A little recap: I was conducting a state training and one of the participant was a beautiful woman who asked if it was okay for her to sit at the back of the room in other for her to connect to an online faculty meeting. She did not want to miss the training despite the fact she had another meeting at the local university where she is a senior lecturer. The jacket she had on reminded me of a tapestry of cultures delightfully woven together. Her smiles and warmth radiated as she completed activities at her table with another participant. After the session, we talked and in a way I still find interesting we both expressed our desires to conduct research on some pertinent topics. We exchanged contact information and planned to meet to put some action into our intended research.
At our meeting we both discovered our connection was divinely orchestrated. She is a believer in Christ. She and her husband attend the same church as our oldest daughter. One of her sons, who now live in another city, played the keyboard at our church. Her family knows the same singing family group my husband and I know from twenty-one years ago. Furthermore, we both have a precious colleague as a mutual friend. The odds of us meeting were obvious, God is Amazing! During our meeting, she brought up something one of her colleagues had taught on: “Third Space.” She explained the theory and strategy and how it can be used in the classroom for all learners.
As I reflected I could not get away from what she had shared about third space, I wanted to know more. Third Space turned out to be a familiar instructional strategy linked to Vygotsky’s model for the classroom. Simply, third space in the classroom is where a student’s cultural capital merges with content of the curriculum in such a way that the student can justify their point of view in literary discourse. For small children, third space refers to that pre-literacy phase in which they learn to read, bringing family and school literacy practices into their own understanding of how to read and write.
So, as I think of my divine connection and third space, I cannot but think of God’s guidance in the lives of His people. He knows how to guide us, so that we know when to move, when to slow down, when to wait and when to leave. The most important thing is to know God’s voice and obey quickly as He leads, prompts or nudges. And who knows there might be a divine connection in store for you this coming week or next. Be alert to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and obey :) Love & Blessings!!
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8