Education's Ecosystems

Bertram C. Bruce has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and is currently a Professor Emeritus in Information Science at the University of Illinois. He has worked on education in many countries, across grade levels, and in diverse areas of the curriculum. His work contributes to a tradition of democratic education, asking “How can we guide the educational enterprise by an ethical vision, not simply a technocratic one of transmitting isolated facts and skills?”

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1: Ecosystem Learning FrameworkChapter 2: The Whole FrogChapter 3: Why Do We Educate?Chapter 4: Diversity in Ways to LearnChapter 5: NetworkingChapter 6: Emergent PropertiesChapter 7: Finding and Constructing Learning NichesChapter 8: Interpretation of Learning SpacesChapter 9: Education’s EcosystemChapter 10: The Ecosystem CurriculumConclusionCaptionsNotes

Drawing metaphorically upon concepts from biology, computer scientist and educator Bruce (emer., Univ. of Illinois) offers an accessible analysis of the possibilities for effective teaching and learning in the modern era. The text argues for the necessity of rethinking contemporary teaching and learning strategies by identifying evidence-driven inequities in current educational outcomes, referring to the resulting impoverishments and marginalizations as disasters. On this foundation, Bruce develops an explanation of the "Ecosystems Learning Framework" as an alternative to existing approaches. The Ecosystems Learning Framework establishes an inclusive approach by reconsidering platforms, modalities, work settings, and "teachers" to expand readers' imaginary of education. Bruce skillfully demonstrates the potential of the Ecosystems Learning Framework by illustrating its components and philosophy through case studies, provided in the form of storytelling, with examples of ecosystems learning from Colombia, India, France, Ireland, and Spain (to name a few). Through these stories of successful collaborations from around the world, readers are equipped with a useful guide to implementing the Ecosystems Learning Framework. Especially provocative is Bruce's use of the evolutionary concept of ecological niche to reconceptualize learning. The chapter devoted to redefining terms such as teaching and learning alone establishes the value of the book. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students. Faculty. General readers.