Abstract:

The problem we face as educators today is the artificial learning that takes place in many schools; learning that is fundamentally different from the effective learning that occurs naturally in the real world. Current school structures and systems often prevent meaningful, authentic learning from transpiring.

One solution to the problem of artificial learning is Educational Permaculture (EP). This concept was first originated and developed at the Google Innovator Academy in Mountain View, CA. The EP team consists of Google for Education Innovators: Jessica Loucks, David Hotler, and David Lee. This moonshot project is their vision for the future of education. They seek to develop an educational design approach that helps schools and stakeholders transform education, putting into practice foundational domains and actionable principles that allow for meaningful, organic, and successful learning to occur.

The term “permaculture” was first coined by two Australian geologists, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, who were curious to see why natural, self-sustaining ecosystems produced so much biomass compared to human-made systems of cultivation. They found that natural ecosystems contain patterns and functional interconnections between its key elements. Thus, the two geologists developed the concept of Permaculture, 'Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre, and energy for provision of local needs.' It is the process of trying to make a fairly direct imitation of the natural ecosystems to produce high yields.

Our team has taken this idea of permaculture and adapted it to education. Educational Permaculture is a “holistic design approach of educational domains and design principles focused around simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and features found in successful learning ecosystems.” We effectively learn new knowledge, techniques, skills, methods, and processes all the time in our daily lives. It happens in different learning ecosystems, like in the workplace, schools, social interactions, play and recreation. Educational permaculture provides stakeholders with a learning environment that simulates these ‘ecosystems’.

As a result, a learning environment is created where stakeholders are developed into Informant Citizens. Informant Citizens are individuals who have the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and learning abilities to succeed in their future professions, projects, personal lives, and civic duties; they are future-ready individuals who can learn and complete tasks no matter the situation or circumstance, who are able to learn continuously in a world of constant change and innovation.

Keywords:

Artificial, global, adapted, education, permaculture, holistic, design, approach, environment, future-ready, innovation, change.