A+Situated+Sociocultural+Approach+to+Literacy+and+Technology


 * A Situated Sociocultural Approach to Literacy and Technology **

Michelle Dyo, Laurel Hui, Esther Lau, Dephinie Lee



Pokemon and Math: Making content relatable and fun!
media type="youtube" key="sXeaXjp7mEI" height="349" width="560" align="center"

This video describes a scenario in which a boy generates a math equation and links it to the process of catching Pokemon. According to Gee, making subject content not only fun but relatable not only fosters greater motivation to learn but also helps with memory retention. While our wiki summary does not involve the subject of math, this video's main message of bridging student's interests and subject areas can still be related to reading comprehension.

[[image:reading.png width="245" height="250" align="left"]]Introduction
toc A Situated Sociocultural Approach to Literacy and Technology focuses on an approach Gee takes to literacy and technology. Gee defines the term “situated-sociocultural” as a blend of themes from work on situated cognition dealing with the mind and learning, and from work on sociocultural approaches to language, literacy, and technology.

The interdisciplinary movements that have arisen within the last few years according to Gee are the following//:// New Literacy Studies, Situated Cognition Studies, The New Literacies Studies, New Media Literacy Studies Within the article, Gee provides a background of each movement. After a brief description, he continues on to discuss a specific application of the ideas leading him to talk about the interactions between literacy and technology in and out of the class. The article ends with a discussion of video games.

The New Literacy Study (NLS)
The New Literacy Study or the NLS is a field of study that Gee defines as a study that opposed the traditional psychological approach to literacy. In traditional psychology, literacy was viewed as a “cognitive phenomenon,” being able to read and write were mental processes, or things we only did inside our minds. The NLS viewed literacy as something we do inside society. Gee explains that literacy is not primarily a mental phenomenon, but a sociocultural one as he explains that literacy is a way of participating in social and cultural groups. He argues that literacy needs to be understood by others in a social, cultural, historical, and institutional context.

In the view of the NLS, readers and writers are engaged in social or cultural practices as we see that written language is used differently in different practices by different social and cultural groups. For example, as provided by Gee, people read and write religious texts differently than biology texts or texts in popular cultural (ex: video game strategy guides). People also read the same text in a different ways for different purposes. An example is the reading of the Bible, people can read it as theology, history, or as literature. Not only do people read, write, and interpret texts differently, but Gee argues that people also do different things with texts, more than just simply read or write.

Gee explains people learn a given way to read or write by participating in or at least coming to an understanding of the different and distinctive social and cultural practices of different social and cultural groups. In other words, the way we read or write texts depends on how we involve ourselves with the cultural practices of different groups. For example, in order to understand how to write a strategy guide for a video game, people most know how strategy guides are use in the social practices of gamers. People need to understand how gamers talk about, debate over, use, define, and interpret things such as “cheats” and “spoilers,” not just in general terms (Consalvo, 2007). These strategies apply to reading legal documents or reading a note from someone. To appreciate or understand the texts, we do not always have to participate in the social and cultural practices of different social and cultural groups, but we do have to know how the texts fit into the practices. The take away message from the NLS study is that people do not read and write in general, but they read and write specific types of texts in specific ways, the ways are determined by the values and practice of different social and cultural groups.

The NLS focuses more on the social, cultural, historical, and institutional contexts of literacy, it strays away from seeing literacy as a cognitive process.

**Situated Cognition Studies**
 The terms, situated cognition, can broken into two words: situated and cognition and defined through these terms. Situated Cognition is defined by Gee as, “thinking that is connected to, and changed across, actual situations and is not usually a process of applying abstract generalizations, definitions, or rules” (Gee, 2010). In other words, thinking is tied to people’s experiences in the social world. The experiences that people have are stored in the brain, not as abstract concepts, but as dynamic images that are tied to the perception of both the word and our own internal states and feelings (Churchland, P.S., 1986; Gee, 1992; Damasio, 1994).

Gee explains that the views of the Situated Cognition Studies are that people understand, think, and learn best when they are able to use their prior experience in the next context or in their preparation for action. Our minds are similar to “connectionist or parallel distributed computers” (Churchland, P.S., 1986; Gee, 1992; Damasio, 1994), we try to make sense of things by looking for patterns in our experiences in the world. An example given by Gee that helps understand this is to think of a bedroom. Because of our experience, we can assume that a bedroom is moderate in size and includes a bed, picture frames, drawers, and a lamp. If a refrigerator is mentioned, our perception of the bedroom quickly changes, and we might think of a student dorm room. This perception occurs because we have formed different patterns out of our experience. Our associations and how we view things change as we gain more experiences.

Situated Cognition Studies argues that we think through paying attention to the elements of our experiences. How we pay attention to the experiences and what determines what experience we have is through our participation in the practices of social and cultural groups, connecting back to the NLS perspective. Both studies express that our mind is not private, but connected to a world of experience.

**The New Literacy Studies**
Gee distinguishes New Literacy Studies (NLS) and The New Literacies Studies in a number of ways.
 * **New Literacy Studies (NLS)** || **The New Literacies Studies** ||
 * Written language is a tool for obtaining and giving meaning. || Technology itself is a digital tool for obtaining and giving meaning. ||
 * Literacy is studied in a new way, beyond being a mental process; it is a social one. || Literacy is studied in a new way, beyond print and written literature. ||
 * There are different ways of using written language within various sociocultural practices. || There are different technologies used within various sociocultural practices. ||

**New Media Literacy Studies**
While from the NLS stems The New Literacies Studies, from The New Literacies Studies comes the "New Media Literacy Studies" (NMLS). According to Gee, NMLS can simply be called "media literacy." Media can include anything from advertisements to newspapers, and movies to television. It can also include multi-modal texts, which combine images or sounds with written or oral language.

Media literacy examines how people can obtain meaning from media and how people give meaning to media. At the same time, with media literacy, people can be reflective upon and manipulate media. Gee asserts that those who consume and manipulate media can be called "dupes" or "savvy" to a certain extent. However, technology professionals are not the only ones that can manipulate or produce media. Every day people do the same at a competitive level.

Digital tools are changing society in a variety of ways.
 * 1) Technology is readjusting the balance of media production and consumption, by experts and novices.
 * 2) Technology is also changing the balance of participation. No longer are people just watching and listening to media, but they are producing, creating, and participating in it.
 * 3) Digital tools are influencing the nature of social groups and system of power that comes with it.

These changes have caused the rise of the "Pro-Ams." Gee gives these people this label because they are amateurs who have become an expert with something they are passionate about. Pro-Ams are efficient at collaboration and normally take membership in virtual communities in their area of interest.



Popular Cultures, Video Games, and Learning
In trying to understand all of these fields, an example to consider is a child learning how to read. There is a phenomenon called the “4th Grade Slump” where children cannot read well enough to read and learn academic content, although they can pass general reading tests. It was found that the most important correlates for reading and general academic success was oral vocabulary and skills with complex oral language in the home (Dickinson and Neuman, 2006). This early preparation was not for simply everyday language, but for language that would be more academic, technical, or "specialist."

An Example
Consider a conversations between a four year old boy and his mother. The “M” stands for mother while the “C” stands for child. The conversation is noted as below:

C: This looks like this is a egg M: Ok well this... That’s exactly what it is! How did you know? C: Because it looks like it. M: That’s what it says, see look, ......Replica of a dinosaur. From the oviraptor. M: Do you have a. . . You have an oviraptor on your game! You know the game on your computer? That’s what it is, an oviraptor. M: And that’s from the Cretaceous period. And that was a really, really long time ago. ... M: And this is. . . the hind claw. What’s a hind claw? (pause) A claw from the back leg from a velociraptor. And you know what. . . B: Hey! Hey! A velociraptor!! I had that one my [inaudible] dinosaur. M: I know, I know and that was the little one. And remember they have those, remember in your book, it said something about the claws. . . B No, I know, they, they... M: Your dinosaur book, what they use them... B: Have so great claws so they can eat and kill... M: They use their claws to cut open their prey, right. B: Yeah.


 * = ** Q uotes ** ||= ** Connections to academic specialist languages ** ||= ** Explanation of Connection ** ||
 * = “Replica of a dinosaur egg; from the oviraptor; from the Cretaceous period; the hind claw; their prey” ||= Non-vernacular, specialist language ||= Using more advanced tier vocabulary allowed her child the words to classify their descriptions of the phenomena. ||
 * = “How did you know?” ||= Specialist domains that involve students to make and provide evidence for these claims ||= Allowing the child to explain his reasoning not only allows him to justify his thinking, but allows him to refer back to the item they were studying. ||
 * = Thats what it says, see look egg, egg...” ||= Displays text in reading to student ||= Displaying a text to a child even before they have full reading fluency promotes early development of concept of print. ||
 * = “You have an oviraptor on your game! You know the egg game on your computer?” ||= Text-to-text and Text-to-world connections ||= Creating a textual connection helps the child make past connections between prior to new knowledge. ||
 * = “And this is...the hind claw. What’s a hind claw? A claw from the back leg of a velociraptor” ||= Technical definition in a common language ||= Adding a quick verbal explanation after introducing a new vocaublary word fosters greater vocabulary learning ||
 * = “And that’s from the Cretaceous period. And that was a really, really long ago” ||= Explanation of challenging concepts ||= Explaining to a studnet the time period not only allows them to put new information into context, but also signals to the child that “Cretaceous is a vernacular word” ||
 * = Boy: “Have so great claws so that they can eat and kill”. Mother” “They use their claws to cut open their prey ||= Elaborating with technical vocabulary ||= Validating the child’s response by providing a technical word will increase the child’s memory of dinosaur facts and classification labels of the dinosaur’s characteristics. ||

**Informal Specialist Language Lessons**
The prior conversation example is an informal language lesson. It involves interaction, teaching, and stimulates mental cognition even thought it is not taught in a school setting. Gee defines an informal language lesson as something that may take the shape and form of a simple conversation, games, television, and other forms of digital media that allow students to learn about language (pg. 24). However, these informal language lessons are critical to help a studet’s reading trajectory. In other words, while a formal reading lesson taught in a school classroom is definitely advantageous and has significant learning results, certain lessons may only pertain to a certain situation. Thus, informal language lessons teach students valuable lessons that cannot be learned in a school setting.

**Specialist Language in Popular Culture**
Informal language lessons are situated all around students. In fact, popular items that children interact with may have valuable language lessons imbedded into them. For instance, in the late 1990s, the card game //Yu-gi-Oh!// was seen everywhere played by students. Students debate over the characters, its powers, and how to play the cards. While the language is different from what you might find in a social studies textbook, the specialized language embedded within the card serves as a informal language lesson.

Type: Effect Monster Attribute Earth | Level: 1 Type: Warrior ATK: 300 | DEF: 300
 * Example of a Yu-gi-oh card, front and back side:**
 * Armed Ninja Card

Description: FLIP: Destroys 1 Magic Card on the field. If this card's target is face-down, flip it face-up. If the card is a Magic Card, it is destroyed. If not, it is returned to its face-down position. The flipped card is not activated. Rarity: Rare ||

[|s]


 * Example from a Yu-gi-oh game book rules handbook**
 * 8-CLAWS SCORPION Even if "8-Claws Scorpion" is equipped with an Equip Spell Card, its ATK is 2400 when it attacks a face-down Defense Position monster.

The effect of "8-Claws Scorpion" is a Trigger Effect that is applied if the condition is correct on activation ("8-Claws Scorpion" declared an attack against a face-down Defense Position monster.) The target monster does not have to be in face-down Defense Position when the effect of "8-Claws Scorpion" is resolved. So if "Final Attack Orders" is active, or "Ceasefire" flips the monster face-up, "8-Claws Scorpion" still gets its 2400 ATK.

The ATK of "8-Claws Scorpion" becomes 2400 during damage calculation. You cannot chain "Rush Recklessly" or "Blast with Chain" to this effect. If these cards were activated before damage calculation, then the ATK of "8-Claws Scorpion" becomes 2400 during damage calculation so those cards have no effect on its ATK. || As can be seen in the previous example, the language used in both the card and the manual handbook are not language that is used in academic language settings or daily conversations. Yet, still the advanced language requires not only a history of background and contextual knowledge about the game itself, but a certain amount of logical processes. Students spend a large amount of time pouring over the handbooks, deciding which plays are best and may even debate with their friends the most effective tactic for gaming. The game Yu-gi-oh has a level of language requirements to be successful in the game. As seen in the graphic organizer below, the game itself has so many linguistic indicators that ultimately creates the fun and complex gaming network.
 * ** Linguistic Indicator Used ** || ** Explanation ** ||
 * “Logic Talk” || Game players must be able to follow instructions with the multiple “either-or” “if-then” propositions and clauses. The card also contains classificatory information such as type, attack, power, defense, power, and rarity that students must analyze under certain conditions. ||
 * “Mental Classification” || The card contains classificatory information such as type, attack, power, defense, power, and rarity that students must mentally analyze, remember, and be able to apply under certain conditions. ||
 * “Lucidly Fluid Language” || While the text in a child’s game handbook (see above example) may be initially complex, once understood, the language and its meaning is actually clear and fluid. As a result, the creators of the game are able to create a system with over 10,000 cards where each card only has a simple description on the back. The expectation is that students can understand this fluid language and be able to discuss with their peers. ||

**Situated Meaning and Video Games**
Reading development is placed in the context of specialized language development, which helps us to keep up with the increasing demands for learning content in school through complex technical and academic varieties of language.

The third underpinning of a trajectory view of reading development is that students cannot apply their knowledge because they do not see how the language applies to the world. Thus, research has shown that students with good grades and passing test scores cannot actually use their knowledge to solve problems.

The two ways to understand words are verbal understanding and situated understanding. Verbal understanding is the ability to analyze one’s understanding in terms of general principles, not actual situations. It starts with a definition or general principle associated with a concept and then followed by less abstract meanings as special cases of the definition or principle. Situated understanding is the ability to use the word or understand the concept in specific situations of use. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">It starts with relatively concrete cases and gradually rises to higher levels of abstraction through the consideration of additional cases.

All human understandings are situated because situated understandings are the norm in everyday life and in colloquial language.

The perspective that stresses knowledge as tied to activity and experience in the world (situated) before knowledge as facts and information (verbal) has many implications for the nature of learning and teaching and assessment. Research shows that “game-like” learning through digital technologies can facilitate situated, not just verbal, understandings because learning is specific to the context of activity and experience.

Specialist language in any domain has no situated meaning unless and until one has “played the game.” For example, you will not understand the video game manual unless you have played the game before and are familiar with the specialist language for that game. This relates to education because teachers too often have their students reading the manual before they get to play the game, if they even get the chance to play the game.

The author claims that “game-like learning” can lead to situated and not simply verbal understandings. Situated meanings make specialist language lucid, easy, and useful. Video games, like other digital mediums, situate meaning in the player’s world of experience, which is ultimately shared, collaborative, social, and cultural.