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18 - Cultural Modeling

CHAT as a Lens for Understanding Instructional Discourse Based on African American English Discourse Patterns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Carol D. Lee
Edited by
Alex Kozulin ,
Boris Gindis ,
Vladimir S. Ageyev  and
Suzanne M. Miller
Carol D. Lee
Affiliation:
School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Alex Kozulin
Affiliation:
International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential, Jerusalem
Boris Gindis
Affiliation:
Touro College, New York
Vladimir S. Ageyev
Affiliation:
State University of New York, Buffalo
Suzanne M. Miller
Affiliation:
State University of New York, Buffalo
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Summary

A continuing challenge is how we as educational researchers are to investigate learning and development as these occur in complex settings in an attempt to understand the ecological niches of practice in the real world. In many ways, these questions are the terrain of Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). CHAT, as articulated by Cole (1996) and others (Rogoff & Lave, 1984; Rogoff, 1990; Wertsch, 1991), is an outgrowth of the Russian school of psychology represented by Lev Vygotsky (1978, 1981, 1987), Alexander Luria (1976), and Alexei Leontiev (1981). This orientation to the study of human learning and development places several core tenets at the center of inquiry. These tenets include the mutually constituting influences of social interaction in participation in jointly constructed activity across multiple settings and the functions of mediating artifacts. CHAT places culture at the center of human sense-making activities. Educational research rooted in CHAT has documented the centrality of cultural systems; much less attention has been paid to cultural systems of non–European or non-European-American ethnic groups. In this chapter, I will illustrate how multiple mediational resources have been drawn upon in culturally responsive ways to support discipline-specific learning.

I have an abiding personal interest in these questions. In the Cultural Modeling Project (Lee, 1993; 1995a; 1995b; 2001), we developed a curriculum intervention in response to literature that was implemented over a 3-year period in an urban, underachieving high school.

Type
Chapter
Information
Vygotsky's Educational Theory in Cultural Context , pp. 393 - 410
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

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References

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  • Cultural Modeling
    • By Carol D. Lee, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
  • Edited by Alex Kozulin, International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential, Jerusalem, Boris Gindis, Touro College, New York, Vladimir S. Ageyev, State University of New York, Buffalo, Suzanne M. Miller, State University of New York, Buffalo
  • Book: Vygotsky's Educational Theory in Cultural Context
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511840975.020
Available formats
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  • Cultural Modeling
    • By Carol D. Lee, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
  • Edited by Alex Kozulin, International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential, Jerusalem, Boris Gindis, Touro College, New York, Vladimir S. Ageyev, State University of New York, Buffalo, Suzanne M. Miller, State University of New York, Buffalo
  • Book: Vygotsky's Educational Theory in Cultural Context
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511840975.020
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Cultural Modeling
    • By Carol D. Lee, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
  • Edited by Alex Kozulin, International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential, Jerusalem, Boris Gindis, Touro College, New York, Vladimir S. Ageyev, State University of New York, Buffalo, Suzanne M. Miller, State University of New York, Buffalo
  • Book: Vygotsky's Educational Theory in Cultural Context
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511840975.020
Available formats
×