SABAC 2010 Discussions

The more we can bridge a child's learning experience in the classroom with their naturalistic environment, the more we develop a solid foundation for their communicative competence (literacy, language). I think often times as educators we think that we have to isolate a child's learning experience into very direct sessions away from their learning worlds. "Solitary teaching" may not be the best approach, however. Children are learning every day and all the time without direct instruction. They are learning as they gaze out the window while riding in the back seat of a car; they are learning while playing with friends at the neighborhood park; they are learning while sitting in a buggy going through different aisles in the grocery store; and of course, they are learning in the classroom. Why not bridge the environments they encounter each day into their learning experiences? This means, even their "play" could benefit from naturalistic conventions.

Absolutely. In addition,as teachers we also need to ensure what is learned can be retained and retrieved when needed. Interestingly, research has shown that retrieval of knowledge may be context dependent. Memory or retrieval of material is better when it is done in the same environment that it was learned (Godden & Baddeley, 1975). Does this mean that information acquired within our classrooms may not be as easily retrieved outside the classroom? Does this explain why students are unable to apply what they learn outside the classroom and depend on their naive theories? Another line of support for the heterogeneity as genetic hierarchy?

You ask some great questions. Your questions align with the Miller and Goodnow reading. They state that context and the individual are not mutually exclusive. They are interdependent. This means, yes, knowledge is derived from context, but also culture (individual) too. This is a viable way for which teachers can ensure that student learning will be retained and retrieved when needed. Thus, if the knowledge gained is situated contextually within the childs culture, maintenance of their learning over time will be evident even outside the classroom.

Miller and Goodnow's article also point to an issue which is particularly important now in this country...inter-cultural communication/practices. The article alluded to Michaels (1991) description of the dismantling of minority children's storytelling under Proposition 3: Practices provide the route by which children come to participate in a culture, allowing the culture to be reproduced or transformed. I think what we can take away from the description is that as teachers, or individuals working with children from diverse cultures is that perhaps our practices should provide and ensure multiple routes by which children can participate in a culture. This may mean that we have to be more aware of differences in communication styles in individuals and in different cultures.

I love the way this discussion is going. I think that both of you raised great ideas and views about learning, play and social cultural surrounding. I completely agree with all that has been said and would like to address the fact that Joseph Donald Novak addressed in his book Learning, creating, and using knowledge: concept maps as facilitative tools he asserted that it is important for teachers to keep in mind that they might have an understanding of a word or a context that differs from what their students may perceive it. Therefore, teachers have to be sensitive about different views or cultural references to the same issue in hand. Students repeatedly fail to understand the teachers meaning simply because they refer to the same labels or concepts differently from what the teacher intend it to be. Consequently both sides are referring to same concepts in a totally unrelated technical concept meaning (Novak, 1998).

Absolutely. I think the challenge in every classroom is not only passing on knowledge but ensuring that students are acquiring the right information. The question is how do we do that without loads of tests and evaluations. This phenomenon not only occurs in our classroom but also in our everyday lives. I think cultural misunderstanding is a good example of individuals using the same words but understanding it differently. Here is an example: An Omani friend of mine was extremely offended when a native English speaking friend said See you next weekTake care as he was about to drive off. The Omani friend thought Take care implied that he was a bad driver. Perhaps a simple bye is a safer term to usebut then again it may imply you are trying to get rid of them.

This discussion of cultural implications in communication makes me think of assessment and referral practices for Special Education. I am reading about the over-representation of minorities in special education and much of the discussion surrounds low academic achievement being a risk factor for minorities being referred to special education. The authors also indicate that lack of appropriate instruction is also a risk factor (Grant, 2005). They do not go into detail about in what way is the instruction not appropriate and does this factor into low academic achievement for minority students. What I would be interested in knowing is what does this instruction look like that makes in inappropriate? And is the inappropriateness of the instruction due to cultural differences?

I agree that learning is influenced so much by cultural and social history. That's why, as this discussion topic suggests, literacy and language can be such powerful tools. Stories and writing topics lend themselves to a personal introduction to new ideas, vocabulary, perspective, etc. For example, a character in a story may use a certain phrase that could spark discussion on its various meanings. Or in presenting students with a personal writing topic others may be able to learn more about each other's cultural, family... perspectives and experiences.

I agree that learning is significantly influenced by culture. As teachers we sometime forget that our actions can be perceived differently than what was sometimes intended. As a teacher in Hawaii, I was constantly reminded that not only are our student's learning affected by their personal and multiple intelligences but also by their local and family cultures.