Theorizing Learning…so have I learned anything yet?

Yes I believe I have.  It began the first night of class when I experienced firsthand what Wenger described as a ‘community of practice, (CoP).’  Although communities of practice are everywhere and most people belong to one or more of them, the theory itself at the time was at best abstract, as I had not yet purchased the textbook, nor read the assigned readings prior to class.  Even before the bowline exercise began, a few students suggested moving the chairs together in a semi-circle, instead of leaving them in the usual classroom style set-up where one student sits behind the other with the professor at the front of the class.  So as I reflect back and recall what happened during that first class, I recognize my role as an active participant in a learning process that began through simple dialog among students in a social setting. 

Wenger’s theory which recognizes learning as social participation also acknowledges that communities too, can be transformed by shared practices.  The simple task of rearranging the chairs that first night of class actually changed the classroom dynamics where the professor, although he continued to ‘lead’ also becomes a participant in the learning process and the community itself undergoes a transformation.  This type of transformation is possible when there is a genuine shared practice that binds both students and teachers together in a common endeavour.  Some may disagree with this observation and perhaps see the professor’s role as more of a ‘broker’ than an active participant, as he moved from group to group opening new possibilities for meaning.  As students we participated in a process where knowledge was discovered and transformed into concepts we can relate to and understand. This knowledge will eventually be reconstructed and expanded through new learning experiences. 

As students in the cohort we have become active practitioners in a community of practice in which we engage in a type of cooperative learning.  As members of this particular CoP, we have developed a repertoire of common resources.  We meet together on a regular basis (during class) and have displayed a desire to learn from each other, a desire to work together, a desire to improve our skills; we interact and negotiate meaning, all working towards a common goal – the pursuit of a Masters Degree.  I have felt firsthand how empowering it can be when a group becomes a genuine community of shared practice.  To summarize, the process itself acts as a mechanism to bring students from the periphery into the center of academic experience.  Wenger’s concept of learning as a landscape and life as a trajectory is insightful.  What we realize is that learning takes place anywhere, at any time, and beyond organized educational experiences.  As students we continually participate in many CoPs, often negotiating between domains that are local and global, formal and informal, bounded and unbounded. 

The selected readings chosen by Professor Plumb of authors such as Wenger, Bracher and Tomasello have prompted me to revisit the importance of theories and how these particular theories are relevant.  Theories which are simply a set of descriptive explanations are useful tools because they provide a critical way to look at the world and help us to make sense of the world.  We as students share a common goal in this respect which is to deepen our understanding of theories of learning, and in particular how these theories relate to lifelong learning.  In order to understand the concepts presented by these authors, theoretical perspectives and the methods one uses to analyze these perspectives become important as we critically think about the world.

Wenger (1998, p.9) reiterates that ‘a perspective is not a recipe; it does not tell you just what to do. Rather, it acts as a guide about what to pay attention to, what difficulties to expect, and how to approach problems.’  What Wenger’s theory does quite simply is it provides another perspective on how we actually learn which is quite different from the traditional perspective which views  learning as taking place on a individual basis and where learning is perceived as having both a beginning and an end.  Although his theory does not offer concrete solutions to learning issues,  it does however place emphasis on the importance of how learning takes place, how learning is viewed, what influences learning and how to optimize learning which is important for individuals, communities and organizations.  In criticism of Wenger’s theory however one must acknowledge that he does not address how power and privilege affects CoPs, which is so intertwined in our African experience.  Yet after reading Darlene Lamey's Blog of February 20, 2012, I do acknowledge that this theory can benefit the Africentric Cohort. 

Authors Bracher and Tomsello have also been instrumental in my learning process as these authors have provided thought provoking theories on how learning is affected.  Wenger who stresses the importance of our identities which are developed and affected as we move through CoPs is further elaborated on by both Bracher and Tomasello.  Mark Bracher (2006) states quite simply that identity is the prime motivator of human behaviour which ultimately affects how one learns and what one learns.  Bracher defines identity as ‘one’s sense of oneself and, more comprehensively, the sense of oneself as a force that matters in the world’ (2006, p. 6).  His theory which draws on research in psychoanalysis, social psychology, and cognitive science is important because in addition to addressing what he sees as the root cause of social problems – one’s identity vulnerability, he proposes strategies for identity development to help address social problems such as violence, prejudice and substance abuse just to name a few. 

Michael Tomasello’s research on the cultural origins of human cognition is  also important because it provides one with a fundamental basis for understanding how humans being are different from other primates in knowing and learning.  Tomsello’s (1999) research which focused on the unique capacities of human primates -language, complex cognition, and culture provides a way to understand the evolution of social learning and the consequences of cultural transmission in the evolution of human behaviour.  His research in particular focused on infants and their unique capacity to imitate.  In relation to communities of practice, I draw upon Profesor Plumb's comments on ‘attachment theory’ and how the primary caregiver (mother) interacts with the child and the effects of how the mother metaphorically holds the child is important.  This may be the first community of practice experienced by the child and how the mother metaphorically holds the child will ultimately affect how well the child is able in participate in other CoPs – close enough to feel safe, but not so close to feel threatened.  A child who has been inadequately held will not participate well in other CoPs.    

What we as students must do with these learning theories is to absorb them, process them and retain them.  Ultimately learning theories can ‘provide us with a vocabulary and a conceptual framework to interpret examples of learning that we observe.  They also suggest where to look for solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding solutions.’

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation.

    New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lamey, D. (2012). GSLL 6206. I believe that change is a choice. Theorizing africentric
    realities in consideration of Wenger.

Tomasello, M.  (1999). The human adaptation for culture. Annual Review of Anthropology,
    28, 1, 509-29.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. New York: 

    Cambridge University Press.