6: Almaty and Columbus: Theorizing the Local

As the chapters in this book have shown, when students engage in ethnographic studies of their own communities, they acquire ways of thinking, learning, and exploring that are otherwise difficult to acquire in classroom settings. In order to engage in ethnographic studies of their own communities, students must be active learners and incorporate their experiences and funds of knowledge (cf., González, Moll, & Amanti, 2013) as they pursue knowledge and understanding beyond the classroom walls. They learn to use reading and writing and other semiotic systems (e.g., illustrations, video recordings, graphs, etc.) in new ways, and they learn how to orchestrate and integrate diverse literacy practices.