Mike Cole asked:
"David-- In your reply to Tina, I was wondering what the enculturation/
deliberate instruction contrast has in common, or not, with the Vygotskian
notion of everyday and scientific concepts. My colleague, Margie Gallego,
has been wondering in what ways everyday concepts might promote
transformations
in scientific concepts -- her interpretation being that Vygotsky treats
scientific concepts as transformers of everyday, but perhaps not the other
way around."
Mike,
Sorry if I was unclear in my previous post. I mean to contrast learning
that is supported by the deliberate intentions of instruction, from
inadvertent learning that ensues from instruction but is not specifically
supported by it. Enculturation can be deliberately fostered in a classroom
community structured for that purpose, or it can happen inadvertently, for
instance in a classroom set up to promote conceptual learning. The reverse
is also true, conceptual learning can be inadvertent in a classroom set up
to promote enculturation. The point of highlighting this is that very
different principles go into designing instruction toward these different
forms of learning. If one aims instruction toward both conceptual and
enculturationist goals, one needs to expect to encounter node points at
which priorities need to be set with one of these agendas winning out at
the expense of the other. Thus crossdisciplinarity is different from other
theorizations of pedagogy in which "good teaching" is reified as a unitary
construct or goal.
The question Margie is pursuing is a fascinating one, but I'm not sure the
deliberate/inadvertent distinction I'm making is relevant. I'll ponder some
more.
David
_____________________
David Kirshner
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge LA 70803-4728
(225) 578-2332 (225) 578-9135 (fax)
dkirsh@lsu.edu
http://www.ednet.lsu.edu/tango3/coedirectory.taf?
_function=detail&Faculty_uid1=135&Users_uid2=135&_UserReference=59F4B47FBE3415E138CD68B2
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