Learning to learn: A complex systems perspective

© 2014 Ruth Deakin Crick, Cristina Stringher and Kai Ren. This chapter explores how a complex systems thinking approach might contribute to a holistic understanding of learning to learn and the conditions necessary to support it. Learning to learn is a crucial competence for living in a context of radical change and uncertainty. By approaching learning to learn through the lens of systems thinking, it is possible to develop a design architecture for learning how to learn in a formal educational setting, which models the relationships and dependencies that contribute to what is a complex and delicate ecology. The chapter identifies six processes that contribute to learning to learn and identifies examples from theory, practice, and research, seeking to map out the terrain of relevant variables, including the classroom and system-wide practices that influence it. Finally, the chapter explores the implications of this for policy and practice, suggesting that a worldview shift of significant proportions about what matters in education is required if our schools are to prepare young people for life through the development of competence in learning to learn