Learning While Learning

            A year has passed since I began my journey through the lifelong learning program.  In a year, my vocabulary has drastically changed, my writing has improved, and my newfound ability to reflect has allowed me to approach the way I accomplish tasks, both personally and professionally, in various ways.   Each course has given me new perspectives to reflect on why something is done a certain way and why it should be changed. 

My vision for design contexts included the opportunity to utilize the theories and information I have learned to date and implement it in a variety of settings.  I viewed this course as a tool to further understand how the wealth of information I was gaining through the lifelong learning program could be utilized in everyday life.  The course was successful in fulfilling my vision.

I would argue that I had the opportunity to learn while learning.  This theory is based on my experience with our group project.  As someone who has limited experience fostering an adult learning environment, I not only look to these courses to learn theories, but I thrive on the opportunity to learn from my classmates as well.  Their everyday experiences they share in the classroom and how they relate to the course work is another avenue to learn and this course was no different.

Working with a junior high school teacher and healthcare administrator gave me invaluable insights into the implementation of the scientific management approach to course design.   Both were able to share real life experiences where they utilized the approach.   Some were positive and some were negative.  They were also able to provide additional scientific approaches that were utilized as part of our wikis.  For example, we worked through Hanley’s use of instructional design to develop objectives for our workshop.  Hanley, being a required reading, was a new author we were able to learn from due to the course work.  Additionally, I was able to learn the benefits of the S.M.A.R.T. goal analysis.  This was the result of our healthcare administrator providing insights on how the approach was used with her employer and her experiences with it.

Our junior high school teacher also utilized her experiences to caution us on the negative aspect of the scientific management approach.  The rigidity of the approach has frustrated her at times.  She is only able to evaluate her students on the predetermined outcomes and illustrates this approach using report cards as an example.  It is dictated to her that she can only comment and grade on the predetermined outcomes designed by the department of education.  She must also choose her comments for the cards from a database.  No personal touches what so ever!!  Therefore, she cannot elaborate on where a child may be struggling or excelling unless it meets the government’s criteria.  Parent teacher is the only communication tool she has available to her to further elaborate to parents on the development of their child.  These real life examples gave me additional validation that there is still a need for the scientific management approach.  They also provided insight into the need for the acknowledgement of power issues in program design and the theories of Cervero and Wilson.

Cervero and Wilson and their theories were new to everyone in the group.  While we have thought about power issues in one form or another in various settings, we now had authors and theories to back up our opinions.  As the group member responsible for the Cervero and Wilson content portion of our wiki, I set out to relate their theories to our vignette, but to real life examples as well.   I utilized this approach in order to gain a better understanding of the importance of power, interests and negotiation in program design.

The content of a successful adult education program incorporates the interests of all the affected stakeholders.  In order to accomplish this, planners must negotiate through and with the power and interests of all of the program’s stakeholders. Cervero and Wilson (1996) state,

Planning is always conducted within a complex set of
personal and organizational power relationships among
people who may have similar, different, or conflicting
interests regarding the program. (p 11)

Ultimately, they argue that it is through the intersection of the planners’ and other stakeholders’ interests and not the technical application of planning principles that result in the emergence of an educational program (Cervero & Wilson, 1996).

            After reflecting on the design of our wiki, I believe our group is an example of Cervero and Wilson’s theories on the use of power and negotiating stakeholders’ interests.  Our wiki was our planning table.  While we each had our own individual piece to work on, we continually came together to discuss each aspect of the wiki and negotiate where and why changes should be made.  We even negotiated which pictures of television “doctors” we should use in our presentation to represent our fictitious ones.  I’m still bitter we did not use Dr. Oz to represent our oldest doctor, but apparently he was too “young” looking.....I’ll get over it! 

            Our scientific management approach was designed without even considering the vignette and the development of our learners and affected public.  This approach was also used by the other groups.  This shows us how easily power relationships can affect the design of a program.   The dominant power was able to utilize their power to ensure only their interests were met by not including the other stakeholders (in these instance group members) in the planning process. 

Utilizing Cervero and Wilson’s theories also led our group to a final recommendation on a program based on our vignette.  Our wiki provided a planning table in which we could all post our ideas on what should be included in our educational program.  It allowed us to post potential content and evaluation opportunities based on the interests of all the stakeholders  Although only one group member took the lead in writing the final recommended program, we were able to negotiate what that program should contain and what ideas would be used.  We were learning negotiation skills by negotiating with each other on the content and design of our group project. 

This course also provided me with the insight that the proper use of power in program design allows for the successful use of Wenger’s theories of communities of practice in adult education program design.  A community of practice approach ensures that the interests of the learners are included in the design of an educational program. Members of a community of practice can easily come together at a planning table and negotiate the development of an educational program.

Wenger’s theory of negotiability played a role in our own community of practice.  Wenger (1998) states that, “Negotiability refers to the ability, facility, and legitimacy to contribute to, take reasonability for, and shape the meanings that matter within a social configuration” (p 197).  By having a seat at our own planning table, we envisioned ourselves as doctors, and brainstormed ideas that lead to the content and interventions that were relatable to a community of practice based approach to learning.  Due to the social nature of learning in a community of practice, we wanted our doctors’ learning to include learning activities ranging from informal dinners to providing patient workshops in their local towns.  This allowed our doctors to have the ability to contribute to how their learning would occur and ultimately transform and improve their abilities to communicate with their patients as a result of their own meanings of negotiating learning.

This course provided an excellent example of the use of a community of practice approach to learning.  The course syllabus and instructions and lecturing by the professor could be classified as the reification for the course.  While the use of class discussions, group work and presentations and reflection piece would be classified as the participation aspect of the community of practice.  As a result of this opportunity, each member (student) was given the ability to negotiate their own meaning of the learning the content they were provided in this course.  Through learning about the theories and authors associated with this course, we were able participate in designing a program as a community of practice, while uncovering other authors and theories that we were able to relate to the reified course content.

At work, this past Monday, I convened a group of fellow employees together over our lunch hour to discuss how we wanted to approach designing and implementing a fundraising event.  We discussed options and negotiated a two part fundraiser that would span over a couple of weeks.  We presented it to our boss and she approved it without hesitation complementing us on our proactive approach to organizing the plan as a group.  As a community of practice, we learned to negotiate our ideas and interests into a mutually acceptable joint enterprise utilising a scientific approach of defining our objectives.  Our course theories at work!  I was able to learn how to implement our course work into my everyday life, while learning how to negotiate with my co-workers. 

Once again, I was learning, while learning.  This course has provided me frameworks to reflect on, negotiate, design and implement successful forms of educational programs in various settings.

References

Hanley, M. (n.d.) Discovering Instruction Deisgn, Part 1 E-Learning Curve Blog. Retrieved May 30, 2011, from http://michaelhanley.ie/elearningcurve/discovering-instructional-design-6-developing-objectives/2009/05/28/

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1^st ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Wilson, A.L. & Cervero, R.M. (1996). Paying attention to the people work when planning educational programs for adults. New directions for adult and continuing education. 1996(69), 5-13.

Wilson, A.L., & Cervero, R.M. (1996). Learning from practice: Learning to see what matters in program planning. New directions for adult and continuing education. 1996 (69), 91-99.

Picking Favourites

           Who was your favourite teacher in elementary school?  High school?  University?  After reading Bracher’s chapters on identity-undermining pedagogies, I have been reflecting on the impact my teachers have had on my identity throughout my learning journey.

            Bracher (2006) highlights four forms of pedagogies that students encounter that can have an effect on their identity.  They include authoritarian, establishment, resistance (hysteric) and empowerment (critical).  He lists the most common form as the authoritarian pedagogy.  This pedagogy involves the teacher imposing his identity bearing-signifiers onto his students and seeks out validation and recognition from these students for that identity.  Bracher (2006) states,

                        Authoritarian pedagogy engages students’ desire for recognition

by promising that if they can successfully embody the authority’s

ideals, values, desires, or enjoyments, they will merit recognition

and validation by that authority or its avatars. (p.87)

Therefore, students’ personal identities are not a priority.  Instead, they must strive to embody the ideals and values of the teacher in order to obtain the necessary recognition to be successful in that classroom. 

I can recall several instances, in several different classrooms, where my peers and I completed assignments based solely on the argument that this is how the teacher will want it.  We understood the identity of the teacher and copied the values and ideals of it in order to please the teacher and ultimately gain identity recognition of our own.   Bracher (2006) comments,

            What the teacher desires above all is the recognition and

validation of this identity, which the teacher may present

explicitly, in the form of concepts, or implicitly, as embodied

in certain writers, characters, or the teacher himself. (p.85)

 Instead of expressing our opinions and individuality, we wanted to ensure we received a good grade. We suppressed our own identities in favour of the teacher’s as the validation of a good grade was more important than expressing and reflecting upon ourselves.  Is this an effective strategy to ensure the development of students?

Bracher (2006) does make the argument that this pedagogy can be beneficial when the authority figure in question embraces values such as love and peace.  He utilizes Ghandi and Jesus as positive examples.  The argument is also made that this type of learning is essential during the early stages in life when young infants and toddlers must be taught how and when not to do certain things (Bracher, 2006). 

This argument must be taken into consideration as it complements Tomasello’s theory on instructive learning.  Tomasello (1999) lists instructive learning as a form of learning that allows children to learn from other humans certain abilities that are necessary in order to eventually participate in their cultures.  If there are no authoritative figures available to teach us how to complete certain tasks, our own well-being may come into question.  As discussed in class, potty training could become difficult if there is no one to properly instruct you and recognize your accomplishment and ultimately this new part of your identity.

The authoritarian pedagogy does have a role in our learning journey, but should not be the sole dynamic we always encounter.  I believe if students continually come across this pedagogy, they will only utilize a surface learning approach.  This approach to learning will enable them to only learn and memorise what they need to know in order to be recognized by their teacher by validating the teacher’s ideals (Moon, 2004).  They will not learn how to reflect on how this new information can impact their own identities. 

 A case can be made that all of Bracher’s listed pedagogies could be of benefit to encounter in some form as we move through different learning settings.  Bracher (2006) argues that the empowerment or critical pedagogy is the most beneficial one for students. “The aim is not to change students in any particular way but rather to provide them with the opportunities and resources to change and develop according to their own identity needs” (Bracher, 2006, p 103).

I believe that the Lifelong Learning program is a successful example of the critical pedagogy at work.  The students of the program all have diverse backgrounds and we are able to utilize our unique identities to relate to the theory we are taught in the classroom.  We are encouraged to take what we are learning in the program and apply it to our dealings in everyday life, whether it is in our households or on the job.  Our professors encourage us to provide our opinions on the subject matter in both formal and informal practices including reflective papers and classroom discussions.  We are recognized and validated for both positive and negative arguments about our required readings, and often encouraged to reflect and explain further when the opinion is different from that of the professors.

This appreciation for varying opinions is at the heart of Bracher’s critical pedagogy as it encourages students to reflect on how this information can benefit our identities.  It gives us, as students, a sense of worth and understanding that our values and ideals are recognized.  Ultimately, our identity is recognized and we are entitled to thrive and learn as ourselves.

So, this leads me back to my first question........Who is your favourite teacher?  Like many of us, I believe my learning journey is not ending anytime soon.  Throughout this journey, I have been affected by several teachers who have and continue to have a positive influence on my identity.   After much reflection and now better understanding of pedagogical strategies, I believe the answer is................. To Be Determined. 

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation. New

York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Moon, J. (2004). Using reflective learning to improve the impact of short courses and workshops. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. 24(1), 4-11.

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Fishing for Identity

             Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is my hometown.  As a proud Bluenoser, I grew up with an appreciation for the sea and the economic opportunities it provided to many in that small town.  Whether it was fishing or processing scallops, cod fish or lobsters, many men and women in the area supported their families by working in this industry. 

Today, this once flourishing industry is no longer the backbone of this town’s economy.  In fact, this past month, the largest fishing industry employer in the town announced that they were putting up for sale one of the two remaining freezer trawlers in their fleet that is utilized to fish scallops.  This potential sale could result in the loss of many jobs for local residents.

This could be another blow to a community that in the late 80s and 90s saw a staggering job loss that left many people unemployed with no transferable skills as many in the industry did not have a lot of education past high school.  Some would argue that many did not even complete high school as it was not a necessity to work in the industry and the job opportunities at the time were plentiful.  My Dad often tells stories of friends, who if they did not feel like going to school, would walk down to the wharf to see if a boat was leaving.  If the Captain was looking for crew members, it was not unusual for that person to hop on board and ask a wharf worker to let his parent’s know he would be back in a couple of weeks.  Education was not part of the identities of these people.

The past and current issues for those affected by the fall of the fishing industry came to mind in our discussion of Bracher and identity.  During our most recent class, we discussed that learning is shaped by motivations to keep our particular type of identity.  My thoughts remained with these fisherman who were now unemployed in the late 80s and 90s.  At the time, the government offered retraining programs that would provide these men with skills to start a new career in another industry.  Many struggled with this process.  After reflecting on Bracher and applying it to this scenario, I believe that identity played a major role in these men’s hesitation and boycott against these government programs. 

            Bracher (2006) defines identity as “... one’s sense of oneself and, more comprehensively, the sense of oneself as a force that matters in the world” (p 6).  Many of these fishermen no longer felt that they mattered.  Fishing, for many of them, was one of the sole ways they defined themselves and also put bread on their family’s table.  If they could no longer participate in a role that made up a large part of their identity, do they have a place in this world?

            I believe that many of these men had similar identity-bearing signifiers.  I would argue that some of them would be - Fisherman, Bread Winner, Rugged, Manly.  “These identity-bearing signifiers embody socially valued ideals and attributes that we strive either to enact or to avoid embodying in our behaviour” (Bracher, 2006, p 17).  These men did everything in their power to ensure that they were able to maintain these signifiers.  This included avoiding learning opportunities, such as the government retraining programs, that potentially could have assisted them in maintaining signifiers such as bread winner.

            Bracher (2006) states that, “Learning and the failure to learn are often at least partially motivated by the need to maintain one’s identity-bearing signifiers” (p 18).  This argument holds true in regards to the fishermen.  Learning to work in a new industry meant that they potentially would be losing a part of their identity (identity-bearing signifier).  For example, working in the tourism industry meant to some that they would no longer be working in a manly role.  For several of these men, this lead to a failure and opportunity to learn as they refused to participate in a retraining program.  This failure to learn stood in their way of maintaining some of their other identity-bearing signifiers such as bread winner as they lost out on an opportunity to provide a potential stable income for their families.

            Many of these fishermen also did not identify as being educated due to their lack of post secondary and in many cases high school education.  This also threatened their use of the retraining programs as they did not identify as someone who could take advantage of an educational opportunity due to their lack of success in a classroom.

            As adult educators we must be aware of the impact of identity for our students.  Bracher (2006) comments that, “A major problem for educators is thus how to help students protect their threatened identities in ways other than resisting the identity threatening knowledge” (p 25).  I believe this involves communication on all parts including overcoming stereotypes.  Some of the fisherman may have been more open to the idea of retraining if they fully understood how their identity as a fisherman could be utilized in the tourism industry. 

            Successful transitions into the tourism industry included a former lobster fisherman who now operates a successful whale watching business.  Additionally, some fishermen who were close to retirement chose to retire and work part time at the museum delivering presentations on the history of the fishing industry to tourists and school children.  These are just some of the examples of how learning opportunities can be utilized to assist adults in maintaining their identity-bearing signifiers in alternate settings.

            Lunenburg has transitioned into a tourist destination.  While industry still plays a part in the town, tourism is now its backbone.   For those who choose to live in the area and work in a declining industry, they must be prepared to learn to change their identity if it ensures they are able to maintain their desired lifestyle and identity.

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation. New

York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Officer Hanson’s Experiences

           Crash was an excellent movie that depicted the interaction of members of various communities of practice and the effects they have on each other.  After watching the movie in class and reflecting on the impact of communities of practice in the movie, my mind continued to wander to Ryan Phillippe’s character of Officer Tom Hansen and his experiences. 

In the beginning of the film Matt Dillon’s racist cop character, Officer John Ryan, warned Officer Hansen that he had yet to find out who he really was and how we would react to certain situations.  When you consider this conversation within a community of practice, Officer Ryan could be seen as the master warning the apprentice that he has yet to fully establish his identity within their community of practice due to his lack of experience.

            Wenger (1999) states,

                        An identity, then, is a layering of events of participation and

reification by which our experience and its social interpretation

inform each other.  As we encounter our effects on the world and

develop our relations with others, these layers build upon each

other to produce our identity as a very complex interweaving of

participative experience and reificative projections (p.151)

Based on Wenger’s definition of identity in communities of practice, I can understand Officer Ryan’s advice to Officer Hansen.  As an apprentice in his community, he has yet to fully engage in participating in facets of what a police officer does as part of his duties.  As well, he has not had the time to experience and utilize all the various forms of reification that allows him to operate in the culture and geographic community he serves.  Until he has the 17 years of experience that Officer Ryan has accumulated, who is he to pass judgement based solely on observing one experience.

            Officer Hanson’s interaction with his Lieutenant also provides an example of the importance of tacit knowledge within a community of practice.  He approaches his supervisor to request a transfer as he no longer wants to partner with Officer Ryan due to his racist and inappropriate actions.  His Lieutenant provided Officer Hanson the options to make his transfer happen, along with warnings of what the repercussions could be if he approached his request in a certain way. 

            Based on his previous experiences, the Lieutenant recommended an avenue in which Officer Hanson would receive an approval for his transfer without causing unnecessary issues for the Lieutenant and Officer Ryan.  While this was a very selfish act on the part of the Lieutenant, he is providing a learning opportunity for Officer Hanson that he would not have the opportunity to learn from through the normal structures of participation and reification of the community of practice. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzdmSL-i8gg&feature=related
This link will take you to a youtube video of CRASH.  Forward to the 4:42 mark to review the scene between Officer Hanson and the Lieutenant

            I believe that Officer Hanson also experienced issues with boundaries as a result of being a member of a community of practice of police officers.  Wenger (1999) comments that,

                        In a world complexly structured by interlocked communities

of practice, we are constantly passing boundaries – catching,

as we peek into foreign chambers, glimpses of other realities

and meanings; touching, as we pass by outlandish arrangements,

objects of distant values; learning, as we coordinate our actions

across boundaries, to live with decisions we have not made.  Not

all that we encounter becomes significant and not all that we meet

carries our touch; yet these events can all contribute in their own

ways to our experience of identity (p.165)

As a result of his membership as a police officer, I believe he had issues participating in the realities of other communities of practice that he came into contact and communicated with throughout the movie.

            An example of his boundary issues can be identified in his interaction with one of the car jackers he picks up hitch hiking at the end of the film.  He assumed the worst about this person due to his membership in a community of practice as a police officer.  When the car jacker went for his pocket he assumed he was reaching for a gun.  Instead, the car jacker wanted to identify with Officer Hanson as a member of another community of practice of safe travelers with the statue of Saint Christopher. 

Unfortunately, Officer Hanson shoots the car jacker as his instincts as a police officer kick in as he assumes the car jacker is reaching for a gun.  Due to his participation in a police officer community of practice, he developed a boundary that made him unable to fully relate with a member of another community of practice that he is passing through.  Wenger (1999) suggests that boundaries are not only used to keep out outsiders, but to keep insiders in.  

Officer Hanson’s interaction with the car jacker is an example of a boundary keeping an insider in the community of practice.  He solely refers to his experience as a police officer during his engagement with the car jacker and reacts accordingly.  He only identifies as a police officer in this instance and does not allow his memberships in any other communities of practice factor into his reactions and decision making in that moment.

This character is one of many characters in the movie that interact with several communities of practice.  Their experiences are based on their various memberships, along with the effects of culture, tools and artifacts of participation and reification.  Crash shows us how we identify ourselves and the boundaries we choose to keep affect our interactions within communities of practice.

References

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1^st ed.). New

York: Cambridge University Press.

Thank Goodness for Participation and Reification!

            Similar to my fellow bloggers out in cyberspace, I am a member of several communities of practice.  The most notable one that continuously pops into my head as I read Wenger is my membership into the community of practice at my workplace.  We constantly have to deal with new policy and product changes, along with staff turnover.  Some of you may question – “Does Lindsay work for a horrible organization?”  Absolutely not!  Yes, my job involves a high stress level at times and there is pressure to perform, but when you work hard, you reap rewards.  My recent trip to New York is a great example. 

I think anyone can relate to stressful times at work and at home.  I attribute much of our staff turnover to promotions both inside and outside the company.  As far as the policy and product changes are concerned, I may not always agree with them, but they are a part of my practice.  New government regulations and changes in the economy are always bringing changes to my practice.  As I read Wenger, I realize how important a role his processes of participation and reification play in this community of practice.

Wenger (1999) defines reification in various, yet similar ways.  According to Wenger, reification allows us to project ourselves onto the world and become organized in order to provide meaning within a community of practice.  Wenger states that reification is a, “...process of giving form to our experiences by producing objects that congeal this experience into ‘thingness’” (p 58).  

Within this community of practice, various forms of reification include the computer system we must utilize to process transactions and the strict lending guidelines and access to basic banking rules the federal government has outlined.  It is the numerous forms we must utilize with every transaction.  I can identify with Wenger’s Ariel and the forms she must use and the phone calls that interrupt a transaction you must terminate in order to deal with a phone call.      

            Without reification in the financial industry, there could be chaos in Canada’s economic system.  No policies and procedures, no government regulation and regulators mean that almost anyone could open a financial institution and determine how they can invest or lend money.  This is not a good idea!  The United States over the past few years is a prime example of how lack of regulation and reification can lead to disaster.  Due to the lack of government regulations and codes of conduct banks were expected to follow, financial institutions were being opened that did not have the backing of major financial institutions. 

When the economic problems hit, these institutions did not have the capital to sustain themselves or the mortgages they provided their customers.  Therefore, when the customers who could no longer pay when their interest rate increased, they defaulted their mortgage.  With no capital to cover the cost of the mortgage and pay back their investors, they default as well.  This issue was a huge contributing factor to the fall of the United States economy and why the Canadian government’s policies in mortgage financing continue to change.  I could write a blog alone on the recent changes to mortgage financing and how it has affected my community of practice.

Along with reification, participation is an important element of a community of practice.  Wenger (1999) describes participation as an action and connection, a source of mutual recognition between community of practice members.  Wenger states that, “...participation in social communities shapes our experience, and it also shapes those communities; the transformative potential goes both ways” (p. 56-57).  Participation involves taking the objects, tools and artifacts that result from reification and utilizing them within your community of practice.

Participation allows the community of practice masters to teach the apprentices how to work within their community of practice.  When Lave and Wenger’s (1991) strategy of legitimate peripheral participation is utilized, it allows for a transformative process to potentially occur within the practice.  Apprentices will be able to observe the master and learn the tacit knowledge of that master and others within the community.  Once the observation is complete, the apprentice will be able to apply their learned skills and potentially be able to provide new ways of completing tasks and utilizing tools and artifacts of reification.

Due to constant change within my community of practice participation is essential.  masters are constantly called upon to work with apprentices to pass on their knowledge.  When reification changes occur, participation is needed in order to implement the changes in a fashion that works for that specific environment. 

Every branch within a financial institution is different, especially in culture and the geographic area it serves.  How to implement a new procedure in a “big” city, may not work in a “small” town.  Through participation and community of practice member’s tacit knowledge, the implementation can be smoother as the members will have the knowledge in place to make this reification work in their area.  A recent change in mutual fund policies involves the branches having to reprint new account applications and have the customers sign them for accounts that were opened prior to the year 1998.  As a result, we implemented a rule that every time we meet with a mutual fund customer, we must pull their file prior to the appointment to verify if an account application is completed.

Participation and reification lead to the negotiation of meaning (Wenger, 1999).  These processes allow us to understand why we complete tasks the way we do within our community of practice.  The financial industry is an extreme example of the importance of these two processes and how they allow a community of practice to function properly.

References

Lave, J. And Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.

            Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press.

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1^st ed.). New

York: Cambridge University Press.

Acquisition Theory vs Situated Theory in Communities of Practice.... Implications in Lifelong Learning

Communities of practice can be found everywhere.  Everyone, when prompted, would be able to claim membership in several communities.  Learning is an extremely important aspect of these communities as it ensures the knowledge of these communities is continuously communicated to newcomers (apprentices) via the old timers (masters).  Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger write about two learning theories that are utilized in communities of practice that assist members in lifelong learning.  These theories are acquisition and situated learning theory.   

Lave and Wenger describe acquisition as more of an individual learning theory.  Everything is internalized and knowledge is not always shared between the old timers and the newcomers.  It is very task oriented where everyone learns a task that contributes to the completion of a project (the meat packers example in a grocery store is an example).  If a person only learns the one task and never has the opportunity to learn the whole cycle, they will never be able to become an old timer in their community of practice.

Situated theory is a more holistic approach to learning.  Lave and Wenger argue that it goes hand in hand with legitimate peripheral participation as newcomers have the opportunity to learn from the old timers.  “Legitimate peripheral participation provides a way to speak about the relations between newcomers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artifacts, and communities of knowledge and practice” (Lave and Wenger, 1991, 29).  It concerns the process by which newcomers become part of a community of practice. Newcomers learn about their community of practice through observation and implementation and are able to utilize their acquired knowledge in efforts to improve the practices and tools of the community. 

I recently had the opportunity to act as the old timer!  I spent several days at another branch in which I was assigned the opportunity to teach a new employee my role in the bank.  This opportunity began with the newcomer participating in what Lave and Wenger would consider acquisition theory.  She was responsible for completing several computer courses to familiar herself with information about the products, procedures and policies of the bank. 

This is a very much an internalized way of learning as they are solely learning on their own and not benefiting from the knowledge of their co-workers that surround them.  While this is a great way to familiarise yourself with the theory involved in working for this organization, until you get to put this knowledge into practice, you do not fully understand why you are expected to complete transactions and offer products in the ways that you encouraged to follow.

Lave and Wenger’s situated theory of learning in a legitimate peripheral participation environment is also utilized in this example and in my opinion is a much better way to learn in this particular community of practice.  During our time together, we began with her observing my customer interactions.  This included explanations from myself about why I performed a certain task or made a certain recommendation in particular situations.  This time also allowed her to ask questions and make references to concepts she learned during her acquisition of learning period.

After a brief period of observation, we agreed that she would begin to perform transactions while I observed.  Therefore, we moved into the next step in legitimate peripheral participation.  While hesitant at first, she eventually became comfortable interacting with customers and completing transactions, as she had the peace of mind I was by her side to provide guidance and answer questions as needed. 

Our time together consisted of putting the knowledge she had already gained into use.  As well, she was able to benefit from the tacit knowledge I had gained in my role as I was able to show her tips and techniques I had gained from working in the role and the knowledge I acquired from the old timers that took the time to assist me in my learning journey in this community of practice.  We were then able to reflect on transactions and how they can be improved next time, along with how she can perform the tasks in a way that works best for her.

We all participate in various communities of practice in both our personal and professional lives.  We take these opportunities to learn from old-timers how they are and are not successful and utilize this tacit knowledge to improve ourselves.  If we internalized all our knowledge, I believe this would lead to demoralized workplaces and uninspiring communities of practice, similar to Lave and Wenger’s examples of meat packers, in which only old timers reside and there are no opportunities for improvement or social interaction.

What are the implications for lifelong learning? Lave and Wenger show us that while both situated and acquisition learning are important forms of learning, situated learning theory is extremely important in communities of practice.   I believe situated learning allows newcomers to learn the required knowledge to perform their required tasks, along with the tacit knowledge from old timers that can assist them to perform these tasks in a more efficient manner. 

Situated learning through peripheral participation allows us to implement the knowledge we acquired through acquisition learning theory, instead of internalizing it.  Learning by performing the tasks allows us to understand why we are completing the task and how it affects our co-workers and the customers.  We are able to share what we have learned, which may lead to new techniques, tools and techniques that can enhance the abilities of those within the community of practice.

A community of practice can only benefit from the flow of new comers and old timers within its environment.  This allows for lifelong learning as new minds, mean fresh ideas and innovations which ensures the community of practice will always stay relevant.

References

Lave, J. And Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press.

My Cousin Scott

     My cousin Scott is autistic.  It took several years for him to get diagnosed, due to conflicting doctors and parents who had a hard time dealing with the diagnosis.  At the time, we did not know much about this disorder.  Why children are affected and what treatments are available?  To date, there are still debates in the medical field.  Although the argument that vaccinations play a role has been discredited, there are still many unanswered questions.

            The Autism Canada Foundation defines autism as, “a complex neurobiological condition...  It impacts normal brain development leaving most individuals with communication problems, difficulty with typical social interactions and a tendency to repeat specific patterns of behaviour” (www.autismcanada.org).  Scott would be considered a high functioning autistic child.  He is able to speak, but will not speak to you directly unless prompted.  As well, he will never make eye contact with you or look directly at you.  Considering forty percent of children afflicted with autism cannot speak (www.provincialautismcentre.ca), we are extremely grateful for the communication we are able to maintain with him.

            Scott continues to be in my thoughts as I read Tomasello’s book.  I feel this book is helping me better understand why Scott is unable to do some of the everyday things we take for granted.  Why he would prefer to sit by himself and line up my grandmother’s dolls in rows instead of playing games with the rest of the kids at family functions? 

            Tomasello states that at nine months of age, human infants begin to see others as intentional agents.  As a result, they are able to learn from others about their cultural heritage and take advantage of the cognitive skills and knowledge of these conspecifics. Autistic children are not able to comprehend that the people around them have intentional relations similar to their own.  They do not understand that these conspecifics have similar goals and could learn from them how to obtain these goals.  Autistic children live in their own world and some may never allow anyone else to enter that world. 

            Autistic children have problems with a variety of joint attentional skills which normally begin developing as an early age.  Tomasello states that they include imitative learning, engaging in symbolic play and learning and using linguistic symbols in communicatively appropriate ways.  Imitative learning, according to Tomasello, involves learning from and identifying with adults and their goal-oriented actions.  Understandably, if a child is not able to comprehend and identify with the actions of the conspecifics around them, they will never be able to communicate effectively that they understand them.  If a child cannot make eye contact, how will they ever understand the ability to follow someone’s gaze in search of an object or to make eye contact in order to catch someone’s attention?

Tomasello also believes that, “the difficulties of children with autism in understanding other persons as intentional agents leads to deficits in their symbolic skills...” (p.133).  As humans, we should be able to utilize our cognitive abilities to look at a situation from various perspectives which will help increase our vocabulary.  According to Tomasello, children with autism are unable to see the world through anyone else’s perspectives.    They will always approach a situation the same way.  It is this lack of perception that will limit an autistic child’s language capability and provides some insights into why many autistic children cannot speak.  A rose may only ever be a flower in Scott’s world and never a symbol of love and affection.

Along with Tomasello, I also agree that social and physical environments do play a role in the development of cognitive abilities as a child grows, whether they are affected with an issue such as autism or not.  Once again, images of Scott as a child flood my thoughts.  If he had been diagnosed earlier and had the advantage of special programs and tutors would he be more functional today?  Could he be more self sufficient and communicate more effectively in this “normal” world?  Was/Is there an issue with his home environment that contributed to his diagnosis?  Is there an unknown environmental issue with his living situation?  Is there technology available that may help him communicate more effectively?  Tomasello mentions that sign language has been an effective tool assisting autistic children communicate.  Could it work in this instance?  What kind of educational programs are available for autistic children and adults?

Unfortunately, we may never know the answers to these questions.  Scott’s family do not have the financial means to seek out these answers.  As well, they have never been willing to take financial help or research alternatives.  As a family member and someone who does not deal with this disorder every day, I must respect their decisions. 

            Scott recently turned sixteen.  He does go to school, but is in a special program and is never in a normal classroom environment.  He is obsessed with video games and NASCAR and is able to quote any major statistic on any professional NASCAR driver and the car they drive when asked.  At family functions, he prefers to sit alone with his laptop or DS playing video games.  He continues to be in his own world and does not make any attempt to socialize with others.  It is my hope that in the future, answers will be discovered and funding will be in place so educational programs will be available to assist those dealing with autism live as “normal” a life as possible.  We must look to examples of those who are overcoming this disorder such as Temple Grandin who are able to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

References

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Autism Canada Foundation    www.autismcanada.org

The Provincial Autism Centre     www.provincialautismcentre.ca