Funds of Knowledge
Best practices in lesson designing require the teacher to activate students’ prior knowledge about a topic, and then build upon the prior knowledge with new information. Learners create knowledge, or construct meaning (Design), by interacting with their Available Designs. The most important Available Designs for the students- their prior knowledge and life experiences- can be referred to as Funds of Knowledge.
Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzales (1992) define Funds of Knowledge as, “historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being” (p. 133). Baker (2011) sees Funds of Knowledge as a, “Cooperative systems model where parents see the home, school, and community as interrelated, cooperative, and functioning as a whole” (p. 332). Teachers can utilize the Funds of Knowledge of their community by identifying skills, knowledge, expertise, and interests that their students’ households possess and that can be used for the benefit of all the students in the classroom (p. 333). Baker (2011) explains that Funds of Knowledge are not just in the home, but in the community as well and concerns how such knowledge is constructed, revised, maintained, and shared (p. 333). According to Moll et al. (1992), families within a community develop social networks that interconnect them with their social environments and these relationships facilitate the development and exchange of resources, including knowledge, skill, and labor that involve many people from - outside the homes. The terms the authors use for these networks are “thick” and “multi-stranded”- meaning there are multiple relationships with the same person or various persons from whom the child learns multiple things. In these situations, the person imparting knowledge knows the student as a whole person. Moll et al. describe the typical teacher-student relationship of a classroom as “thin” and “single-stranded”- where the teacher knows the student only from their performance within the limited classroom setting. They explain that within the house, families reach out to resources when necessary, but teachers rarely reach out and use Funds of Knowledge resources. The authors describe the concept of reciprocity that involves human social interdependence and mutual trust that facilitate the development of long-term relationships. They explain that with each exchange with relatives, friends, and neighbors, a context in which learning can occur is formed.
Knowledge and learning does not only occur in schools. It is important for our students to understand that any knowledge held by our communities that help our communities to survive and thrive is worth knowing. It is tied to the idea of place-based education. Most of what we need to know to be successful and survive in our communities of Kodiak Island can be learned from our island and the people found there.
Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzales (1992) define Funds of Knowledge as, “historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being” (p. 133). Baker (2011) sees Funds of Knowledge as a, “Cooperative systems model where parents see the home, school, and community as interrelated, cooperative, and functioning as a whole” (p. 332). Teachers can utilize the Funds of Knowledge of their community by identifying skills, knowledge, expertise, and interests that their students’ households possess and that can be used for the benefit of all the students in the classroom (p. 333). Baker (2011) explains that Funds of Knowledge are not just in the home, but in the community as well and concerns how such knowledge is constructed, revised, maintained, and shared (p. 333). According to Moll et al. (1992), families within a community develop social networks that interconnect them with their social environments and these relationships facilitate the development and exchange of resources, including knowledge, skill, and labor that involve many people from - outside the homes. The terms the authors use for these networks are “thick” and “multi-stranded”- meaning there are multiple relationships with the same person or various persons from whom the child learns multiple things. In these situations, the person imparting knowledge knows the student as a whole person. Moll et al. describe the typical teacher-student relationship of a classroom as “thin” and “single-stranded”- where the teacher knows the student only from their performance within the limited classroom setting. They explain that within the house, families reach out to resources when necessary, but teachers rarely reach out and use Funds of Knowledge resources. The authors describe the concept of reciprocity that involves human social interdependence and mutual trust that facilitate the development of long-term relationships. They explain that with each exchange with relatives, friends, and neighbors, a context in which learning can occur is formed.
Knowledge and learning does not only occur in schools. It is important for our students to understand that any knowledge held by our communities that help our communities to survive and thrive is worth knowing. It is tied to the idea of place-based education. Most of what we need to know to be successful and survive in our communities of Kodiak Island can be learned from our island and the people found there.