I admit it. I admit that reading comprehension is something I struggle with. With the close reading assignment this week, I felt myself continually frustrated. It could be that the reading is highly philosophical. It could also be that I was asked to do something I don’t naturally do when I read. I am used to highlighting to remember concepts and making comments on the side, but add anything more to that and my structured brain spins a bit. It also is frustrating because I am unsure if I am even close to correct on what I am doing. On the other hand, is there an official correct way all the time? This is all part of my learning. I read and I annotated. I shared my document with others even though I am not sure myself or my annotation skills.
This week for Professor Jeff Heil’s EDL630 class we read an excerpts from Lave and Wegner’s book called Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives). I was amazed how relevant their writing is since it was published in 1991. Its’ contents reminded me about Thomas and Brown’s thoughts on learning within the collective. Lave and Wegner (1991) state that there is a “growing use value of participants, and by newcomers’ desires to become full practitioners.” This made me wonder if newcomers to a learning community are validated as they participate on the periphery. They will eventually become part of the core group of learners and no longer be on the outskirts. Does that also mean that individuals can peek into a community of learning without fully committing? Can a person decide to leave the group? Is the group transient?
Does it take a mind shift to fully participate in these communities of learning? I wonder about this because Lave and Wenger discuss learning as being social and engaging in a process. At the beginning of EDL630 with Professor Heil, I was definitely less social in my own learning process. I was hesitant and unsure. I wanted to possess and hold on to my own work and my own learning. I could not see the benefits of being a socially engaged learner. Now, after about thirteen weeks, I regularly post and participate in conversations on Twitter. I share about my students, my own teaching experience, and learn about apps and tools I never even knew existed. My website has allowed me to be transparent and open about my own learning instead of giving it to one instructor. You may ask, “Is it scary?” I’d have to say that some of the social participation is challenging for me. I like to think of it as baby steps (Ever seen the movie “What about Bob?”). I appreciate and am thankful Jeff has encouraged me to take those baby steps. It’s only after weeks of doing so that I really understand and feel like I am reaping the benefits.
One final note - I have a lot of metacognitive comments that I constructed during my reading of excerpts from Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. You can view those comments by clicking on the link below.
This week for Professor Jeff Heil’s EDL630 class we read an excerpts from Lave and Wegner’s book called Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives). I was amazed how relevant their writing is since it was published in 1991. Its’ contents reminded me about Thomas and Brown’s thoughts on learning within the collective. Lave and Wegner (1991) state that there is a “growing use value of participants, and by newcomers’ desires to become full practitioners.” This made me wonder if newcomers to a learning community are validated as they participate on the periphery. They will eventually become part of the core group of learners and no longer be on the outskirts. Does that also mean that individuals can peek into a community of learning without fully committing? Can a person decide to leave the group? Is the group transient?
Does it take a mind shift to fully participate in these communities of learning? I wonder about this because Lave and Wenger discuss learning as being social and engaging in a process. At the beginning of EDL630 with Professor Heil, I was definitely less social in my own learning process. I was hesitant and unsure. I wanted to possess and hold on to my own work and my own learning. I could not see the benefits of being a socially engaged learner. Now, after about thirteen weeks, I regularly post and participate in conversations on Twitter. I share about my students, my own teaching experience, and learn about apps and tools I never even knew existed. My website has allowed me to be transparent and open about my own learning instead of giving it to one instructor. You may ask, “Is it scary?” I’d have to say that some of the social participation is challenging for me. I like to think of it as baby steps (Ever seen the movie “What about Bob?”). I appreciate and am thankful Jeff has encouraged me to take those baby steps. It’s only after weeks of doing so that I really understand and feel like I am reaping the benefits.
One final note - I have a lot of metacognitive comments that I constructed during my reading of excerpts from Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. You can view those comments by clicking on the link below.
References
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation (Learning in doing: Social, cognitive, and computational perspectives). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Williams, B. & Ziskin, L. (Producers), & Oz, Frank (Director). (1991). What about Bob? [Motion picture]. USA: Touchstone Pictures.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation (Learning in doing: Social, cognitive, and computational perspectives). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Williams, B. & Ziskin, L. (Producers), & Oz, Frank (Director). (1991). What about Bob? [Motion picture]. USA: Touchstone Pictures.