Scripts for Learning: Reflecting Dynamics of Classroom Life.

This study used a longitudinal qualitative approach to study children's acquisition of scripts for school learning in New Zealand. Participating in the study were four boys and four girls, 5 years of age. Children were observed in regular class activities in their first term in a new entrant classroom and 1 year later. Informal and semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit children's perceptions of learning tasks. The theoretical constructs of scripts, metacognition, and peer scaffolding provided the theoretical framework for the data reduction process. Results indicated that school beginners viewed learning in terms of procedural matters and classroom routines. While the children's focus on procedures seemed to limit their awareness of learning, it did appear to facilitate their attempt to give and receive scaffolding. There was little awareness of the self as learner, and learning as a concept was largely associated with the teacher. In their second year, children's perceptions of learning reflected changes in classroom dynamics and teaching styles and a greater awareness of learning content and strategies. The findings suggested that children look for patterns in school and construct scripts for school learning which reflect the changing dynamics of classrooms, and that peer interactions provide opportunities for developing relationships which support emergent forms of scaffolding, including metacognitive assistance to peers. Results suggested that teaching practices need to support the construction of scripts for learning and not simply scripts for routines and procedures. (Contains 25 references.) (KDFB)