Learning by Observing and Pitching In and the Connections to Native and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

This chapter opens a broader dialogue of Learning by Observing and Pitching-In (LOPI) with Native and Indigenous Studies, and Native and Indigenous Education, drawing particular attention to how LOPI can provide a model for better understanding Indigenous pedagogy in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). As Battiste (2002) pointed out, "Indigenous pedagogy values a person's ability to learn independently by observing, listening, participating with a minimum of intervention and instruction." Like LOPI, IKS include ways of knowing and ways of being in the world, with life-long processes and responsibilities that model competent and respectful behavior. The chapter explores similarities and differences between IKS and LOPI by analyzing each perspective's scope, defining features, and foundational origins, as well as what each contributes to our understanding of Native and Indigenous communities, especially in terms of learning and incorporation into adulthood and family and community life.