Vernacular, interstitial and dominant spaces

Andrew MiddletonHead of Academic Practice & Learning InnovationLearning Enhancement & Academic Development

what they mean for learning at university

@andrewmid(CC) Andrew Carr BY-NC-ND

In-between the dominant spacesthe lived connections found and made by students

Ask a University where learning happens……It will use the language of the providerAsk a student where learning happens……They will use the language of the userBoth will talk of dominant spaces

Learning is lived and experienced across and between dominant spaces

Dominant reified spacesWhat a university provides

Dominant formal and informal reified learning is given high valueInstitutionally powerful, culturally embedded and sustaining for the institution

In contrastvernacular, more natural, self-regulated, everyday and non-formal behaviours have little status, are not reified and can be “actively disapproved of and trivialised”

Hamilton, 2000, p. 6

Dominant: provided and managedTHE ClassroomTHE LabTHE Virtual Learning EnvironmentTHE LibraryTHE informal space…

What happens if we look at the learner’s

Unbounded vernacular spacesWhat the learner constructs

Movement across and between spacesTranslocation"movement is a continuous process of displacement/emplacement, one that creates temporary experiences of in-betweeness, a feeling of simultaneous departure and arrival, a lived experience that enacts constant transformation" (Daskalaki et al., 2012, p. 24)

Interstitialitythe lived connections found and made by students

Interstitial connections - the linkages and gaps that may go unnoticed

an intervening space - something that is apparently less consequential than the dominant spaces

Negative space

Natural informal learning (Cross 2007)Left to our own devices

Most of what we learn in life is from other people, informally through conversation and is effective because it is personalInformal learning needs to be nurturedLearning hierarchies are less necessaryLearning through life: rich, personal and rewarding experienceLifewide and lifelong learning capabilities need to be fosteredLearning benefits from being more naturally situated, authentic and more meaningfulLearning networks underpin this capability

Do we foster natural informal learning?How?

From vernacular literacies to vernacular space (Hamilton, 2000)where and how does the learning habit begin?

Understanding space asUnbounded and not dominantDynamic, permeable, fluid and shiftingSelf and socially-generated contexts originating in necessity, everyday purposes and networksNot formally structured, defined or valuedDriven by novice expertsSupporting or being supported by others and where “identities shift accordingly”Local, procedural and minutely detailed, drawing upon and contributing to vernacular knowledge

Given the opportunity…We are ready to learnWe have been doing it all of our lives

Learner Generated Contexts(Luckin et al., 2011)

Self and socially-generated contexts originating in necessity, everyday purposes and networks

"a Learner Generated Context is “a context created by people interacting together with a common, self-defined learning goal. The key aspect of Learner Generated Contexts is that they are generated through the enterprise of those who would previously have been consumers in a context created for them”. p. 72-73

"Every person’s context is individual to them and is the ultimate form of personalization of the world and of the elements of the world which can contribute to learning." p. 74

“Borderland spaces are permissive spaces, allowing genuine dialogue to take place and offering opportunities for co-inquiry and reflection between students and faculty (Lodge, 2005). “(Hill et al., 2015)

Discomfort zones and borderlandsthe lived connections found and made by students

“Borderland spaces are unprescribed and remain open to being shaped by the processes of learning experienced by their participants”(Savin-Baden, 2008).

"shift from ambiguous space to meaningful place""argues that space is not just about dominant spaces; it extends the concept of liminality; and in connection with the latter, it demonstrates how transitory dwelling places offer fertile ground in which we might further develop our knowledge of the lived experiences of space at work."

Shortt (2014)

In-between: thinking around the boxThird Space, liminality, and Third Place

Third Placecommunity/equality

LiminalityPotential for

transformation‘Passage’

Ritualised change

Third Spaceboundary crossing

translationnegotiation

In-betweenthe richest space of all

Homi Baba

Kris Gutierraez

Intersection and ambiguity

Victor Turner

In a transition state

Ray Oldenburg

Between ‘home’ and ‘work’“Often providing a common meeting ground for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences”

Thanks to Katherine Jensen

ConclusionIn-between space: the richest space of all

Value:NetworksConnectionsLifewide and lifelong capabilitiesExperienced learningMaking the interstitial space visibleScaffolding learning to the borderlands

We have been learning all of our lives…

Cross, J. (2007). Informal learning: rediscovering the natural pathways that inspire innovation and performance. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Daskalaki, M., Butler, C.L., and Petrovic, J. (2012).Somewhere In-Between: Narratives of Place, Identity, and Translocal Work. Journal of Management Inquiry, October 2012; vol. 21, 4: pp. 430-441

Eraut, M. (2000). Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, pp. 113 - 136.

Hamilton, M. (2000). Sustainable literacies and the ecology of lifelong learning. Paper presented at "Supporting Lifelong Learning: A Global Colloquium" , London, England, July 5-7, 2000. Available online at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED445251.pdf

Hill, J., Thomas, G., Diaz, A. and Simm, D. (2015) Borderland spaces for learning partnership: Opportunities, benefits and challenges. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. ISSN 0309-8265

Luckin, R., Clark, W., Garnett, F., Whitworth, A., Akass, J., Cook, J., Day, P., Eccesfield, N., Hamilton, T., & Robertson, J. (2011). Learner-generated contexts: a framework to support the effective use of technology for learning. In: M.J.W. Lee & C. McLoughlin “Web 2.0-based e-Learning: applying social informatics for tertiary teaching. Hershey: Information Science Reference, pp. 70-84.

Shortt, H. (2014). Liminality, space and the importance of “transitory dwelling places” at work. Human Relations, 68(4), 633–658.

Turner V.W. (1969) The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Chicago: Aldine.

References