Sfard - 2 metaphors of learning

1. participation metaphor

1.1. states are replaced with attention to activities.

1.2. you become a member of a certain community

1.2.1. "Just as different organs combine to form a living body, so do learners contribute to the existence and functioning of a community of practitioners."

1.2.1.1. Sfard

1.2.2. focus on evolving bonds between learner and community

1.3. acquisition is tantamount to becoming a participant.

1.4. Key Terms: Key terms in the PM are practice, discourse and community.

2. acquisition metaphor

2.1. act of gaining knowledge

2.2. gradual reception

2.3. aquisition by development

2.4. knowledge construction

2.5. all imply gaining ownership

2.6. Key Terms:transmission, internalisation, appropriation

3. Comparison of Sfard Acquisition & Participation Metaphor with Leach & Scott Individual & Sociocultural Learning Theories

3.1. Definitions

3.1.1. "individual" = learning as process taking place in an individual head

3.1.2. "Sociocultural" = learning as socially constructed meaning making

3.2. AM/PM is centered around question of "What is Learning"

3.3. Individual & Sociocultural is centered around "What is the mechanism of learning" (page 7) or a metaphorical projection of AM/PM (page 1)

4. Sfard

5. ARGUMENT: AM/PM not mutally exlcusive

5.1. When a theory is translated into an instructional prescription, exclusivity becomes the worst enemy of success

5.2. The exclusivity is often equated with certainty, whereas the very presence of a competing metaphor may be enough to disclose the arbitrary nature of some of the generally accepted classifications.