Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
This shift is also evident in other sociocultural approaches to education. An
increasingly influential framework that includes the study of within group varia-
tion, for example, Nasir and Cobb (2005), Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003), and Moll
and Gonzalez (2004) propose that, although the construct of culture is problematic,
people nonetheless “live culturally.” From this perspective, a key object of study
is the wide repertoire of sense-making practices that people participate in, particu-
larly in everyday contexts. Lee (1993, 1995, 2001) has used this approach for the
design of learning environments that leverage knowledge associated with every-
day experiences to support subject matter learning (in her case literacy practices).
From this framework, cultural practices can also be seen as providing alternative
“perspectives” on epistemologies. This understanding of culture implies that there
is no cultureless or “neutral” perspective any more than a photograph or painting
could be without perspective. In this sense, everything is cultured (Rogoff, 2003),
including the ways schools are organized and education is implemented (Warren,
Ballenger, Ogonowski, Rosebery, & Hudicourt-Barnes, 2001; Lipka, 1998), layout
of museums (Bitgood, 1993; Duensing, 2006), scientific practices, and the practices
associated with teaching science in school (Warren & Rosebery, 2004). Sometimes
these perspectives are explicit but they are often implicit in practices and symbols.
This framework is highly relevant to both formal and informal science learning
contexts. Ballenger and Rosebery (2003) note that educators often hold stereotyped
notions of what counts as scientific reasoning and privilege a subset of sense-making
practices at the expense of others. For example, scientists regularly use visual and
discursive resources whereby they place themselves in physical events and processes
to explore the ways in which they may behave (Wolpert & Richards, 1997; Ochs,
Gonzalez, & Jacoby, 1996). Yet, these same practices often are not recognized as
useful or a part of science in the classroom and this lack of recognition has the effect
of marginalizing students' home discourses (Rosebery & Hudicourt-Barnes, 2006).
These and other findings undermine the view that professional scientific practices
are largely abstract logical derivations disassociated with the forms of experience
and practice in the everyday world (Warren et al., 2001). This observation also
underlines the opportunity of educators working in and with designed environments
(Hudicourt-Barnes, 2004; Cobb, Confrey, diSessa, Lehrer, & Schauble, 2003; Bell,
in press) to take better advantage of the (cultural) practices that a diverse set of
learners bring to the environment.
A Second Look at Partnerships and Innovations
. We believe that our partner-
ships can serve as a model for other partnerships among research universities and
both tribal institutions and other institutions that traditionally have served under-
represented groups. But we also should caution that it is “easier said than done.”
The four of us did not just run into each other at a coffee shop or a conference and
decide to collaborate and, to the extent we have been successful, we must acknowl-
edge coincidence, challenges, and convictions. Medin was able to start work on
the Menominee reservation only because an early contact at the College of the
Menominee Nation encouraged him to visit elders, instructed him in the proper
protocol, and gave him some important introductions. Bang was not only involved
with the AIC of Chicago but also a graduate student in the Learning Sciences at
