Learning Context_Katka Cerna

7/27/2019 Learning Context_Katka Cerna

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Learning in the context Course report: reflexive essay

Katka Černá

2013



Introduction

Following text is a reflexive essay focusing on the theme of learning in different contexts.

Specifically I am going to provide the reader with multiple perspectives on a botanical garden

that can serve as a source for interconnection of contexts. This interviewing can lead to an

enhanced learning. However I want to challenge this idea as well and reflect it with my own

experience. Because learning is never an abstract thing, but it is always learning of something

(LinCS Research programme 2006), I am going to reflect a visit in the botanical garden that has

been claimed by many to be a perfect source for interviewing contexts (Zhai 2012).

My paper does not try to be a standard academic paper - being inspired by Sullivan's

article (Sullivan 2000) I would like to try writing in a new way based both on my academic and

my personal experience. After giving my presentation for the course, I started thinking about the

perspective I view the whole theme from: of course I view it as a researcher but I do so as a

student at the same time as well and also as a researcher-student or also as a teacher. I really liked

the autobiographical style of Sullivan: she described parts of her childhood in order to explain her

new perspective - what a challenge to all the strictly academic and objective papers! And yet, she

actually reached deeper into history of social science than it was clear at the first sight: it was

Max Weber (one of the fathers of sociology, social sciences and research in social science), who

proposed the idea of explaining ones position and clarifying ones aims (Weber 1949). Though he

connected it mainly with the idea of values in the science, he gave the inspiration for the

discussion in relation to why should one provide one’s personal history as a relevant explanation

for their position in the research or in science in general.

Therefore, in order to provide the best view on my own position, I have decided to

combine my three main perspectives: first, I am going to view our field trip to the botanical

garden from a student perspective; then I am going to view it as a teacher; and finally I am going

to write from the perspective of a researcher. The perspectives are going to be analysed with this

question in mind: interconnection of contexts – what are the advantages and the challenges for

learning? Finally, a conclusion will be provided.

Methodology

I drew mainly on the course literature and my own literatures reviews that had been

created as a part of the course. As a useful source also served one morning in the Gothenburg



botanical garden, when we got the chance to meet three key people for the garden and had

interview with them. Since I did not record the sessions, I used my own field notes as a source. I

wrote them after the session, but I hope I got everything right. I also draw on my own experience

a lot, as a student, teacher and a researcher.

Aim of the paper

The aim of the paper is to point out the importance of realisation of different contexts.

Viewing a certain problem from different perspectives should help us understand not only various

contexts involved in the environment of botanical garden, but also highlight the consequences of

learning in different contexts. I also wanted to show that learning in different context is

advantageous but involves challenges as well.

Botanical garden: three perspectives

Following part presents three perspectives on a visit to the botanical garden in

Gothenburg. The visit was conducted as a field work, we could explore the garden, got to talk to

the key people of the botanical garden and discuss and reflect on the visit and literature with our

classmates.

Student

We met at the main entrance, quite early in the morning (when you go to bed around 2, 9

am is early in the morning). But the sun was shining and it was already quite warm, so it was not

that bad. The flowerbeds that were formed into the Nemo's shape felt very welcoming and set a

relaxed and almost playful mood. All except Skúli made it, so we could start our field trip. We

walked through the garden and Dawn provided us with many interesting comments on the

flowers and trees we could see around us. The garden was full of flowers and intensively green.

We shared our experience with botanical garden and similar environments. We were slowly and

gradually sinking into the garden, beginning to think about different contexts. I almost felt the

shift of the focus - the green mass that I saw when I entered the garden (and when I went there for

the first time as well) started becoming specific objects (because there were not only trees and

flowers, but also art objects, greenhouse, restaurant, composts...) connected by the overpowering

green.



The first interview happened outside, because the sun was still shining and even Mari

luckily preferred sitting outside. We talked about how she got to Gothenburg and what does it

involve to be a botanical garden director (obviously many responsibilities!). The interview was

very interesting, but sometimes also difficult to follow as there were trucks going around us,

making lot of noises. Second interview was conducted in the garden restaurant. Eva also talked to

us about her background and about the educational programme she leads. We drunk tea and

coffee in the still-shining sun that is why some of us started becoming pink or partially red (only

Yoko was actually ready for the weather and had brought a hat). Therefore we went inside for the

next interview. It seemed to me that this interview brought us new information the most, because

not many of us knew what a botanical garden curator was and what he did. Though it was very

interesting and we could see that Mats was very passionate for his job, it was the last interview

and I was really tired. I was also getting hungry and it was very difficult to concentrate.

Finally, we went outside again and sat under the beautiful trees and ate our lunches. We

discussed the whole morning, but we also talked about who had what for lunch and our plans for

the afternoon and holidays. The whole trip was very inspiring but I was glad I could take a break

for the afternoon and went to Slotskogen to play beach with my friends.

Teacher

As for a teacher, the botanical garden trip was a very eye-opening experience. Before we

did the trip, I would think about visiting botanical garden only in terms of introducing specific

types of flowers to the students or teach them new types of plants. But as Helen showed us the

possibilities were much wider. I found very interesting especially the ideas of composting and the

whole environmental perspective. Composting was related to children's own work - they could

come to the botanical garden and create their own compost, which they took care of later on as

well. The environmental perspective introduced by Helen to children or students should have had

a sort of a holistic effect: it should make them realize that nature is around us all the time, it is not

only a few flowers in the garden or some isolated area. The students were then motivated to treat

nature like that and to think about their role in the whole world (interview with Ekvall).

Eva also mentioned her experience with school trips. One of the most common problem is

the problem of the follow up: students or children usually got some sort of preparation for the



school trip to the botanical garden, then they do the trip and finally the receive only a little bit of

follow up. But as Helen said, this was not enough (interview with Ekvall). To get as much as

possible from the trip, it should be a part of a wider programme or a block of sessions. To me that

was the first thing I thought of: this type of trips usually lacks its context and becomes more of a

social occasion for the students. That is not a bad thing, but the learning possibilities might

become limited (my own experience).

The trip also showed me the importance of guidance in such a place; at the beginning

even we had a problem realizing what should we see and look for. That also made me think about

all the school trips I went to: students in general are usually very observant and open-minded

about what they see. But at the same time they are able to pay attention to everything. Therefore

the teacher has to guide them, show the students what it is they should search for and how should

they focus their attention.

Researcher

This perspective seemed to be the hardest one at first: what can a researcher like me -

interested in communication technologies as a peak of the civilisation interaction - find in a

green, anti-technology environment like this? But our trip showed me, I could not have been

wrong more. Firstly, botanical garden provides us with a platform, where various contexts can be

connected and we can benefit from it (Zhai 2012). Secondly, botanical garden is not only about

plants, but about human interaction as well. As we had heard from Mari (interview with

K ällersjö) the botanical garden is a social place, it has been being created as a place for meeting,

as a place for cultivating both plants and social relationships. In the garden itself, there are many

places, where people can sit down and relax, enjoy beautiful views or smell the scents of flowers.

At the same time, there are many people coming to the garden to actually learn

something: if it is the already mentioned school trip or a gardener, who would like to know more

about his/her plants. And I found communication technology here as well: by engaging with

queer codes or by calling to a special phone line, the visitors could reach much more information

(interview with K ällersjö). Also Facebook webpage started being developed. Thought all those

communication means were merely in their beginnings, I could see the potential for research in

many ways (does this type of communication technologies really enhance visitor's knowledge



about flora? How does it structure the visit?)

Analysis: advantages and challenges

As you could see, the perspectives differed not only in their contents but also in their

styles. Meanwhile the teacher ’s perspective focused on possibilities of the whole environment

and how it can be used for teaching students, the researcher ’s perspective focused on the options

and questions related mainly to various research themes. But what about the first reflection? It

sounded the least academic, a lot of points mentioned were not really connected with the class or

the research (for example the weather or the mood). But were they really not connected? It is a

big difference to sit outside and allow the students to become distracted; or when the sun actually

made us go inside and have the last interview inside.

It was the first perspective that made me think about various contexts involved. No matter

how good teacher we can be or how focused researcher, we still cannot escape the physical

matters that we are involved in – the physical contexts of our bodies, senses and the physical

environment around us. That has implications not only for students (as we could have seen) but

also for teachers (they should be aware that sitting in the sun or in a cold room might distract

student’s from learning) and researchers (when conducting interviews before lunch, are the

interviewees going to be hungry and less willing to answer my answers properly?). As a teacher I

should be also aware of the physical aspect not only considering students, but myself as well. If I

would be hungry, would I be less patient with the students?

The student’s perspective also should have shown the openness of the students’ mind.

Though I did not know what to look at, I was not restricted by any limitations and I felt most

likely to think outside the box. I think that the student perspective also showed the range of things

students can focus on: from an interesting interview to their future plan for the afternoon. As a

teacher, I felt I should be aware of this possibility, which has also become a necessity: if you letthe students “run freely” the whole time, the whole botanical garden experience will become very

vague considering learning.

As I have already mentioned, a certain level of guidance is needed in order to point out

what is relevant for the student and what can support their learning. For example the composting



activity provided a good possibility to lead a clearly focused lesson. Even the area was partially

separated from the rest of the botanical garden (again the physical aspect!), allowing the students

focus on the composting, not being “disturb” by the rest of the garden, but still being part of it.

To sum it up, the teacher ’s perspective made me think about limitations. When we areinvolved in so many different contexts (for example composting: learning about plants – working

– being outside, exposed to weather – social relations – learning about environment – learning

related social norms), where should we draw the line? As teachers we should make our students

aware that they are part of a bigger environmental system, botanical garden being a good

representation of it. But on the other hand, we want the students to enjoy the stay in the garden as

well (since relaxation is one of the aims of the garden)(interview with K ällersjö) and not be

terrified that by breaking one little plant they might destroy the planet. Now I am exaggerating

but I am trying to point to a rather common today phenomenon: students being overinformed. As

I have suggested earlier, students are exposed to many sources of information, maybe too many.

As a teacher one has to search for a balance between restricting and providing them with too

much information.

The researcher perspective (paradoxically) represented the most restricted view to me. I

know that as a researcher I cannot simply go and observe “stuff ” around me, I need to have

research aims and research questions. I cannot only jump into the field, I need to plan my steps in

advance. That was also the reason why I did not interview any visitors: my questions were vague

too much, they did not seem to be “scientific” enough. It was exactly the student’s

open-mindness at things that I missed in this particular case. Similarly, the teacher ’s perspective

should have inspired me to follow the guidelines that were provided to us (by our teacher, by the

interviewed people or by the organisation of botanical garden itself).

And as we could have read in Sullivan’s article (2000) there are various ways how can

one deal with attention. She particularly promotes “staring” technique, where children were

motivated to stare at a certain object for a while and observe it. This technique would have been

perfect in the botanical garden, because it provided so many possibilities to do so, ranging from

trees, flowers and other plants, to animals and people.

On the other hand, it was the perspective of a researcher that allowed me to see all the



connections between the contexts that clearly. Only when I took into consideration what we have

read (the course literature) with the specific inspiration in Zhai’s article (2012) I realized that the

contexts related to learning are numerous.

Firstly there is of course the knowledge about flora. Further on I got used to consideringsocial relation as highly relevant for learning (Research programme 2006). However learning and

think about learning in the botanical garden showed me more: the omnipresent physical aspect of

the interactions (that also matches to the points on this matter in the Research programme 2006),

ecological and environmental aspect of learning (we are part of a bigger system, where everyone

has their role), or that nature is not one-time toy (if you will not take care about your compost, it

is not going to go well). But I also realize that learning happens at the place of someone’s work

(here the programme leaders, teachers or gardeners).

Realizing and reflecting all these contexts should then help us finding out, who we are not

only as a person but also as a researcher. As Dilton and Wals (2006) say in their article, realizing

one’s position is important in order to find your own place in the field of science. And not only to

be able to criticize others but also to defend yourself and find suitable supporting arguments. But

at the end of the day, we have to decide if all those interesting contexts are really relevant for our

purpose. Though I do agree with Dilton and Wals, and one should explain as much as possible,

we are getting back to the problem of too much information. Similarly as the teachers, even as

researchers we have to be able to draw the line and try searching for a balance in our work: let

ourselves say what we want but at the same time do not overwhelm the reader with pages.

Conclusion

Though I did experience difficulties while writing, considering all three perspectives not

only showed me the interconnectedness but also relevance of all social roles one does have.

Therefore though it is the researcher objective that seems to be the most "objective", we have torealize that in the real life all the roles are interconnected and also the "less scientific" aspects (for

example emotions or body) have their influence.

To conclude – what have I learned and what I wanted the reader to learn? I have learned

several things while writing this paper. Firstly it showed me, that I still view myself mainly as a



student and as a teacher; and not much as a researcher. That does make sense – I have been a

student for many years (should we count my basic education we would be talking dozens of

years), but I have seen my-self as a researcher only a few.

However I wanted to show that while dealing with a certain problem, it is useful to look into your own head and to realize from which perspectives you are actually viewing the problem.

That might help with overlooked aspects or highlight other parts that did not seem to be relevant

at first (as with the physical context for the researcher or the guidelines for the student).

Writing from three different perspectives proved to be difficult, because I had to organize

my notes and connected experience according to specific view and decide what was important for

me for the given role. That felt unauthentic on one hand (because all the roles are interconnected

in the real life and it is not possible to isolate them from each other) , but on the other hand it

showed me a lot about me and about my approach to rest of the world. Hopefully the reader saw

it too.



Sources

Weber, Max. (1949). Max Weber on the methodology of the social sciences. Free Press.

My own field notes based on the visit of the botanical garden on 16.5.2013.

Research programme (Appendix A). 2006. It was recognized as part of the original

Application of LinCS by Emma Petersson, who was our main contact person. [online] Accessible

from

http://lincs.gu.se/digitalAssets/769/769303_LinCS__programme.pdf

Interviews

K ällersjö, Mari. 16.5.2013. Group interview.

Ekvall, Helen. 16.5.2013. Group interview.

Havstr öm, Mats. 16.5.2013. Group interview.

Course literature:

Justin Dillon and Arjen Wals, A. (2006). On the danger of blurring methods, methodologies and

ideologies in environmental research. Environmental Education Research, 12 3-4, September. pp.549-558

Peter Elbow Using the Collage for Collaborative Writing In Composition Studies 27.1 (Spring

1999): 7-14. Reprinted in Everyone Can Write: Essays Toward A Hopeful Theory of Writing

and Teaching Writing. Oxford UP, 2000.

Jill Hohenstein, Heather King (2011) 'Learning: Theoretical perspectives that go beyond

context', in Becoming a Teacher 4th Edition pp. 175-184[Chapter]

Lotz-Sisitka, H. (2002). ‘Weaving cloths: research design in contexts of transformation’,

Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 7, 2, 101 – 24.

Anne McCary Sullivan (2000) Voices Inside Schools: Notes from a Marine Biologist’s Daughter:On the art and science of attention. Harvard Educational Review 70, 2. pp.211-27

Etienne Wenger (1998) Communities of Practice: learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge

University Press





Zhai, J. (2012). Engaging Children in Learning Ecological Science: Two Botanic Garden

Educators’ Pedagogical Practices. In K. C. D. Tan & M. Kim (Eds.), Issues and Challenges inScience Education Research: Moving Forward (pp. 301-315). Dordrecht: Springer.

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