hese characteristics require thatemergent response groups adopt specific approaches forknowledge coordination. One such approach commonlydocumented in studies of such groups is their use ofa learn-by-doing (versus decision making) action-basedmodel of coordinated problem solving, in which sensemaking and improvisation are the norm rather than theexception

However, failure to examine the critical roleof even the inactive participants in the functioning of thecommunity is to ignore that passive (and invisible) par-ticipation may be a step toward greater participation, aswhen individuals use passivity as a way to learn aboutthe collective in a form of peripheral legitimate partici-pation (Lave and Wenger 1991, Yeow et al. 2006).

Leaming viewed as situated activity has as its central defining characteristic a process that we call legitimate peripheral par­ticipation. By this we mean to draw attention to the point that learners inevitably participate in communities of practitioners and that the mastery of knowledge and skill requires newcom­ers to move toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community.

There are central issues that are only touched upon in this monograph, and that need to be given more attention. The concept of "community of practice" is left largely as an intuitive notion, which serves a purpose here but which requires a more rigorous treatment. In particular, unequal relations of power must be included more systematically in our analysis. Hegemony over resources for learning and alienation from full participation are inherent in the shaping of the legitimacy and peripherality of participation in its historical realizations. It would be useful to understand better how these relations generate characteristically intersti­tial communities of practice and truncate possibilities for iden­tities of mastery.

In this sense, peripherality, when it is enabled, suggests an opening, a way of gaining access to sources for understanding through growing involve­ment. The ambiguity inherent in peripheral participation must t�en _be connected to issues of legitimacy, of the social orga­mzat10n of and control over resources, if it is to gain its full analytical potential.

Furthermore, legitimate peripherality is a complex notion, imRlicated in social structures involving rel�tions _of pow�r •.

But we intend for the concept to be taken as a whole. Each of its aspects is indispensable in defining the others and cannot be considered in isolation. Its constituents contribute inseparable aspects whose combinations create a landscape _ shapes, degrees, textures -of community membership.

In our view, earning is not merely situated in practice -as if it were some independently reifiable process that just happened to be located somewhere; learning is ao integral part of generative social practice in the lived-in world.

The no­tion of situated learning now appears to be a transitory con-cept, a bridge, between a view according to w�ich cognit'.ve processes (and thus learning) are primary and a v�ew according to which social practice is the primary, generative p�eno�e­non and learning is one of its characteristics.

The gen­erality of any form of knowledge always lies i� the powe� to renegotiate the meaning of the past and future m constructing the meaning of present circumstances.

Second, this conception of situated learning clearly was more �nc�m�assi�� in i�tent than �onventional notions of '' learning in suu or learnmg by domg" for which it was used as a rough equivalent.

"Legitimate peripheral participation" provides a way to speak about the relations between newcom­ers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artifacts, and communities of knowledge and practice. It concerns the process by which newcomers become part of a community of practice. A person's intentions to learn are engaged and the meaning of learning is configured through the process of be­coming a full participant in a sociocultural practice. This so­cial process includes, indeed it subsumes, the learning of knowledgeable skills.

At the group level—group referring to all potential culture-carrying aggre­gations larger than a single individual (e.g., departments, organizations, soci­eties, etc.)—polychronicity is a value and belief complex that manifests itself in overt process strategies. Although the strength with which it is held may vary, as a fundamental process strategy—it is fair to say the fundamental process strategy—whichever position along the polychronicity continuum is normative in a culture is apt to be held strongly. This is because such process strategies are mainly learned unintentionally, usually unconsciously. Such learned knowledge is retained at the level of culture Edgar Schein (1992) labeled basic underlying assumptions. This deepest of cultural levels normally contains beliefs and val­ues prescribing behaviors that are so taken for granted and institutionalized that they seldom rise to the conscious level for extensive examination and dis­cussion (Schein 1992, p. 22). Consequently, they are difficult to change, and in this sense they are strongly held.

rather than learning by ‘practicing’, ‘constructing’ or ‘appropriating’, learning is achieved by expandingfrom a current ‘knowledge location’ and building outwards onthe basis of that knowledge while simultaneouslysolving tensions inherent in it to create previously non-existent knowledge. This focus on the generation of the ‘new’ distinguishes expansive learning from the prevailing metaphors of learning, namelyacquisition and participation [22].

Whypox

Much less is known aboutyounger players who participate in equal, if not larger, numbers in virtual worlds

Our avatar looks and chat lingo were clearly different—most often not assophisticated—compared to those of other players on the site.

access to resources, whether theyare economic or cultural, is key for participation to the fullest extent.

He went on to suggest that new members have the optionof selecting different colored newbie faces when they initially register withWhyville, saying, ‘‘I just think it would be a good idea, so newbies who do not makemuch clams could get their own real skin color.’’

our view, her emphasison control meant that she sought out the learning resource that allowed her the greatestcontrol over the learning experience. In this case, the learning resource was her brother

in-room” interaction provides opportunities for sociality, joint projects, and empowermentthrough sharing one’s knowledge and seeing it used for concrete success by others. Sincethis interaction occurs primarily without adult guidance or direction, it may be that thekid-organized and kid-managed aspects of these contexts—for kids of this preteen and earlyteen age—make them powerful learning contexts

‘‘the best thing about having why-pox is havinglost of other people having it too because they know what you are going through.’’This is consistent with the 17.4%of Whyvillians who did not get Whypox butwanted to.

the interpretive task is not merely to uncover what participants say or imply about their experience—but to do so in ways that illuminate how “all persons are busy, active and making sense

the additional set of developmental demands involved in boundary and border crossing, and the cultural and intellectual work of creating hybrid or liminal social spaces. As educators and researchers, we assume that the production of hybrid educational environments or “third spaces”

linear trajectories from novice to expert, often within a single set-ting or set of educational experiences. The risk here lies in overlooking a world of developmental experiences and processes that scholars within this tradition refer to as “horizontal” forms of learning

A view of learning as a cultural process, located in time and space, helps us to understand that people and their cultural practices both develop and transform through participation in the routine activi-ties of relevant communities of practice

"Some of them we'll reach-! don't care if they're going to be professional dancers or not. That's not the point. The point is that they're working close with a teacher, and that's going to reflect for all their lives.

We use the term “edited,” borrowing from Lave and her colleagues, to empha-size the reassembly of relevant aspects of the arena for the shopper for his or her purposes

They both oriented to their time together as a learning event for Laura: Laura asked ques-tions, watched Austin, and practiced while Austin watched Laura, demonstrated, offered advice,and cheered her on

legitimateparticipation

The facilitative effect of explanation,(also holds for children, although they are less likely than adults to spontaneously generate explanations in the course of exploration, categorization, or problem solving.

Similarly, Chi's (1978) earlier work demonstrated that children skilled in chess were better able to recall configurations of chess pieces than a group of college students who were chess novices

Finally, and most importantly with respect to the idea of islands of exper-tise, the mother makes an explicit connection between the exhibit and the boy's prior learning experience with his computer game which is appar-ently about different dinosaurs and their eggs.

The purpose of the fieldwork reported in this study was to describe the ideals that surrounded learning within team life and to capture—primarily through detailing the language of activities—manifestations of the environment of learning that the specialized domain

requests of the players were usually couched in terms of "How would they do this in the major leagues?" (personal communication, December 27, 1988). Fo

It follows that becausepeople learn (e.g.,observational skills) along theirlines of practice,intersectionsbetweenlinesshow knowledge and learning that cross line boundaries

As is commonly the case, initial coding of the data yielded a very largenumber of categories

ectures, planets(Saturn, Jupiter, Mars,andVenus), theMoon,asteroids, deep sky objects, Messier objects, star clusters, variable stars, dou-ble stars, galaxies, comets, globular clusters, periodical events(e.g.,eclipsesand planetalignments),nebula, Cassiopeia, atlasandcharts, goals

taking observational notes helps one tolearn about various celestial objects and their defining features and eventually tobetter see such objects (Levy, 1991). Note taking is also a requirement for receiv-ing certificates/awards for certain achievements.

Learning, therefore, is seen in the different rolesthat a newcomer progressively takes on, in the process becoming accountable tomore central aspects of the practice.

As newcomers are assisted by more capable peers inworking with various aspects of garment making, they take on new responsibil-ities in the production process and develop into more mature forms of practiceparticipation.

Children’s language development is a prime example of the power of learn-ing through keen observation and listening

Young children are widely known to monitor events around them, learning throughobservation

They are initially given supporting tasks and work close enough to observe themore advanced participants; they move to more complex aspects of the activityas they learn (Metge 1984).

Theyobserve and listen with intent concentration and initiative, and their collaborativeparticipation is expected when they are ready to help in shared endeavors. Thistradition, which we refer to asintent participation,

If children are integrated in a wide range of community settings, they areable to observe and listen in on the ongoing activities of their community aslegiti-mate peripheral participants(Lave & Wenger 1991).

The OC was started 18 years ago by a group ofparenls and teachers who wanted to form a public elementary school with an innovative educational philosophy

he principal limitation of joint work, therefore, is that youth with less experi-ence or knowledge in the domain are given little support or assistance. Althoughadults modeled expert strategies for novices, this modeling was usually tacit. Theresult was that novices played more peripheral roles throughout the planning pro-cess. This contrasted with YELL and Youth Rising, where activities were designedto foster novices’ participation.

instruction builds on the children's interests.

Findings from our research and evaluation studiessuggest that immediate apprehendability may also be increased through the use of fa-miliar activities as over-arching schemas.

focuses on the detailed features of the physical environment in which suchlearning is deeply situated.

dramatically

instruction builds on the children's interests. The contentis learned through the different social relations and activities that theteacher facilitates in consultation with the children.

teacher in these classrooms is that of a mediator, in the Vy-gotskian sense: to provide guidance, strategic support, and assistanceto help the children assume control of their own learning

thinking as distributed dynamically in inter-personal relationships among people, their artifacts, and their envi-ronments

seen to witness the activities of others, to responding to their action andhaving them respond to yours.

The discovery of the functionalities of the piece are largely discoveredin and through interaction with others, both people accompanying otherpeople and others who happen to be in the same space.

The moment of an action almost embodiesthe principle concerns of those interested in ‘peripheral participation’ andrelated matters

This achievement is produced in thecollaboration of the participants. They shape their own and each other’sexperience in and through the installation.

In a way, we are concerned with the ways in which visitors and viewersare, and can be seen to be, active and engaged spectators.

a connection which is critical for constituting the sense andsignificance of conduct and its environment.

It demands the engagement and complicityof the spectator, the viewer’s, active involvement ininterweaving the figures and scene of the paintingwith its location within the Church.

happenings of a figured world

There is, Goodenough con-no uniform, conslstf.nt, or coherent set of meanings-no "cul-ture"-that applies equally in every activity.

A figured world is formed and re-formed in relation to the everyday activities and events that or-dain happenings within it.

From Coach J'sperspective, this was an indication of Gozi being both lazy and a goof-off, while forGozi, this was simply a mistake he had made under the misdirection of a more seniorteammate. Unlike Yaheem, Gozi did not choose to approach Coach J directly to repairthe relationship

three levels of analysisthat are required to offer an account of identity, including individuals, social interac-tion, and broader society.

For the women we studied, the cultural interpretation of romance became salient and compelling as their expertise with romantic relation-ships increased and as they came to form an engaging interpretation of themselves in the world of romance

Those who ap-peared to be less knowledgeable or less expert closely copied and took direction from others, attended to relatively circumscribed aspects of relationships, and had difficulty generating possible responses to roman-tic situations.

The themes of male/female relationships also dominated a vocabulary that the students used to talk about one another.

Tlie figured wortaD£ romance acquired motivating force as ---the women developed mastery of it, and their mastery, in turn, depended upon their development of a concept of themselves as actors in the world of romance.