An Introduction to Ecological Active Learning

Abstract

This article introduces ecological active learning, a developmental framework that focuses on children’s ability to adapt and tailor their active-learning strategies to the particular structure and characteristics of a learning environment. Results of seminal studies indicate that efficient, adaptive search strategies emerge around 3 years of age, much earlier than previously assumed. This work highlights the importance of developing age-appropriate paradigms that capture children’s early competence to gain a more comprehensive and fair picture of their active-learning abilities. Also, it offers a process-oriented theoretical framework that can accommodate and reconcile a sparse but growing body of work documenting children’s active and adaptive learning. Three of the most promising avenues for future research on children’s ecological active learning are discussed.

Toddlers strategically adapt their information search

“…Humans’ ability to explore is arguably (still) superior to any other form of artificial 1 – 3 or natural 4 intelligence. What confers an advantage to human exploration may be the ability to entertain a multitude of exploratory strategies and select the one that promises to maximize learning given the specific situation presented 5 , 6 —which has been referred to as ecological active learning competence 7 . This ability is fundamental to acquire information efficiently and effectively 8 , 9 , to build complex systems of knowledge 10 , 11 , and to shape the world around us in innovative ways 12 .…”

“…So far, this adaptive competence has been investigated only in older children and adults, relying on tasks that require participants to tailor their search strategies to the changing characteristics of the environment 7 . For example, information search can target specific hypotheses (e.g., “Is it the penguin?” when trying to find out what animal can endure the lowest temperatures) or narrow down the range of hypotheses under consideration (e.g., by asking “Does it have wings?”).…”

Preschoolers' information search strategies: Inefficient but adaptive

“…Children begin to demonstrate meaningful information search patterns very early in life (for a review, see De Simone and Ruggeri, 2022). Infants tend to direct their attention to events with intermediate complexity (supposedly to avoid Although this game may appear to be constrained at first glance, especially if compared to more naturalistic open-ended dialogues, it is a classic example of a sequential, binary information search problem that one encounters fairly often in everyday life and throughout the lifespan.…”

“…In other words, children's information search competence could be underestimated if they are requested to rely on generating verbal questions. In this paper, we examine 4- to 6-year-olds' information search competence by using a non-verbal version of the 20-questions game, to gain a more clear, comprehensive and fair picture of their active learning abilities (see also Ruggeri, 2022 ).…”

Children's information‐search strategies: Operationalizing efficiency and effectiveness

“…In this article, we propose a clear operationalization of the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency used in research on active learning in children from infancy to adolescence, with the goal of identifying common ground for evaluating learning strategies. We also emphasize that learning and information‐search competence should be evaluated within the framework of ecological active learning , which assesses learners' ability to actively shape their exploration and learning process by recognizing and exploiting the specific characteristics and structure of the learning environment (Ruggeri, 2022). Finally, we highlight and discuss the crucial factors that should be considered when examining information search from a developmental perspective.…”