Cultural Teaching: The Development of Teaching Skills in Maya Sibling Interactions

Abstract

Psychology has considered the development of learning, but the development of teaching in childhood has not been considered. The data presented in this article demonstrate that children develop teaching skills over the course of middle childhood. Seventy-two Maya children (25 boys, 47 girls) ranging in age from 3 to 11 years (M = 6.8 years) were videotaped in sibling caretaking interactions with their 2-year-old brothers and sisters (18 boys, 18 girls). In the context of play, older siblings taught their younger siblings how to do everyday tasks such as washing and cooking. Ethnographic observations, discourse analyses, and quantification of discourse findings showed that children's teaching skills increased over the course of middle childhood. By the age of 4 years, children took responsibility for initiating teaching situations with their toddler siblings. By the age of 8 years, children were highly skilled in using talk combined with manual demonstrations, verbal feedback, explanations, and guiding the body of younger learners. Children's developing competence in teaching helped their younger siblings increase their participation in culturally important tasks.

When good news is bad news: the negative impact of positive customer feedback on front-line employee well-being

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Iniciativa infantil y aprendizaje multimodal en la acción e interacción: un estudio de socialización entre los mayas tsotsiles de Huixtán

“…a' ech to vi La actividad 2 muestra que la interacción entre pares juega un rol importante en la enseñanza e involucramiento de niños en las pequeñas actividades cotidianas (De León, 2005Goodwin, 1990;Goodwin y Kyratzis, 2011;Maynard, 2002;Rogoff, 1990. La secuencia de interacción entre los hermanitos muestra cómo la niña por iniciativa propia hace un collar a partir de eventos concretos que ha vivido y observado de los adultos que enrollan hilos o lazos sobre el pie o la pierna.…”

“…Estudios desde la teoría cultural de la actividad muestran que los niños en contextos indígenas (en Guatemala con mayas ts'utujiles, en México con mayas yucatecos, mayas tsotsiles de Zinacantán y mazahuas, entre otros), desde pequeños, tienen oportunidad de observar el trabajo adulto y de incorporarse como participantes en diversas actividades (Cancian, 1964;Chavajay 1993;Chavajay y Rogoff, 1999;Chamoux, 1992;Childs y Greenfield, 1980;de Haan, 1999;Gaskins, 1999Gaskins, , 2010Gaskins y Paradise, 2010;Greenfield y Childs, 2005;Maynard et al, 2003;Maynard, 2002;Modiano 1973;Rogoff et al, 2003;Morelli et al, 2003;Paradise ,1996;Paradise y Roggoff, 2009).…”

Explicit Reference to Theory: A Content Analysis of Two Prominent Human Development Journals

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