RE: [xmca] Wells article

Hey, Helena, Andy, exemers -
 
i had a similar take, the Gordon's differentiating between language mediated with tool usage - tool usage mediated with language, and language which is mediating language for a language mediated common understanding of a shared understanding of a chunk of discourse.
i'm comfortable with the term "discoursing" until another term is offered - funny, we're doing through our exchanges what Gordon describes. (and in fact, in the same Mind, Culture, and Activity journal, the Walker/Nocon article on boundary crossing, as well as the Meacham article on Japanese English lessons also offer up multiple examples of what Gordon describes.)
i found the examples Gordon provided provided enough of a construct for me to see similar examples in my own fields of research - in particular one area in which i'm researching how teachers in an elementary school build professional expertise and community knowledge.
there is research out there that shows how teachers that build on one another's talk end up with stronger understandings and concensus. and in my experience, just watching almost any activity in which the primary mediation for shared understanding and learning is language, supports what Gordon is describing.
 
cool!
 
phillip
 
 
Phillip A. White, Lecturer
University of Colorado at Denver, Health Sciences Center
School of Education, Human Development
Teacher Education

_______________________________________________
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca