From Liz P

           My name is Elizabeth Picard, but Liz is more than sufficient for everyday purposes. My story, simply put, is that I was born and raised in Chico. I have lived here for all 21.5 years of my life, save about 9 months while I attended Corban University in Oregon. I have a myriad of hobbies, including sewing, horseback riding, cooking, drawing, artistry in general, reading, writing, and exploring. As for what brought me to this class, it was suggested to me by Tim Hayes, a close family friend. He knows of my interest (and lingering fear) of helping in a tutoring setting, and he encouraged me to take this class as an introduction to formal tutoring/teaching.

        A passage from Situated Learning that I had a good struggle with was on page 22. It states “… if learning is about increased access to performance, then the way to maximize learning is to perform, not to talk about it.”

For me, this was a little difficult to swallow because I am a person who learns in just about any environment. Of course, lecture seems to be the preferred method of teaching/learning in formal American education, so it is the one I am the most familiar with in the classroom. At face value, this passage appears to discredit the idea of learning through orally relayed information. Subsequent reading puts that concern to rest by claiming that

“…language use entails multiple participatory skills, and is one of the most basic modes

of access to interaction in social life.”

This line of reading is significant because it clarifies language as an important – and undoubtedly necessary – part of an active and successful legitimate peripheral participation experience for both the expert and the learner. Another thought this passage raised is the importance of basic language skill and application; an expert should share their knowledge with words and intent at a level their learner can understand. In turn, the learner is responsible for maintaining and upgrading their communication skills as necessary to participate in – and add to – the learning environment.