Legitimate Peripheral Participation

During our last class meeting we broke up into our groups to discuss Chapter 3 from Lave and Wenger’s Situated Learning.  After wrestling with some of the key concepts within the text, focusing primarily on the section that focuses on Alcoholics Anonymous, we looked at how some of our own abilities developed outside of the school setting.  I volunteered to record some of the notes taken from this group conversation, and some interesting consistencies and parallels between our own experiences and those described in the text emerged.  We agreed that some skills require more than just reading about and then doing, which is typically what school settings require.  Reading, or hearing about fishing, for example, could never fully prepare someone for the intricacies of preparing a fishing line for catching a fish.  Especially in the example that Evan used of fly fishing, it would be almost impossible to translate the techniques involved in fly fishing through a written text of some kind, and a written test would be equally useless.  Fly fishing, like most skills, requires legitimate peripheral participation to fully understand the form and function of the skill.

Another example, used by David, was learning to sail without any nautical language to fall back on, but simply observation and action.  His experience was similar to Ethan’s, but David took in one step further.  He explained that his sailing skills were adequate because of hours spend participating in the act of sailing, despite a very limited knowledge of the proper terminology which would undoubtedly come up on a basic sailing quiz.  This notion works toward the same logic as the other example but in reverse.  It makes sense that doing something will undoubtedly make you more comfortable with the skills required to do it effectively.  But simply knowing the words and the context for a certain ability, like sailing, does little to prepare you for the actual act of sailing.  Although I’m basically making the argument that participation is a better way to learn than studying at a safe distance with the help of worksheets and test, sometimes the stability and framework provided by an school or learning institution can be very valuable in supplementing an apprenticeship.

Mitch was a great example of this.  The ability he focused on was his phonetic prowess.  He began this journey outside of school by listening to Japanese dramas on the radio.  He had a good ear for accents and could accurately pronounce the Japanese words with no training.  Although he was able to refine this skill by persisting himself, school provided a more concrete base to learn about the language.  We didn’t bring this up in class but I wonder if being immersed in a Japanese city Mitch would have honed this skill more quickly.  I’m sure that with his natural ability and interest in the language Mitch could have achieved the same level of skills in speaking Japanese without the degree in Japanese.  He would have been provided with the opportunity for legitimate peripheral participation  extremely close to the source, therefore allowing for his growth without the constraints of school, probably resulting in a more intuitive and practical understanding of the language.

Megan’s assessment of her dancing skills was very similar.  She was influenced by her older sister who was involved in dancing.  Her sister inspired and encouraged her to pursue dancing in a “company” where she was able to practice more and hone her skills.  So, what begins as an interest without the established goals of a school setting, develops into skill that is supplemented by the structure of a dancing company and individual lessons.  But dancing, like fishing, cannot simply be talked or read about to fully grasp the nuances of movement and rhythm.  Megan had to practice this skill for countless hours to get better.  She didn’t read about dancing and then take a text on the various movements that she would be using.

Choua and I expanded on all of these concepts, while adding some of our own assessments of the text, and our skills learned beyond the scope of schooling.  Choua talked about playing soccer, and the sense of identity that comes from actually playing a sport.  She talked about the fact that she thought of herself as a soccer player despite athletic ability.  The fact that she participated made this a fact, which I thought was a fascinating concept.  It would be very difficult to identify yourself as something if you had never experienced that particular thing!  So now we have an example of LPP making an impact beyond the realm of learning, into how it can affect how someone potentially perceives themselves.  If given the opportunity to actually practice at a certain skill, someone could essentially recreate their perception of themselves.  The satisfaction of accomplishment can be a powerful thing, especially in the midst of people that don’t necessarily have confidence in your ability.  Proving something to yourself is ultimately what matters most, and the atmosphere of an apprenticeship can potentially provide someone with this.

Below are the actual comments made by during the our conversation by means of word processor.  Some of the vocabulary comes straight from the group while a paraphrased some as well.  Overall I thought this was a valuable resource because we see some common language used that lends itself to the diction throughout the reading, specifically words like practice, immersion, and experience.

Mitch: Phonetic ability. Good listener.  Radio dramas (Japanese).  Persisted.  Able to mimic the accents.  Stumbled into the ability.  School contributed to existing abilities.  Framework and practice.

Megan: Dance. Older sister’s influence. Inspired and encouraged.  Joined company.  Individual lessons.  Coach for technique and self-motivation.  Teams and friends.

David: PRACTICE!!  Do it! Apprenticeship!

Learning to sail without reading or writing.

Immersion in the practice!

Evan: Fishing hunting and backpacking.  Observing first then doing.  It would be hard to read about fishing and then go do it.  So much complexity in fly fishing.  Skills far exceed the language.

Choua: Experience and practice in becoming a good goalie.  Want to compete and communicate. Being positive in the face of adversity.  Self motivation.  But also using negativity to motivate.  Label who you are.

Travis:  Communication skills.  Try to listen more than talk. Followed parents example.