Context is important! Contextual Learning

Let’s get it started! Opening activity Shoppers and grocery store math Dairy farm example

Theoretical history Jean Piaget Children construct knowledge through the differentiation and integration of repeated activities performed through the context of play Saw play as a necessary and important part of child’s cognitive development His work influenced American education to develop a more child-centered approach 4

Theoretical history Lev Vygotsky Contemporary of Piaget Beginning of social learning theory Believed development of cognitive skills is fundamentally related to social interactions, particularly with important adults in child’s life Knowledge acquired from social interactions of children with adults included gaining knowledge of the shared culture of the people (internalization)

Vygotsky cont. “Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals.“ 1

Situated cognition theory Jean Lave and others Social anthropologist, UC Berkeley “…argues that learning as it normally occurs is a function of the activity, context, and culture in which it occurs (i.e. it is situated).” 2 Social interaction is a necessary part of situated learning

Situated cognition theory “In order to understand cognitive development, it is necessary to consider the everyday contexts in which children are provided guidance by adults in approaching and solving novel problems. Illustrations of mother-child instruction support the idea that adults assist children with new problems by guiding the transfer of knowledge and skills from more familiar contexts, thereby guiding the child and making connections.” (Rogoff & Gardner, 115)

Situated cognition theory For traditional school structures, learning and doing are separate Concepts taught abstractly (separated from context) are not easily generalized to real-life applications Students should learn in context and in relation to real-world contexts/situations

Situated cognitive learning “Both the learner and the teacher are actively involved in such instruction. The child participates in problem solving with the adult, rather than listening to explicit explanation or watching demonstration by the adult.” (Rogoff & Gardner, 116)

Opportunities for situated learning activities Kitchens Gardens/greenhouses Field trips Study aboard programs Sports, music practices

Situated learning for teachers “Without the creation of a context of interaction which is intelligible, given his or her current knowledge and skills, the dyad cannot communicate, and the teacher will not be able to lead the learner toward an understanding of the new information.” (Rogoff & Gardner, 98) “Effective instruction may require the teacher to lead the learner through the process, with both involved in the activity.” (101)

Culture cognition relations Geoffrey B. Saxe Mathematics education professor, UC Berkeley Several studies on acquisition of mathematics skills through participation in culture practices Documented difference between processes of school mathematics and processes of out-of-school mathematics

Saxe cont. Fundamental questions: How do people develop mathematics for real-life activities and is there transfer of the knowledge that aids in understanding school mathematics? Interdependence between real-life mathematics skills and cultural context of situation

An Example of Saxe’s Work Saxe Article

Other researchers T. Nunes, Educational Studies, U. of Oxford D. Carraher, Psychology, City University of New York Research on school mathematics (particularly arithmetic) and street mathematics Found that children performed better at street mathematics than non-contextualized school mathematics

Other researchers Elaine Johnson Educational consultant Considered to be an “authority” 3 on contextual teaching and learning Authored book Contextual Teaching and Learning: What it is and why it’s here to stay (2002) Book reflects belief that teaching academic subjects in the context of students’ own lives and experiences helps all young people to achieve academically

Elaine Johnson cont. Components to be included in CTL – Making connections to find meaning – Self-regulated learning – Collaborating – Critical and creative thinking – High standards – Using authentic assessments

Activity Within your group, write a definition for contextual learning. Begin the sentence “Contextual learning is…”

Some definitions emerge t/stw/sw1lk3.htm

Alternate definitions “Contextual teaching and learning enables students to connect the content of academic subjects with the immediate context of their daily lives to discover meaning.” (Johnson, 2002, p. 24) “… an educational process that aims to help students see meaning in the academic material they are studying by connecting academic subjects …with the context of their personal, social, and cultural circumstances.” (Johnson, 2002, p. 25)

Our Take: The Ultimate Goal (Implications for Practical Teaching) Meet students at their frame of reference – Accessing their prior knowledge & context Instruct in many frames of reference – Teacher and student involved in process Application of knowledge in any frame of reference (transfer) – Ultimate goal!

Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) Contextual teaching strategies – Relating: Learning in context – Experiencing: Learning by doing – Applying: Learning by concepts in action – Cooperating: Learning in groups with others – Transferring: Using knowledge in new context/situation

Disadvantages and Difficulties Must teach using multiple contexts to promote transfer (application of skill across different contexts) Potentially time consuming Balancing this approach with state standards

Activity What opportunities have you had to implement contextual learning? In your Assessment Plan group, choose one objective or assessment task and develop a context for teaching the objective/task.

Question to ponder… Is all of mathematics contextual?

Bibliography Carraher, T.N. & Schielmann, A.D. (1985). Computation routines prescribed by schools: help or hindrance? Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 16(1), Crawford, M. (2001). Teaching contextually: Research, rationale, and techniques for improving student motivation and achievement in mathematics and science. CORD. Waco, TX: CCI Publishing, Inc. Johnson, E. B. (2002). Contextual teaching and learning: what it is and why it’s here to stay. Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. Lave J., Murtaugh, M., & de la Rocha, O. (1984). The Dialectic of Arithmetic in Grocery Shopping. In B. Rogoff & J. Lave (Eds.), Everyday Cognition: Its Development in Social Context (pp ). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Rogoff, B. & Gardner, W. (1984). Adult Guidance of Cognitive Development. In B. Rogoff & J. Lave (Eds.), Everyday Cognition: Its Development in Social Context (pp ). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Saxe, G.B. (1988). Candy selling and math learning. Educational Researcher, 17(6), 14 – 21. Saxe, G.B. (1989). Transfer of learning across cultural practices. Cognition and instruction, 6(4), Saxe, G. B. (1999). Cognition, development, and cultural practices. In E. Turiel (Ed.), Culture and Development. New Directions in Child Psychology. SF: Jossey-Bass. Scribner, S. (1984). Studying Working Intelligence. In B. Rogoff & J. Lave (Eds.), Everyday Cognition: Its Development in Social Context (pp. 9-40). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (Elaine Johnson website) (Dan Hull website)