The importance of community and social life in the learning process is the topic of a lecture to be given by Jean Lave, a social anthropologist interested in social theory, at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, in Todd 276. Refreshments will follow. The event is sponsored by the Engineering Education Research Center and the President’s Teaching Academy.
Lave, professor of Social and Cultural Studies in Education at the University of California, Berkeley, is a leading researcher in the area of social elements of learning.
“She emphasizes the importance of community in the learning process and argues that students learn contextually from others,” said Denny Davis, chair of the Teaching Academy and co-director of the EERC. Lave and other researchers have found that the social community has a major impact on student satisfaction and retention, and a social connection with a student’s discipline is particularly important, Davis said.
“Lave has a lot to offer educators, in all disciplines, in how we might enhance learning,” he said. “Peripheral participation in communities of practice can enhance student understanding and identity with a profession. This is important in connecting under-represented students to their intended professional communities.
“A residential campus like Washington State University has special opportunities to enhance student learning through application of Lave’s theories of practice.”
