Differences between a teacher's culture and that of students' can create conflicts and misunderstandings. She gives two examples of traditional ways Native American students learn. Silent observation is one. An example would be when children are present at a storytelling session but do not speak, or when children observe an adult performing a task such as weaving. Many of us have begun to learn how to cook, sew, ride a horse, and so forth through silent observation.
Supervised participation is the second example.
When children have observed a task long enough to feel capable of successfully performing it, they participate in some part of the task under adult supervision. Recent researchers such as Madeline Hunter would define this as guided practice. The teacher stands close by while the student tries the activity by himself for the first time. Schaffer goes on to talk about conflicts that are created because of cultural differences. Calling on individual students to respond puts the student in an adversarial relationship with the teacher.