An ecological conception of teaching

Traditional theories of teaching and learning are premised on the belief that knowledge and skill are the properties of the individual. The concept of ecological intelligence shifts the focus from individual cognitive processing and technical action to the relationships and activities within environmental systems. Students (and teachers) come to classrooms as members of a variety of systems, each of which possess certain kinds of knowledge and information. The job of the teacher is to introduce learners to new systems of knowledge and processes and to model ways these systems—and the information and structure therein—can be connected to what the learners already know. Not recognizing the systems of which the students are members is to discount the diverse information and connections of students. Too often this happens because the potential contributions are not immediately apparent and require effort to be incorporated into the ongoing activity.