Re: orchestration/culture
Ellice A Forman (ellice+ who-is-at PITT.EDU)
Thu, 8 Feb 1996 16:02:11 -0500 (EST)
Mike, Judy and others,
I've been using the notion of orchestration myself to characterize the
part that a teacher may play in classroom discourse. Your suggestion
that we think of a variety of metaphors to characterize the "morphology
of activities" reminded me of Nira Granott's work on peer collaboration.
She has several metaphors--from apprenticeship to asymmetric
counterpoint, etc. (actually 9 in all from a recent article).
Ellice
Granott, N. & Gardner, H. (1994). When minds meet: Interactions,
coincidence and development in domains of ability. In R.J. Sternberg &
R.K. Wagner (Eds.) "Mind in context: Ineractionist perspectives on human
intelligence" (pp.171-201). NY: Cambridge University Press.
On Thu, 8 Feb 1996, Mike Cole wrote:
>
> Hi Ellice-- Your comments re application of dialogical approaches to
> classroom discrouse and the term from Jay of orchestration resonate
> with our local discussion about culture in the classroom. I have begun
> to think of different metaphors for classroom organization as descriptions
> of cultural systems a la Boas-- , e.g. a structured whole with its own
> peculiar "morphology of actvities-- consider the implications of the
> metaphors of teacher as orchestra conductor, teacher as coach, teacher
> as transmitter of basic skills.
>
> If we grant such "structured wholeness" to classroom cultures, is it
> possible to construct a useful system of descriptions for the different
> patterns?
> mike
>