Use of Cultural Styles or Repertoires of Experience to Guide Instruction: What Difference Does it Make?

Abstract

Educators are seeking to meet student needs in increasingly diverse university classrooms. Two contrasting ways of responding to cultural difference are planning instruction on the basis of cultural styles or repertoires of culturally-based experiences (Gutiérrez & Rogoff, 2003). Use of learning styles to address individual differences in learning is relatively commonplace (Young, 2008). More controversial is the use of cultural styles that assume commonalities in approaches to learning based on cultural background. There are benefits and problems with using individual or cultural learning styles. Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003) proposed that we abandon the use of the styles construct in favour of working with students' repertoires of culturally-based experiences. This cultural historical approach has different views of the learner and his or her relationship to cultural communities, the learning process, and the appropriate instructional practices to address diversity. After contrasting the styles and cultural historical approaches, a compromise position is presented along with recommendations for further research and the optimal use of both the styles and cultural-historical approaches.