Misremembering as Mediated Action: Schematic Narrative Templates and Elementary Students' Narration of the Past

Middle School Emergent Bilingual and Bilingual Students' Perspectives on U.S. History

“…Within a sociocultural framework these characteristics serve to mediate societal and classroom processes alike. Historical narratives-"temporally ordered sequences of events that are causally linked" (Barton, 2001, p. 883)-also serve as key mediators of the teaching and learning history (VanSledright, 2008;Wertsch, 2000;Wills, 2011). The sociocultural contexts in which schools are situated also impact teaching and learning practices, with researchers highlighting the role of such factors as history, economics, culture, politics, and identity (K. D. Brown, 2011;Darling-Hammond, French, & Garcia-Lopez, 2002;Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014;Hess & McAvoy, 2015;Nieto, 2013).…”

“…Felix Gebre Isabel Javier Maria Salvador Santiago Yonas Yousuf 2010; Wertsch, 2000;Wills, 2011). In this section of the chapter, I first describe the ways in which ten participants employed what I term "the nation-building narrative," which is built on notions of progress and development, order and institutions (see Table 11).…”

“…Though Marisol nominated few people or events during her interviews, her explanation for identifying "Mr. Martin Luther King" suggests that she over-generalized the importance of political office: "Creo que fue presidente de Estados Unidos./I think he was the U.S. president" (interview, 9/16/15). In this clear example of "misremembering" (Wills, 2011), Marisol employed the nation-building narrative to justify her selection of King. The fact that Marisol did not address the concepts of equality or rights when discussing King demonstrates her broader omission of the equality narrative, as well as the discrimination narrative.…”

“…While Javier's many misconceptions may traditionally be considered errors, Wills (2011) argued that "misremembering as mediated action" provides an analytic tool for understanding "the tools and texts that may be shaping students' representations, interpretations, and understandings of the past" (p. 142). In the case of Javier, the elaborate stories he told-while simultaneously asserting that Mr. Mitchell's class was "easy-peasy" and "like a piece of cake" (interview, 12/16/15)-suggest that he was attempting to save face or pass as a proficient student (Monzó & Rueda, 2009).…”

“…In the case of Javier, the elaborate stories he told-while simultaneously asserting that Mr. Mitchell's class was "easy-peasy" and "like a piece of cake" (interview, 12/16/15)-suggest that he was attempting to save face or pass as a proficient student (Monzó & Rueda, 2009). In this section I present interview excerpts that demonstrate participants' historical misconceptions and analyze them using the approach Wills (2011) suggested. Javier's misconceptions or "misremembering" provided evidence for two primary types of "mediated action" (Wills, 2011 These examples of the participants' "misremembering" suggest that the interaction between language learning and historical meaning making is complex.…”