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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 8, Issue 1, Article 3 (June, 2007) Beverley JANE and Jill ROBBINS Intergenerational learning: grandparents teaching everyday concepts in science and technology |
Our study was shaped from a socio-cultural perspective, where development is understood as a cultural process, and people develop through their varied participation in the changing cultural activities of their communities (Rogoff, 2003). Several of Vygotsky's concepts were drawn upon, namely, mediated action, intermental and intramental functioning, and everyday and scientific thinking, all of which are relevant in considerations of intergenerational relationships. In our study we investigated the following research questions:
- What science and technological experiences do grandparents, from a range of cultural heritages, engage in with their grandchildren?
- How do grandparents support and extend their grandchildren's learning in science and technology?
- What are the benefits of these intergenerational conversations?
