I can't tell you how many times a teacher called me out based my glazed/confused/bored look during class. I always wondered why the teacher noticed me at such an inopportune time and more importantly what about the rest of the class (some interested others not so much). I guess this was Interpretivism at its best!
I may be completely off base here (baseball pun intended:-)) but my interpretation of Interpretivism was that it was based on assumption. Whether the interpretation of a large group of people differs from the norm and whether its based on cultural, environmental, economic reasons I assumed that it was based on misguided assumption. Take into account that I as a first generation American have had more than my share of misunderstandings, gaffes and social miscues (most of which I credit my parents for) that I will now write off as misinterpretations.
I thought the examples about the baseball game and the girl that always raised her hand last and never knew the answer were all assumptions. But was it misinterpretation? The book and the class agreed it was part of interpretation. Maybe I just don't know the difference between the two words. I just looked them up and I still don't know the difference (I don't think I'm a moron).
Before reading the text I thought that Interpretivism was teachers teaching content based on their own interpretation of that content and then unintentionally influencing the views of their students. Doesn't this fall into the category of interpretivism too? For example, a Jewish History teacher interprets the Holocaust differently than lets say Mel Gibson (I know he's not a teacher, but go with it). Doesn't this mean that what is being taught and learned is based on Interpretivism? Or how about a Science teacher that teaches Evolution (regardless of his/her own beliefs) isn't the delivery of the instruction based on interpretation? I assume, yes, assume that this is a part of Interpretivism. Am I right?
Can y'all help a girl out?
Maybe Math classes have a good thing going...its all in black and white....right and wrong, there is no room for interpretation....or assumption for that matter!
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2 comments:
I think that assumptions are different because they find reasons for the unknown while an interpretation takes the information at hand and puts it into a certain context based on the individual. A teacher may assume that a child is not paying attention due to their body language, but the student has to interpret her reprimanding comment based on their own experiences.
Rebecca has a good way of distinguishing the two. Interpretation is supposed to be based on data - observations, etc. Assumptions, well, not.
Another key element is that Interpretivism is a sociological theory and a research paradigm even moreso than it is a teaching tool.
Sociological theory -- There is no underlying Law that explains social interaction and the purpose of social institutions. Instead, there are local contexts and rules that must be interpreted to make sense out of human social behavior.
Research paradigm -- Qualitative research (observation, interviews, content analysis) is the best way to go about figuring out these local contexts and rules.
Excellent post.
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