Move 1: Establish A Territory

Children everywhere learn by observing and listening-in on activities of adults and other children. Learning through keen observation and listening, seems to be especially valued in communities where children have access to learning from informal community involvement. They observe and listen with intent concentration, and their collaborative participation is expected when they are ready to help in shared endeavors. This tradition, which we refer to as intent participation,is prominent in many indigenous American communities and can also be seen in voluntary organizations, interactive museums, and collaborative schools in middle-class U.S. communities. Intent participation is a powerful form of fostering learning. It contributes to impressive learning such as that accomplished by young children learning their first language and continues in importance throughout life.

However, it has received relatively little research attention. It seems often to be taken for granted or overlooked, perhaps because researchers are especially familiar with contrasting instructional approaches used in schooling. Our aim is to articulate the multifaceted features of intent participation. To do so, we contrast it with assembly-line instruction, which is based on transmission of information from experts, outside the context of productive, purposive activity. This tradition of organizing learning is common in many U.S. schools and middle-class family interactions, perhaps related to historical changes connected with industrialization and child labor laws. Our contrast between intent participation and assembly-line instruction is not a dichotomy or a single dimension. The contrast is intended to bring features of each of these two systems into relief.

The bulk of our paper focuses on examining contrasting features of the two traditions: the roles taken by more- and less-experienced people, the motivation and purposes of activities, the source of learning (observation in ongoing activity or lessons), forms of communication, and the nature of assessment. First, however, we summarize research indicating that learning through observation and listening-in is pervasive in children’s lives and is effective. Although we argue for cultural differences in emphasis on this kind of learning, observation and listening-in are important for all children.