Re: [xmca] spontaneous concepts indeed

[Martin Packer <packer@duq.edu>]

Anthony, and Temple,

Mind, Culture and Activity has a special issue in preparation, guest edited by Yrjö Engestrom and Annalisa Sannino, titled 'Concept formation in the wild.' I know that some of the people who have sent in abstracts for manuscripts to be considered for that issue are xmca members. Perhaps they would like to take a shot at answering your question.

Martin

On Apr 26, 2011, at 6:24 AM, Temple wrote:

> I realize some time's gone by, but the question Jody's (Joanne's) post from last week raises for me is this:
> 
> Can scientific concepts develop in non-structured learning settings?  I mean those other than schooling, team play, church, work, etc.  How about from being online a lot - just surfing, playing games, or reading blogs - or from spending one's time at the library or bookstore alone? 
> 
> It seems to me that such scenarios blur the lines between spontaneous and scientific situations, so to speak.  That is, they are natural, everyday activities that lend themselves to repetition and reflective thinking and naming, where the structure of the activity itself (as opposed to a more experienced mentor) spurs on one's reflection, generalization, and "scientification" of knowledge.
> 
> The following statement from Jody's (post sent my thoughts in this direction:
>> In home schooling described by Holt, certain scientific concepts could be learned by a child at home, driven by their loves and needs.
> 
> Could someone point me specifically towards a richer discussion of the development of scientific concepts during one's everyday "alone time"?
> 
> Thx,
> 
> Anthony
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Apr 22, 2011, at 7:32 AM, Joanne Hyatt <jody.hyatt@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm only a grad student, but I'll risk a spontaneous response.
>> 
>> In 1991 I had no background in education other than my own experiences.
>> However, compelled by circumstance, I home schooled my fourth grader. My
>> main thought at the time was, "Even if he only reads at home for a year,
>> he'll be better off than attending the school he is destined to be bussed
>> to." My pedagogy was inspired by John Holt's magazine "Unschooling", a
>> publication edited by Holt and filled with inspiring stories from families
>> following Holt's theories.
>> 
>> I loved overseeing school at home, and my son and later my daughter thrived
>> there. However, try as I might, it was exceptionally hard to shift or impact
>> the approach my children took to schooling. They were already hopelessly
>> brainwashed by their few years of traditional schooling. While I hoped
>> they'd want to build a ham radio and communicate with 10-year-olds in
>> Australia, they'd see a workbook in the supermarket and ask me to buy it for
>> them. Also, years later, when I became a 4th grade teacher, I found it
>> impossible to create at school the environment I strove to create in my
>> home.
>> 
>> Clark Aldrich, in the link Peter supplied, is a breath of fresh air, a more
>> modern and insightful 'Holt'. He is spot on in his diagnosis of traditional
>> schooling's failings and offers compelling reasons try a new approach at
>> home. However, to unschool properly, in my opinion, required a tremendous
>> amount of work on the part of parents. Today, in my community, more and more
>> parents are choosing to home school, mostly out of desperation and
>> frustration with the school systems, but they lack the time and energy to
>> follow up on Aldrich's compelling implications of what might compromise
>> unschooling.
>> 
>> I just finished reading Vygotsky's Thinking and Speech. Admittedly a novice,
>> as I read, I kept looking for more references to a child's learning from
>> their own experiences. Vygotsky's notion of scientific and everyday concepts
>> seemed defined more by an instructional pedagogy than by content. He seemed
>> to discount the idea that a child could develop an interest and pursue it
>> successfully on their own.  He refers to formal schooling, as he knows it,
>> as a given, an unchanging institution, and the trick is to figure out how
>> children are developing there. The concept that many children might learn
>> outside of such an institution in different ways was absent.  "Schools are
>> teaching too many children too many things that don’t excite them and have
>> no relevance to what they need or love... says Aldrich." In home schooling
>> described by Holt, certain scientific concepts could be learned by a child
>> at home, driven by their loves and needs.
>> 
>> It seems that today we are trying to reinvent the institution of formal
>> schooling; how would that affect both Vygotsky's teacher or expert in the
>> ZPD as well as his distinction between scientific and everyday concepts?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 6:04 AM, Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu> wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/04/22/unschooling-homeschooling-
>>> without-the-school/?cxntfid=blogs_get_schooled_blog
>>> 
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