilize ecological concepts, the ecological sciences have applied systematic approaches and empirical methods to the study of these ideas, while the social sciences have primarily utilized these concepts in solely descriptive, metaphoric ways. Using the construct of ecosystems, we make the case for how learning researchers could significantly benefit from adapting the analytical approaches pioneered within the ecological sciences to improve youth of all backgrounds’ ability to identify, access. and use community resources.

Framework
Since the late 70s, some in the field of learning research have investigated learners through an “ecological” lens in an effort to understand the full complexity of the learning experience. Although the roots of this approach in the social sciences can be traced back to the writings of Kurt Lewin (1936), the most frequently utilized framework was one developed roughly 50 years ago by Bronfenbrenner (1979). It figuratively illustrates the myriad interactions between children and their environments, from the most immediate ecological system of home, parents and other influential adults, friends, and school, to the most expansive system which includes culture and society. Although Bronfenbrenner’s metaphorical framing has proved useful in thinking descriptively about ecosystems, it has been less useful in the empirical analysis of ecosystems. By contrast, researchers in the ecological sciences have for decades utilized approaches that allow for rigorous measurement of ecosystem structure and functioning.

Approach
The ecosystem concept is well suited to describing interactions between people and their environment, including processes for learning and developing new knowledge in a variety of contexts (Jackson, 2013). Just as organisms in biological ecosystems interact with countless other species and resources in their physical environment to survive and prosper (Willis, 1997), individual learners navigate a complex learning ecosystem comprised of cumulative experiences, across multiple learning platforms and settings to support their lifelong educational needs and interests (Azevedo, 2011; Barron, Gomez, Pinkard, & Martin, 2014; Author, 2013). As has been found in investigations of natural ecosystems, it is possible to directly measure and assess ecosystem health using three key qualities: (1) Productivity; (2) Durability/Persistence; and (3) Stability/Resilience.

Results and Significance
Using examples drawn from the preceding three papers, findings will be framed utilizing the three ecological science concepts of productivity, durability, and resilience to understand and measure learner pathways and assess the structure and functioning of learning ecosystems. We conclude by suggesting that learning research, and concomitant efforts to create equitable ecosystems, particularly within low-income, culturally diverse and often underrepresented communities, could significantly benefit from adapting the analytical and application approaches that have enabled the creation of adaptive management strategies such as environmental restoration within natural ecosystems. Methods such as these enable a more empirical, practical approach to determining whether an ecosystem is thriving, or not, as well as for whom, and under what circumstances, providing critical, evidence-based tools for supporting just educational practices.

Author

• John H. Falk, Institute for Learning Innovation