Tell me and I will forget,Show me and I may remember,Involve me and I will understand.

Situated LearningLegitimate peripheral participation

Lave & Wagner, 1991

Goal of this bookRescue the idea of apprenticeshipRemove the stereotypes associated with apprenticeship.

Ch. 1A little historyHow do we get from apprenticeship to legitimate peripheral participation?Apprenticeship implies situated learningGeneral knowledge and when/where to use it.Situated learning leads to legitimate peripheral participation Learning is not merely situated in practice, it is integral to the generative social practice.

Dont attack the schools!Attack = badWe do not talk here about schools in any substantial way, nor explore what our work has to say about schooling. [39]Poke and jab = okwe are persuaded that rethinking schooling from the perspective afforded by legitimate peripheral participation will be a fruitful exercise.[41]

Ch. 2Practice, Person, Social WorldMost theories of learning only focus on the personAnalysis and instruction are driven by knowledge domains and constrained by assimilation and acquisition mechanisms.Legitimate peripheral participationLearning is not merely a condition for membership, but is an evolving form of membership.[53]Relations between persons, place, and participation in communities of practice.

Ch. 3Examples of apprenticeshipMidwivesTailorsQuartermastersButchersNondrinking Alcoholics

Examples of apprenticeship (contd)Why?Provide historically and culturally specific examples to show legitimate peripheral participationHistoryTechnologyDeveloping work activityCareersRelations between newcomers and old-timers and newcomers/newcomers and old-timers/old-timers

Apprenticeship misconceptionsYeah, I know what youre thinking. A master/apprentice blacksmith in feudal Europe.Narrow definition due to functionalist and Marxist views of educational progress Treated like a historical objectToday, learning in the form of apprenticeship occurs when high levels of knowledge and skill are in demand.

Yucatec MidwivesInformal, familyTeaching is not central to the midwives or to learningApprenticeship happens as a way of, and in the course of, daily life.Telling stories, etc.

Vai and Gola Tailors (W. Africa)More formal learning than midwivesLearn skills in a backward order1. Learn to sew, press clothes2. Learn to cut3. Learn to measure

Naval QuartermastersVery formal, go to schoolSchool teaches terminology and conceptsNo real experienceProblem: Can pick up bad habitsOn the job trainingLearn general tasks firstLearn specific tasks last

Meat CuttersFormal, school and on the job trainingIn schoolLearn skills easy to teach in classroom, but not used in supermarketWholesale cutsSharpening knivesApprentices placed in most needed position, and may never leave.Position at work doesnt allow apprentices to watch others and learn, or be watched.

Nondrinking AlcoholicsSeveral AA meetings a week with near-peers and adepts.Old-timers tell storiesSmaller discussion meetingsNewcomers gradually become old-timers* Personal stories are told to provide a model of alcoholism. Newcomers arent told how to tell their stories, but most learn how.Exposed to modelsInteraction

Ch. 4In Communities of PracticeGoals:Discuss the structuring of resources that shape the process and content of learning possibilities and apprentices changing perspectives on what is known and done.[91]How do they learn this stuff?How is identity and motivation generated as newcomers become old-timers?

In Communities of Practice:Structuring Resources for Learning in PracticeMaster-apprentice relation isnt what defines a newcomer in all casesMidwives, tailors, nondrinking alcoholicsIn all cases, there is little observable teaching, the more basic phenomenon is learning.[91]Community creates the curriculumLearners, as peripheral participants, can develop a view of what the whole enterprise is about, and what is to be learned.[93]

In Communities of Practice:Structuring Resources for Learning in Practice (contd)Apprentices learn mostly in relation with other apprenticesMust decenter common notions of masteryMastery resides not in the master but in the organization of the community of practice of which master is part.[94]This moves focus from teaching to learning.

In Communities of Practice:The Place of Knowledge: Participation, Learning Curricula, Communities of Practice.Apprentices gradually assemble a general idea of what constitutes the practice of the communityWho is involvedWhat they doWhat everyday life is likeHow masters talk, walk, workWhat other learners are doingCommunity offers exemplars (grounds and motivation for learning)MastersFinished productsMore advanced apprentices

In Communities of Practice:The Place of Knowledge: Participation, Learning Curricula, Communities of Practice. (contd)Two types of schoolingLearning curriculumSituated opportunities for the improvisational development of new practiceA field of learning resources in everyday practice viewed from the perspective of learners.Teaching curriculumConstructed for the instruction of newcomersSupplies (and thereby limits) structuring resources for learning.

In Communities of Practice:The Place of Knowledge: Participation, Learning Curricula, Communities of Practice. (contd)Learning curriculum is characteristic of a community. It assumes membersHave different interestsMake diverse contributions to activityHold varied viewpoints

In Communities of Practice:The Problem of Access: Transparency and SequestrationTo become a full member of a community of practice requires access to a wide range of Ongoing activityOld-timersCould virtual agents be considered old-timers?Other members of the communityInfo, resources, and opportunities for participationTransparency: when a learner understands the inner workings of a black box resource and understands its significance for use.

In Communities of Practice:The Problem of Access: Transparency and Sequestration (contd)Communities of practice sequester newcomersReproductive cycle birth of newcomer, not babySchoolchildren are legitimately peripheral, but kept from participation in the social world

In Communities of Practice:Discourse and PracticeLearning to talk the tradeDifference between talking about a practice from outside and talking within it.Stories are importantLearning is supported by conversations and stories about problematic and difficult casesTechnician war storyTelling the story is a tool of diagnosis and reinterpretation

In Communities of Practice:Motivation and Identity: Effects of ParticipationNewcomers initial tasks areShort and simpleLow cost of errorsLittle responsibilityNot a lot of time involvedDistinction between play and work is fuzzyIntrinsic rewards shouldnt be used. The value of contribution to the community is the reward

In Communities of Practice:Motivation and Identity: Effects of Participation (contd)Schools dont do this (initial tasks)ConsequencesIdentity of learners becomes an explicit object of change, instead of view of self as object.[112]Exchange value replaces use valueTest taking takes over (parasitic practice)No cultural identity of the activityNo field of mature practice for what is being learnedAnother note. Current analyses of schoolsAssumes teacher and pupil share the goal of the main activity

Ch. 5ConclusionLegitimate peripheral participationMoves in a centripetal directionMotivated byLocation in a field of mature practiceGrowing use value of participationNewcomers desires to become full practitionersRemember the penguins!

ReferenceLave, J. and Wenger, E. (1999). Situated Learning. Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.

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