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A Biography of Learning
Ron Burnett (Author)
9781487561376
Paperback / softback, published 2 December 2025
312 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.34 kg
"In this most impressive volume, Burnett draws from his distinguished career as a teacher, artist, scholar, and administrator, to remind us that learning is fundamental to human thriving and an endeavour that requires rigorous study to remain pertinent and effective in changing times. A Biography of Learning will appeal to any reader interested in understanding more about how we learn, why we learn, and what it takes to learn well." - Lorne M. Buchman, President Emeritus, ArtCenter College of Design "Against our contemporary backdrop of quantifiable metrics and codifiable learning outcomes, Ron Burnett delivers an impassioned – and refreshingly personal – case for the wonderful messiness of teaching and learning. Unpredictability, ambiguity, chaos, contingency, technological disruption, and serendipity – it turns out that a deep engagement with these unruly forces will be essential to creating lasting impact in the classroom. But more than that, he demonstrates the transformative effect that radical openness and care can have in cultivating ‘the prepared mind.’" - Jamer Hunt, Professor of Transdisciplinary Design, The New School "Capacious in its approach, and an audacious call to action – where serendipity, play, and dialogue are as central to critical pedagogy as planning learning outcomes – A Biography of Learning is an urgent provocation to radically reimagine education in the context of rapid transformations in communications technology, as well as a self-reflexive account of Burnett’s half-century as an educator and administrator in the fields of film, media, visual arts, and communications."
Ron Burnett offers a timely and provocative vision for educational transformation. Drawing on his decades-long career as both an educator and institutional leader, Burnett crafts a compelling narrative that bridges personal experience with forward-thinking educational theory and practice.
This book suggests that transformative learning demands time – far more than our rapid-fire systems allow us. It challenges our obsession with quick inputs and outputs, exposing the deeper, slower rhythms of authentic intellectual growth, and forges powerful connections between physical learning spaces, creative environments, and the frontiers of experimentation where teaching and learning boundaries are dramatically expanded.
A Biography of Learning emerges at a critical juncture, where technological revolution meets institutional evolution. Burnett's approach is refreshingly pragmatic yet boldly visionary, providing roadmaps for tomorrow. For anyone invested in the future of learning – educators, administrators, policymakers, students, and engaged citizens – Burnett's insights provide inspiration for navigating the intersection of tradition and innovation in educational practices.
Prelude: Artificial Intelligence and Time 2. Knowledge, Memory, and Living Archives Part Two Part Three Part Four Conclusion
Introduction: A New School – A New Learning Paradigm?
Part One
1. Biography, Learning, and Play
3. The Classroom, Generational Change, and the Expansion of Disciplines
4. Film Studies, Hiroshima Mon Amour and Window Water Baby Moving
5. Learning with and against TikTok and AI: The Algorithmic Challenge
6. Science, Truth, History, and Learning
7. Learning with New Tools
8. Transposition, Translation, Transformation, Serendipity
9. Chance, Bricolage, Symmetry
10. The Radical Impossibility of Teaching
11. Learning, Consensus, and Social Media
12. Symptom Fields
13. Budding Visions and New Spaces for Learning
14. The Communication of Ideas through Video
15. Making, Being, Learning
16. Designing a New Campus for Emily Carr University of Art and Design
17. Studios, Outcomes, and Vision
Endnotes