Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Vygotskian theory'

The thesis presents the analytical process and the findings of a study on: lecturers teaching practice with first year undergraduate mathematics modules; and lecturers knowledge for teaching with regard to students mathematical meaning making (understanding). Over three academic semesters, I observed and audio-recorded twenty-six lecturers teaching to a small group tutorial of two to eight first year students, and I discussed with the lecturers about their underlying considerations for teaching. The analysis of this thesis focuses on a characterisation of each of three (of the twenty-six) lecturers teaching, which I observed for more than one semester. I chose the teaching of three experienced lecturers, due to diversity in terms of ways of engaging the students with the mathematics, and due to my consideration of their commitment to teaching for students mathematical meaning making. The distinctive nature of the study is concerned with the conceptualisation of university mathematics teaching practice and knowledge within a Vygotskian perspective. In particular, I used for the characterisation of teaching practice and of teaching knowledge the notions tool-mediation and dialectic from Vygotskian theory. I also used a coding process grounded to the data and informed by existing research literature in mathematics education. I conceptualised teaching practice into tools for teaching and actions with tools for teaching (namely strategies). I then conceptualised teaching knowledge as the lecturers reflection on teaching practice. The thesis contributes to the research literature in mathematics education with an analytical framework of teaching knowledge which is revealed in practice, the Teaching Knowledge-in-Practice (TKiP). TKiP analyses specific kinds of lecturer s knowing for teaching: didactical knowing and pedagogical knowing. The framework includes emerging tools for teaching (e.g. graphical representation, rhetorical question, students faces) and emerging strategies for teaching (e.g. creating students positive feelings, explaining), which were common or different among the three lecturers teaching practice. Overall, TKiP is produced to offer a dynamic framework for researcher analysis of university mathematics teaching knowledge. Analysis of teaching knowledge is important for gaining insights into why teaching practice happens in certain ways. The findings of the thesis also suggest teaching strategies for the improvement of students mathematical meaning making in tutorials.

Qatar’s education system has recently been subjected to a process of deep structural reform. One of the beliefs which underpins this reform is the assumption that learner-centred pedagogy is more effective than traditional teacher-centred pedagogy. However, there is limited empirical evidence from a Qatari classroom context regarding the effectiveness of using learner-centred pedagogies. This lack of empirical evidence extends to the teaching of English as a foreign language. This study employed Vygotskian sociocultural theory as a lens to investigate the effects of working collaboratively on learners’ longer-term performance of two grammatical structures, the simple past passive and the present continuous passive, as well as the cognitive processes involved. Interventionist dynamic assessment was used to quantify the linguistic performance of male Arabic undergraduate EFL learners (N = 52) three times (pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest) over a 12-week period. In-between the pretest and the posttest, six form-focused treatment tasks were administered. The experimental group (n = 20) completed the treatment tasks collaboratively; the comparison group (n = 16) completed the treatment tasks individually; and the control group (n = 16) did not complete the treatment tasks. In addition, the genetic method was employed to trace the linguistic development of four participants in the experimental group. These four participants were audio-recorded as they collaboratively completed each treatment session. Mood’s median test (Mood, 1954) found a pretest to posttest statistically significant difference (M = 7.70, df = 1, p = 0.01) between the performances of the experimental and control groups for the structure of the simple past passive which is moderate to large in size (Cramér’s V = 0.46). However for both target structures, no statistically significant difference was found between the experimental group and the comparison group, suggesting that the treatment condition of working collaboratively was not more effective in promoting learners’ linguistic development than the treatment condition of working individually. Additionally, the descriptive statistics revealed high levels of individual variation. Of the four participants who were audio-recorded, the journey of one learner is presented. This data was analysed using a microgenetic approach with LREs (Swain and Lapkin, 1995, 1998, 2002) as the unit of analysis. The microgenetic analysis shows how working collaboratively provides learners with access to a shared cognitive space. Within this space, they can employ language as a cognitive tool to access other-regulation from their peers and deploy their own self-regulatory strategies. The experience of an individual was explored within the context of the linguistic gains made by the collective to whom he belongs. Thus, even though the statistical analysis of the results suggests that working collaboratively is not more effective in facilitating learners’ linguistic development than working individually, the process of language learning has been connected to the outcome of language learning through the results of the descriptive statistics and the microgenetic analysis. This study contributes to a better understanding of: the types of pedagogies that may be effective in a Qatari undergraduate context, why collaborative learning can be effective, how knowledge which is initially social can take on a psychological function, and how the Vygotskian sociocultural methodologies of the genetic method and dynamic assessment can be integrated into an SLA design.

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CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
FAPERGS - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul
Estudar o silêncio implica considerar o que está além das palavras obviamente enunciadas e trazer à tona a não-insignificância do silêncio em sala de aula de língua adicional (LA). Partindo-se do pressuposto de que interagimos com o mundo de forma mediada e de que precisamos aprender para que possamos nos desenvolver, este estudo baseia-se na teoria vigotskiana no que se refere à aprendizagem. Com esse intuito, utiliza-se o viés da perspectiva sociocultural para relacionar o silêncio a contextos de construção de conhecimento em LA. Para isso, neste estudo, de natureza qualitativa, interações entre alunos de inglês como LA foram observadas e analisadas em uma universidade do sul do Brasil durante a realização de tarefas colaborativas. Para análise de dados foram analisados protocolos verbais sob a ótica da teoria sociocultural. Este trabalho visa problematizar os possíveis sentidos, influência e, em especial, as funções do silêncio na aprendizagem de LA. Com base na literatura, optou-se por categorizar as funções do silêncio como: cognitiva, interativa e social. A função cognitiva do silêncio está relacionada a questões internas, intra-relacionais, como escolhas lexicais e planejamento semântico; a função interativa do silêncio está ligada à conexão micro-relacional entre os interlocutores, como proximidade e evitação de face; e a função social do silêncio tem a ver com questões macro-relacionais, como estilos pessoais, questões de gênero social e afirmação de identidade cultural. Neste estudo investiga-se como as participantes explicam o uso do seu silêncio no contexto de sala de aula de LA durante a realização de uma tarefa colaborativa; como as participantes explicam o silêncio da sua interlocutora na interação em sala de aula de LA durante a realização desta mesma tarefa colaborativa; e quais as funções de silêncio observadas pela pesquisadora durante essas interações. Assim, almeja-se auxiliar professores de línguas e demais profissionais da Linguística Aplicada a refletirem sobre o ensino/aprendizagem de maneira mais ampla, enxergando as interlocuções em aula de modo mais global, incluindo o silêncio, para que se possa oferecer novas contribuições no que se refere a processos de construção de conhecimento.
Studying silence means to consider what is beyond obviously enunciated words and bring up its non-insignificance in additional language (AL) classrooms. Departing from the presupposition that we interact with the world in a mediated way and that we need to learn in order to develop, this study is based on the Vygotskian theory in terms of learning. Therefore, the Sociocultural Theory view is used to associate silence to contexts of AL knowledge building. In this study, of qualitative nature, interactions between students of English as an AL were observed and analysed in a university in the South of Brazil during the realization of collaborative tasks. For data analyses verbal protocols from the sociocultural theory were used. This paper aims to problematize the possible meanings, influence and, especially, the functions of silence in AL learning. Based on the literature, the silence functions were categorized in three major groups: cognitive, interactive and social. The cognitive function of silence is related to intra-relational, internal questions, such as lexical choices and semantic planning; the interactive function of silence is linked with the micro-relational connection between interlocutors, such as proximity and face avoidance; and the social function of silence has to do with macro-relational questions, such as personal style, gender and cultural identity affirmation. It is studied how the participants explain the use of their own silence in the AL classroom context during the realization of a collaborative task; how the participants explain their interlocutor’s silence in interaction in the AL classroom during this same collaborative task; and which functions of silence were observed by the researcher during these interactions. Thus, it is aimed to help language teachers and other Applied Linguistics professionals to reflect about teaching/learning in a broader sense, looking at the interactions in AL classrooms in a different manner, including silence, so that new contributions to the processes of knowledge building can be offered.

FundaÃÃo de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do CearÃ
A presente pesquisa visou investigar como os docentes dos cursos de Psicologia e Pedagogia das universidades da cidade de Fortaleza significam e compreendem a contribuiÃÃo da Teoria vygotskiana para a EducaÃÃo. O estudo se desenvolveu segundo o modelo qualitativo de pesquisa em Psicologia com a adoÃÃo do referencial teÃrico-metodolÃgico das prÃticas discursivas e de produÃÃo de sentidos, segundo a proposta do grupo de pesquisa do qual Mary Jane P. Spink à coordenadora. O referencial teÃrico da pesquisa foi o da abordagem da Psicologia histÃrico-cultural, de L. S. Vygotsky. A pesquisa foi realizada atravÃs de doze entrevistas com docentes das universidades da cidade de Fortaleza (UFC, UECE e UNIFOR) dos cursos de Pedagogia e Psicologia, tendo sido trabalhadas as categorias de anÃlise: o significado da Teoria de Vygotsky e suas contribuiÃÃes; conceitos atribuÃdos como importantes para Teoria geral e para a EducaÃÃo; e projeto polÃtico para a EducaÃÃo a partir da Teoria de Vygotsky. ApÃs a anÃlise das informaÃÃes encontradas, ficou constatada nÃo sà a compreensÃo da relevÃncia da teoria para a EducaÃÃo, mas de toda a sua construÃÃo teÃrica fundada no materialismo histÃrico e dialÃtico, consolidando uma nova concepÃÃo de psiquismo. Nesta perspectiva, foram ressaltados os conceitos relacionados aos processos psicolÃgicos superiores, tais como mediaÃÃo, internalizaÃÃo, Zona de Desenvolvimento Proximal (ZDP) e formaÃÃo de conceitos. Deparamos-nos tambÃm com a compreensÃo de que a teoria pode ser pensada em termos polÃticos, tanto no sentido de concepÃÃo de participaÃÃo social, quanto na viabilidade de ser utilizada para a elaboraÃÃo de projeto polÃtico-pedagÃgico, como tambÃm para uma perspectiva de mudanÃas e transformaÃÃes sociais nos moldes do marxismo
This study sought to investigate how professors on Psychology and Education courses at universities in the city of Fortaleza see and understand the contribution of Vygotskyan theory to education. The study was base don a qualitative model for research in psychology, with adoption of the theoretical-methodological framework of discoursive practices and production of meaning, according to the proposal by the research group coordinated by Mary Jane P. Spink. The theoretical framework of the research used was that of the historical-cultural Psychological approach of L.S. Vygotsky. The study was undertaken by means of twelve interviews with professors from Fortaleza universities (UFC, UECE and UNIFOR) teaching on Psychology and Education courses, and encompassed the categories of analysis: the meaning of Vygotskyâs theory and its contribution; concepts attributed considered important for general theory and for education; the design of policy for education base don Vygotskyan theory. After analysis of the information obtained, not only was the theory found to be relevant for education, but its entire theoretical construction founded in historic dialectical materialism, consolidating a new concept of the psyche. In this sense, the concepts related to higher psychological processes were emphasized, such as mediation, internalization, Proximal Development Zone (PDZ) and formation of concepts. There was also evidence of the understanding that the theory could be though of in political terms, both in the sense of conception social participation, as well as the feasibility of being used for elaboration of political-pedagogical policy, in addition to the prospect of change and social transformation similar to those of Marxism

Syftet med studien var att genom gymnasielärares utsagor söka spår av grundtankar i Vygotskijs teoribildning i deras syn på lärande. Detta för att ta reda på vilka kriterier lärare utgår ifrån när de gör sina didaktiska val i undervisningen och på vilket sätt Vygotskijs grundtankar återspeglas i lärares syn på lärande.

Vår studie grundar sig på kvalitativa intervjuer. I undersökningen deltog fyra lärare på två gymnasieskolor. Efter att materialet var transkriberat, gjordes en analys utifrån de fyra aspekterna som kännetecknar ett socio-kulturellt perspektiv enligt Vygotskij: de sociala, de medierande, de situerade och de kreativa med betoning på lärarroll och lärande. Vi använde oss av en hermeneutisk ansats för att analysera resultatet där vi använde relevant forskning för att förstärka vår tolkning av respondenternas utsagor.

I studien framkom att lärare gav uttryck för att samspel och dialog är viktiga inslag i undervisningen. Vi har även funnit spår av de medierande aspekterna där lärare som mediator har en aktiv roll, men att de samtidigt förespråkar en traditionell katederundervisning.

Vår slutsats är att lärare inte stödjer sig på någon specifik vetenskaplig teori i sin syn på lärande. Vi har emellertid tolkat det som att lärare vid sina didaktiska val i undervisningen väljer att reflektera över hur elever tillägnar sig kunskap framför vad elever ska lära och utveckla. Den syn på lärande som vi kan skönja utifrån lärares utsagor är en blandning av olika teorier som färgats av Vygotskijs teoribildning.

Aim with the study was that through high teachers’ statements apply for tracks of basic thoughts of Vygotsky’s theory education in their sights on learning. This is to ascertain what criteria teachers assume when they do their didactic choices in the education and how Vygotsky’s basic thoughts are reflected in teachers’ sights on learning.

Our study bases itself on qualitative interviews where four teachers from two high schools were participated. After the transcription, the analysis was done on the basis of the four aspects that characterize the socio-cultural perspective according to Vygotsky’s theory of education: the social, the mediated, the situated and the creative aspects. We chose to use the hermeneutic method for analyze of our result where we used relevant research in order to strengthen our interpretation of teachers’ statements.

In the study the teachers expressed that interaction and dialogue are important elements in the education. We also have found tracks from the mediated aspects there teachers as a mediator has an active role, but that they at the same time recommend a traditional education.

Our conclusion is that teachers are not based their learning on some specific scientific theory. We however have interpreted that the teachers when they choose a method, prefer to reflect over how students are getting knowledge instead of what students shall learn and develop. That sight on learning as we possibly can discern on the basis of teachers’ statements is a mixture of different theories that has been influenced by Vygotsky’s theory of education.

ARAUJO, Claúdio Romero Pereira de. Teoria vygotskiana e educação: o que falam desta relação os docentes das universidades de Fortaleza? . 2007. 140 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2007.
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This study sought to investigate how professors on Psychology and Education courses at universities in the city of Fortaleza see and understand the contribution of Vygotskyan theory to education. The study was base don a qualitative model for research in psychology, with adoption of the theoretical-methodological framework of discoursive practices and production of meaning, according to the proposal by the research group coordinated by Mary Jane P. Spink. The theoretical framework of the research used was that of the historical-cultural Psychological approach of L.S. Vygotsky. The study was undertaken by means of twelve interviews with professors from Fortaleza universities (UFC, UECE and UNIFOR) teaching on Psychology and Education courses, and encompassed the categories of analysis: the meaning of Vygotsky’s theory and its contribution; concepts attributed considered important for general theory and for education; the design of policy for education base don Vygotskyan theory. After analysis of the information obtained, not only was the theory found to be relevant for education, but its entire theoretical construction founded in historic dialectical materialism, consolidating a new concept of the psyche. In this sense, the concepts related to higher psychological processes were emphasized, such as mediation, internalization, Proximal Development Zone (PDZ) and formation of concepts. There was also evidence of the understanding that the theory could be though of in political terms, both in the sense of conception social participation, as well as the feasibility of being used for elaboration of political-pedagogical policy, in addition to the prospect of change and social transformation similar to those of Marxism
A presente pesquisa visou investigar como os docentes dos cursos de Psicologia e Pedagogia das universidades da cidade de Fortaleza significam e compreendem a contribuição da Teoria vygotskiana para a Educação. O estudo se desenvolveu segundo o modelo qualitativo de pesquisa em Psicologia com a adoção do referencial teórico-metodológico das práticas discursivas e de produção de sentidos, segundo a proposta do grupo de pesquisa do qual Mary Jane P. Spink é coordenadora. O referencial teórico da pesquisa foi o da abordagem da Psicologia histórico-cultural, de L. S. Vygotsky. A pesquisa foi realizada através de doze entrevistas com docentes das universidades da cidade de Fortaleza (UFC, UECE e UNIFOR) dos cursos de Pedagogia e Psicologia, tendo sido trabalhadas as categorias de análise: o significado da Teoria de Vygotsky e suas contribuições; conceitos atribuídos como importantes para Teoria geral e para a Educação; e projeto político para a Educação a partir da Teoria de Vygotsky. Após a análise das informações encontradas, ficou constatada não só a compreensão da relevância da teoria para a Educação, mas de toda a sua construção teórica fundada no materialismo histórico e dialético, consolidando uma nova concepção de psiquismo. Nesta perspectiva, foram ressaltados os conceitos relacionados aos processos psicológicos superiores, tais como mediação, internalização, Zona de Desenvolvimento Proximal (ZDP) e formação de conceitos. Deparamos-nos também com a compreensão de que a teoria pode ser pensada em termos políticos, tanto no sentido de concepção de participação social, quanto na viabilidade de ser utilizada para a elaboração de projeto político-pedagógico, como também para uma perspectiva de mudanças e transformações sociais nos moldes do marxismo

Syftet med mitt examensarbete är att undersöka vilken status den muntliga kommunikationen har i klassrummet. För att belysa detta har jag intervjuat sex verksamma lärare inom grundskolans lägre åldrar. Jag är nyfiken på hur de betraktar muntlig kommunikation, hur de ser på sitt arbete med att utveckla och stärka det muntliga språket hos eleverna, och vilken inställning de har till muntlig kommunikation i jämförelse med skriftlig kommunikation. Undersökningen är kvalitativ och ett sociokulturellt perspektiv har använts som teoretisk utgångspunkt, vilket utmärks av att lärande och utveckling tar form i kommunikation med andra individer. Kursplanen för svenska i årskurs 1-3 belägger att arbete med den muntliga förmågan är grundläggande för varje människas identitet, sociala trygghet och lärande, och bör därför vara en stor del av undervisningen. Dock förefaller den ha en underordnad ställning i förhållande till läs- och skrivutvecklingen. Resultatet visar att lärarens kunskapssyn och attityd till det talade språket, är en avgörande faktor för mängden muntlig kommunikation i klassrummet. Lärarna är positivt inställda till kommunikation i undervisningen och arbetar aktivt för att utveckla ett resonerande bland eleverna, genom att förespråka en positiv gruppdynamik och ett gott socialt klassrumsklimat i syfte att stärka alla elever och deras vilja till att våga tala.
The aim of this study is to shed light on the status of oral communication in school. I am interested in examining how teachers define oral communication, how they perceive their work to develop and strengthen the oral language of the pupils, and their attitude to oral communication in comparison to written communication. The study is qualitative and a socio-cultural perspective has been used as a theoretical basis, which is characterized by learning and development in interaction between individuals. The syllabus for Swedish in grades 1-3 stresses oral ability as fundamental to every human identity, social security, and therefore states that it should be a big part of teaching. Contrarily, it appears that the oral ability stands subordinate to writing skills. The results of my investigation shows that a teacher's approach to and knowledge of oral ability is an essential factor in the amount of oral communication in the classroom. The teachers interviewed are in favor of communication in teaching and are actively working to develop a reasoning among students, by advocating a positive group dynamics and a good social climate in order to strengthen all the students and their willingness to dare speak.

The purpose of this essay is to find out if there is a general understanding of what the concept of ”a competent child” is in the writings of Maria Montessori, as well as in books written about Loris Malaguzzi. The essay then compares this with the answers from pre-school teachers in two Montessori and two Reggio Emilia pre-schools about their understanding of what a competent child is, how that shows in their behaviours and attitudes towards the children and in how they use this to arrange the pre-school physical environment. The essay also takes a look at how the teachers work with documentation, how they perceive their chosen pedagogy helps them in their work with the pre-school curriculum and with the requirement that the pre-school teachings should be grounded in the scientific method, and also explores what does the teachers think about their role as a teacher. The essay then tries to analyse why Reggio Emilia has grown to be the predominant pedagogy   in the Swedish pre-schools and why Montessori has not. The investigation is based on qualitative interviews as well as observations made by the author. The study is based on Vygotskijs socio-cultural theory, which could be summarised that we all learn in social relations.   The conclusion of the study is that there is a general understanding about the competent child in the books written by Maria Montessori and Loris Malaguzzi, as well as in the teacher’s answers to interview questions and in their acting in teaching situations. The study could see some differences in the design of the physical environments, theteachers’ views of their roles in their answers about the curriculum and that the pre-school should be based on the scientific method. These answers combined with the authors’ observations, the literature used for reference and the socio-cultural theory written by Vygotskij brings the author to the conclusion that Reggio Emilia could be seen as modern version of Montessori. Reggio Emilia is more up to date with a modern take on the role of teachers in advancing children’s learning and development, and the pedagogy also has the socio-cultural theory as a base for understanding how both adults and children learn. The Reggio Emilia pre-schools visited by the author also work with aesthetic expressions in a way that the pre- schools based in the Montessori pree-schools don´t. Reggio Emilia also ”gave” the Swedish pree-schools a tool for seeing the children, the teacher´s and the pree-school itself. It gave us pedagogic documentation.

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This thesis has the objective to describe how a group of blind people explains its graduation in higher education, identifying the factors associated with this conclusion, in the light of L. S. Vygotski s studies. Methodologically, the thesis consisted in a qualitative study, assuming the form of case studies. The research counted on the participation of nine blind people based on the following criteria: being blind and being higher education egresses. The instruments to collect data were the interview and the document analysis. The collected data were worked out through the discursive textual analysis. The theoretical framework brought information pertaining to the participation of blind students in higher education; definition of terms blind and disability; social movements influence on the blind; inclusion of disabled people in higher education; the presence of obstacles for the blind to attend higher education; and the role of professors who work with visually impaired students.It included the presentation of psychological-pedagogical propositions about blindness, arising from investigations developed by Vygotski in the context of his defectology, which resulted in a reorganization of the texts of Tome V of his Collected Works, so that, it would be possible to understand his proposals around the theme.Other concepts of Cultural-Historical theory which were considered as fundamental to this work were also discussed:consciousness, will and subjectivity, besides the terms overcome and overcoming that appear in the author set of defectology. The findings of the research were organized into four emerging categories: Quality of basic education attended , Difficulties found , External facilitator factors and Internal facilitator factors . Such findings indicated that the quality of learning and educational inclusion in basic education influenced the path of the blind through higher education. The difficulties found during attendance at higher education above all, in the selection process for university entrance the need to work/being employed during the study period, difficulties relating to the relationship to some teachers, the lack of technological instrumental and adaptation of materials in resource rooms, interferedin the subjects route through higher education.The assistance received outside the university and the support of some teachers, were facilitator factors. The basic education living of the blind, the difficulties and the facilitator factors, were not, however, decisive for the completion of higher education; the main factors identified in the data and interpreted with the support of the studies developed by Vygotski, were the internal (subjective): consciousness and will. It was defended the thesis that the consciousness about the discrepancies between the lived and the expected reality, generated the wish to complete higher education, that is to say, factors connected to the subjectivity of the students, leading the group of blind which was studied, to achieve this goal.
Esta tese teve como objetivo descrever como um grupo de cegos explica a sua conclusão da educação superior, identificando os fatores associados a essa conclusão, à luz dos estudos de L. S. Vygotski. Metodologicamente a tese constituiuse em um estudo de natureza qualitativa, assumindo a forma de estudos de casos. A pesquisa contou com a participação de nove sujeitos, selecionados com base nos seguintes critérios: serem cegos e egressos da educação superior. Os instrumentos para a coleta de dados foram a entrevista e a análise documental. Os dados coletados foram trabalhados por meio da análise textual discursiva. O referencial teórico trouxe informações atinentes à participação de cegos na educação superior; definição dos termos cego e deficiência; influência dos movimentos sociais em prol dos cegos; inclusão de deficientes na educação superior; presença de obstáculos para a frequência à educação superior por cegos; e ao papel dos professores universitários que trabalham com deficientes visuais. Incluiu a apresentação das proposições psicológico-pedagógicas sobre a cegueira, oriundas das investigações desenvolvidas por Vygotski no âmbito de sua defectologia, o que implicou em uma reorganização dos textos do Tomo V de suas Obras Escogidas, para que se pudesse entender melhor as suas propostas em torno da temática. Foram discutidos, ainda, outros conceitos, da teoria histórico-cultural, que se mostraram fundamentais para este trabalho: tomada de consciência, vontade e subjetividade, além dos termos superar e superação, que aparecem no conjunto da defectologia do autor. Os achados da pesquisa foram organizados em quatro categorias emergentes: Qualidade da educação básica cursada , Dificuldades encontradas , Fatores facilitadores externos e Fatores facilitadores internos . Os resultados indicaram que a qualidade da aprendizagem e da inclusão educacional na educação básica influenciaram a trajetória dos cegos pela educação superior. As dificuldades encontradas durante a frequência à educação superior sobretudo no processo de seleção para a entrada na universidade , a necessidade de trabalhar/estar empregado durante o período de estudo, as dificuldades relativas à relação com alguns professores, a falta do instrumental tecnológico e de adaptação de materiais, nas salas de recursos, interferiram no percurso dos sujeitos pelo ensino superior. Foram fatores facilitadores o auxílio recebido fora da universidade e o apoio de alguns professores. As vivências dos cegos na educação básica, as dificuldades e os fatores facilitadores não se constituíram, todavia, em determinantes para a conclusão do ensino superior; os principais fatores identificados nos dados e interpretados com apoio nos estudos de Vygotski foram os internos (subjetivos): a tomada de consciência e a vontade. Defendeu-se a tese de que a tomada de consciência sobre as discrepâncias entre a realidade vivida e a esperada gerou a vontade de concluir a educação superior, isto é, fatores ligados à subjetividade dos estudantes, levando o grupo de cegos estudados à consecução desse objetivo.

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The proposal of the present work is based on a deeper theoretical analysis of the studies by Vygotsky concerning the Age Crisis, dealt it in volume IV of his works. The manifestation of crises has always been seen as a deviation of standard norms or as a disease in preschool institutions and by some psychologists. This research has attempted to discuss another perspective in the analysis of the Age Crisis, understood by Vygotsky as being turning points in the development of a child, characterized by sudden, impetuous changes, as if they were revolutionary acts, both because of the rhythm of change and their meaning. The research question that guided our work was: How do preschool educators perceive and deal with the moments of crises in the development of children? The three objectives are: analyzing how the teachers perceive the moments of crises in the development of children; identifying and analyzing possible moments of crises among the children and researching and analyzing the attitudes taken by the teachers to solve the possible development crises in children. Data collection was carried out at a crèche in a public university in the state of São Paulo. The research method was based on Vygotsky s Historical-Cultural Theory. The results were analyzed in two different ways: The teachers perception concerning the Age Crisis in Preschool Education and its manifestation in children and The teachers and their interventions in the moments of crises. Such analyses indicate that the teachers notice the crises manifestations that occur in the development of the child. However, there seems to be a gap in their training that prevent them from perceiving such crises in a positive way, which is necessary for a new psychological organization of the child s personality. Finally, the way educators act has to be re-thought so that it is possible to adopt a reflexive pedagogical practice, based on the Historical-Cultural Theory, which understands the child as a concrete subject who participates and makes history happen.
A proposta do presente trabalho está pautada no aprofundamento teórico dos estudos de Vygotski, a respeito das Crises das Idades abordadas no Tomo IV de sua obra. As manifestações de crise foram sempre vistas nas instituições de Educação Infantil e por alguns investigadores da Psicologia como desvio de normas padrão ou como doença da criança. A pesquisa buscou trazer à discussão outra perspectiva de análise da crise das idades, entendida por Vygotski como sendo pontos de virada no desenvolvimento da criança e que se caracterizam por mudanças bruscas, impetuosas, como se fossem um acontecimento revolucionário, tanto pelo ritmo das mudanças como pelo significado delas. A questão de pesquisa que norteou este trabalho foi: Como as docentes da Educação Infantil percebem e conduzem os momentos de crise no desenvolvimento da criança? E os objetivos, três: analisar como as professoras percebem os momentos de crise no desenvolvimento das crianças; identificar e analisar episódios de possíveis momentos de crises entre as crianças e levantar e analisar as atitudes utilizadas pelas professoras para a solução dos episódios de possíveis crises de desenvolvimento das crianças. A coleta de dados foi realizada numa creche de uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo. A metodologia de pesquisa pautou-se na Teoria Histórico-Cultural de Vygostski. Os resultados foram analisados por intermédio de duas diretrizes: A percepção das professoras sobre as Crises das Idades na Educação Infantil e suas manifestações nas crianças e As professoras e suas intervenções nos momentos de crises. Tais análises indicam-nos que as professoras percebem que ocorrem manifestações de crises no desenvolvimento da criança e que uma possível falha na formação delas as impedem de enxergar tais crises sob seu aspecto positivo, caminho necessário para uma nova formação psicológica na personalidade da criança, e finalmente, que a forma como as docentes agem, precisa ser repensada para que se possa ter uma prática pedagógica reflexiva embasada na Teoria Histórico-Cultural, que entende a criança como sujeito concreto, que participa e faz história.

Mitt arbete syftar till att utveckla förståelse för och kunskap om hur lärare arbetar med muntlig kommunikation i klassrummet. För att belysa detta har jag intervjuat fem verksamma lärare i grundskolans lägre åldrar, samt observerat en lektion av vardera lärare. Jag valde triangulering som metod för min undersökning, då jag är nyfiken på hur lärare betraktar ämnet vad gäller undervisning samt de mål eleverna ska uppnå. Genom observationer fick jag studera muntlig kommunikation i närmiljö. Undersökningen är kvalitativ, där ett sociokulturellt perspektiv använts som teoretisk utgångspunkt. Sociokulturellt perspektiv har använts då muntlig kommunikation sker via samspel med två eller fler individer. Lärarna arbetar aktivt med muntlig kommunikation både synligt, och osynligt i undervisningen. Det gäller att både ge samt ta muntliga instruktioner. Undervisningen har likheter, dock med olika tillvägagångssätt. Det finns ett flertal bedömningsstöd att luta sig mot för att säkerställa att eleverna uppnått kunskapsmålen, dock inget lärarlyft så kallat som kan utveckla undervisningen.
My work aims to develop understanding and knowledge about how teachers work with oral communication in the classroom. To illustrate, I interviewed five active teachers in the primary school lower ages, and observed one lesson for each teacher. I chose triangulation of my survey, as I´m curious about how they view the topic in regards to teaching. Trough my observations, I got the chance to study oral communication in a local environment.  The survey is qualitative, where a socio-cultural perspective has been used as a theoretical starting point. That`s when oral communication occurs via interaction with two or more individuals. Teachers work actively with oral communications both visibly, and invisibly in teaching. It applies to both giving and taking oral instructions. The teaching has similarities, though with different approaches. There are several assessments supports to lean on to ensure that the students reach knowledge targets, however no teacher boost that can develop the teaching.

This study aims to investigate how pedagogical picture books intended for inclusion represents children with neuropsychiatric disabilities. This is investigated through in-depth analysis of four books dealing with the subject from different approaches, recommended by state libraries and the specialised educational authority. The study also aims to pay attention to the available material and to highlight what kind of image of divergent children that is beeing communicated to pre-school children and what consequences this may have. The results of the analysis may be useful in the selection of inclusion material and how the books can be practised in a norm-critical and socio-cultural approach.

Cette thèse est fondée sur la nécessité de répondre aux difficultés d'enseigner les sciences en prenant en compte la singularité de l'élève et en donnant du sens aux apprentissages. Aujourd'hui, la ou les didactique (s) ne réponde (nt) que partiellement à cette problématique. Pour preuve, il existe toujours une catégorie d'élèves en difficulté voire en échec scolaire. Nous proposons ici une didactique instrumentale actualisée qui propose de répondre à cette situation.Celle-ci prend appui sur la théorie instrumentale de Vygotski qui mentionne que le développement culturel tire le développement biologique, que l'élève se construit par les concepts et que le langage est un des premiers instruments psychologiques qui instrumente la pensée. Partant d'un projet interdisciplinaire en sciences physiques et éducation physique et sportive, avec comme thème le concept d'atome, nous proposons de mettre en œuvre cette nouvelle didactique, en nous appuyant sur l'analyse des conceptions de 660 élèves de la 5ème à la terminale S sur l'objet considéré, en travaillant dans une Zone de Plus Proche Développement (ZPPD). L'activité maîtresse a été minutieusement choisie de façon à être adaptée et adaptable à l'ensemble des élèves, en identifiant les transformations des niveaux de savoir d'un élève, dans la cognomorphose et la cognogénèse, au cours de son apprentissage. Quatre expérimentations en collège et lycée ont été menées et ont permis de rendre compte des modes de pensée des élèves à chaque étape de l'apprentissage. Elles ont montré la pertinence de l'utilisation d'une carte conceptuelle, désignée d'étayage par Bruner, spécialement conçue et adaptée à des élèves des cycles 3 et 4 du collège et du lycée. Cette thèse, qui utilise pour étayer ses propres conclusions, des expérimentations et des méthodes liées directement aux principes de la didactique instrumentale qu'elle veut promouvoir, en plus de sa volonté de faire progresser la recherche dans ce domaine précis, a pour vocation d'apporter une réelle utilité professionnelle pour les enseignants de sciences
This dissertation is based on the need to respond to the difficulties of teaching science by taking into account the singularity of the learner, but also by giving sense to learning. Nowadays, didactic(s) only partially respond(s) to this problem. Evidence of it is that there are always a number of learners in difficulty or even failure at school. What we suggest is an updated instrumental didactic as a response to that situation.It is based on Vygotski's instrumental theory, which mentions that cultural development enriches biological development, and that learners construct themselves via concepts, and that language is one of the first psychological instruments that organizes human thought.Starting from an interdisciplinary project in Physical Sciences and Physical Education, with the concept of atom as a theme, we propose to implement that new didactic, based on the analysis of the conceptions of 660 secondary school goers from 1st year to 7th year (math mention) on the object of learning, working within their Zone of proximal development (ZPD).The main activity was carefully selected so as to be adapted and adaptable to any learner. To make it so we identified the changing levels of a student's knowledge in cognomorphosis and cognogenesis during their learning. Four experiments both in lower and higher secondary school were carried out and enabled us to account for the modes of thought of the students at each stage of the learning. They have shown the relevance of the use of a mind map, designed as a scaffolding device by Bruner, and specially designed towards learners in first and second year of lower secondary school as well as the higher secondary school.This dissertation, which, to back up its very own conclusions, uses experiments and methods directly related to the principles of the instrumental didactic that it wishes to promote. Besides it has for vocation to promote research in that specific field, and bring a real professional usefulness to science teachers

Abstract The aim of the essay is to investigate how two teachers in grades 4–6 work with reading comprehension in their teaching in order to enable the pupils’ reading development. The methods used in the study are questionnaires and observations which were then subjected to qualitative analysis. The result shows that both teachers use various strategies to facilitate the pupils’ development in reading comprehension. The empirical data revealed the teachers’ opinion that reading comprehension is about moving freely between different reading comprehension strategies so that the pupils can own their own learning. Judging by the observations, the classroom climate and the teacher’s competence are of great importance for the pupils’ learning.

Notre thèse étudie les conditions favorables à l’autonomisation scolaire des élèves. L’étude empirique est menée en grande section de maternelle. Dans la plupart des situations de formation, les temps « d'autonomie » sont structurellement inévitables puisque le formateur ne peut être présent pour tous à chaque instant. Nous nous intéressons aux temps de classe au cours desquels l’enseignant n’intervient pas directement, soit parce qu’il n’est pas disponible, soit parce qu’il se retire volontairement de la situation. Nous les appelons temps faibles en raison de cette faible présence de l’enseignant : l’élève doit agir en fonction de ses propres forces, sans l’intervention directe du maître pour réguler l’apprentissage et les comportements. Il appert que les élèves n’y sont pas naturellement autonomes : laissées au hasard de capacités acquises hors l’école, les activités dites « en autonomie » contribuent à creuser les écarts entre les élèves face aux savoirs qui leurs sont proposés. L’autonomie ferait partie de ces comportements implicitement attendus et « davantage supposés ou requis par les enseignants que construits dans, avec et par l’école ». Comment penser le processus d’autonomisation scolaire et comment l’opérationnaliser en contexte ordinaire de classe ? Nous cherchons les outils, les leviers, les interactions et les dispositifs qui permettraient aux élèves, – à tous les élèves – de profiter des temps faibles au bénéfice de leurs apprentissages. Les données sont recueillies dans 14 classes sur 117 demi-journées d’observation directe, puis traitées à l’aide de l’analyse par les catégories conceptualisantes (Paillé, 2012). Dans la perspective (socio)constructiviste de l’apprentissage, pour construire un savoir nouveau, l’élève doit rencontrer un obstacle dans la réalisation de la tâche, l’apprentissage résultant du dépassement de celui-ci. Nous relevons des comportements différenciés face à l’obstacle dans les ateliers en autonomie : certains élèves entrent dans des conduites d’évitement, refusant d’affronter cet obstacle, s’en trouvant détournés en amont ou bien le contournant. D’autres, au contraire, entrent dans des conduites de ressources pour le dépasser et construire de nouvelles connaissances. En cours d’étude apparaissent des dynamiques remarquables : certains élèves, d’habitude « évitants », rejoignent ou se maintiennent parfois dans des conduites de ressources. L’étude de ces « exceptions notables » fait émerger les conditions favorables ayant permis leur dynamique particulière en termes d’outils, d’activités, d’interactions et de dispositifs. Ce qui aura pu fonctionner au bénéfice des exceptions notables pourrait être exploité comme levier pédagogique durable au bénéfice de tous. Ces conditions deviennent alors supposées favorables et sont réinvesties dans des dispositifs expérimentaux afin d’observer si elles produisent les effets attendus, dans quelle mesure et selon quelles limites (analyse des dispositifs expérimentaux par une adaptation du modèle systémique d’Engeström, 1987). Il apparait clairement que le processus d’autonomisation, en contexte scolaire de classe hétérogène et nombreuse, s’observe et se construit de façon privilégiée dans les temps faibles de la structuration pédagogique et leur articulation avec les temps forts, notamment les retours collectifs sur ateliers. Une pédagogie des temps faibles supposerait que soit accordé à ceux-ci un véritable statut pédagogique, en tant qu’étape et instrument essentiels au processus d’autonomisation scolaire. Une telle pédagogie supposerait également d’organiser avec soin les interventions de l’enseignant en mode opératoire indirect, au travers d’un dispositif de classe qui le relaie et dont les différentes dispositions (outils, règles, activités, interactions) peuvent « être appropriées » par l’élève comme instruments psychologiques pour agir sur lui-même, en première personne.
This dissertation studies favorable conditions to empowerment of pupils. The empirical study was carried out in the final year of kindergarten. In most learning/teaching situations, "autonomy moments" are structurally inevitable since the teacher cannot be systematically available to everyone all the time. Interest is focused on moments during which the teacher does not directly intervene, either because he/she is not available or because he/she voluntarily withdraws from the learning situation. We call these moments "low times" because of the teacher's low presence: during these specific moments, each student responds according to his own strengths without the teacher's direct intervention to regulate both learning and behavior. It appears that students are not naturally autonomous: when left unattended, the so-called "autonomous" learning activities contribute to widening the knowledge gap between students in learning situations. Autonomy would be part of this implicitly expected behavior and is "all the more expected and required from teachers rather than being constructed in, with and by school". How can student empowerment be perceived and operationalized in an ordinary class context? Our goal is to identify tools, levers, interactions and devices which enable students to benefit from "low times" for their own learning. The data are collected in 14 classes in 117 half-days of direct observation. Socio-constructivist approach to learning suggests that in order to construct new knowledge, the student must encounter an obstacle in the course of accomplishing his task. Learning results from overcoming this obstacle. We highlight differentiated behaviors of students when facing obstacles in autonomy classroom workshops: some resort to avoidance strategies and refuse to deal with this obstacle by bypassing or circumventing it. Conversely, others draw on (their own) resources in order to overcome it and construct new knowledge. During the study period, remarkable dynamics appear: some students, with usually an "avoidant" attitude, join or maintain a "drawing on resource conduct". The study of the "notable exceptions" leads to the emergence of the favorable conditions which fostered this particular dynamic in terms of tools, activities, interactions and devices. What would have worked to the benefit of the notable exceptions could be further used as a sustainable and pedagogical lever to the benefit of all students. These conditions become then supposedly favorable and are reinvested in experimental devices in order to see if they produce the expected effects, to which extent and within what limits? Il clearly appears that the empowerment process, in classroom context of a large and heterogeneous class, is developed in a special way in "low times" of pedagogical structuration and their articulation with "strong times", notably collective feedbacks on workshops. A pedagogy of "low times" entails providing the teacher with substantial pedagogical status, which would be a crucial step as well as an instrument in the school empowerment process. Such pedagogy would also entail carefully organizing teacher's intervention in an indirect mode, through a class device which would relay it through its various dispositions (tools, rules, activities, interactions). The student would then internalize these dispositions as psychological instruments in referring to oneself in the first person. This pedagogy would finally entail a redefinition of teacher's role: his/her apparent "absence" from the situation which would paradoxically become, a teaching-learning tool to the benefit of school empowerment

The aim of this thesis is to illuminate which role theories of music education can have in the dialectic between discourse and competence in the practice of music pedagogy. The thesis stems from a problem-oriented project that resulted in the formulation of the following research question: how can the connection between music education theory and the power of definition be described and problematized from a cultural-historical perspective using Vygotsky's thesis of Semiotic Thinking? In his research on the dual function of language Vygotsky makes a distinction between the usage of concepts and conceptualization. In this study this distinction has been crucial to determining the relationship between music education theory and the power of definition as practised in music pedagogy. The research project comprised a background study and three sub-studies. The focus of the background-study was the conditions for musical learning and development in persons with severe cognitive dysfunctions. The first sub-study dealt with how social workers in this area of special education conceptualise their view of music in relation to their understanding of music activities in their own practice. The second sub-study aimed to explore which concepts music-therapists use in their meta-reflections on musical situations in this area of special education. The purpose of the third sub-study was to formulate a theoretical perspective on the relationship between music education theory and the power of definition using Vygotsky's hypothesis of semiotic thinking. The main conclusions are: first, that music education theory can be understood as a structural coupling between the power of definition that is embedded in music-pedagogical discourse as a whole, and the power of definition possessed by music pedagogues; second, that the development of the power of definition in the practice of music pedagogy is a creative process that in turn entails a critical questioning of music education theory.

Esta pesquisa focaliza as concepções de língua e escrita de alunos de um curso de escrita em inglês fundamentado na perspectiva conceitual (FERREIRA, 2005), uma abordagem para o ensino da escrita em língua estrangeira que alia a escola australiana de gêneros textuais a uma pedagogia baseada na teoria da atividade, conhecida como MAC (Movimento do Abstrato para o Concreto). Com base nos pressupostos da perspectiva vygotskiana (VYGOTSKY, 1978, 1987) e tendo como referência as concepções de língua e escrita subjacentes às três principais abordagens para o ensino da escrita em inglês, tradicional, processual e social (cf. FERREIRA, 2005, 2011), buscou-se verificar se ocorre ou não mudança nas concepções de língua e escrita dos alunos ao longo do curso. Planejado e ministrado pela própria pesquisadora, o curso intitulado Praticando a escrita em inglês por meio de gêneros textuais: a argumentação, foi oferecido como curso de extensão em uma universidade pública do estado de São Paulo. Participaram da pesquisa seis alunas, com idades entre 23 e 51 anos. A maioria possui graduação em Letras e apenas uma não é pós-graduada. A seguinte pergunta de pesquisa foi elaborada: houve mudança nas concepções de língua e escrita dos alunos ao longo do curso? Para responder a essa pergunta de pesquisa, foram identificadas as concepções de língua e escrita das participantes no início (1ª etapa da análise) e ao longo do curso (2ª etapa da análise). Os dados coletados no início do curso correspondem às respostas das alunas às perguntas feitas pela instrutora em uma Ficha de Identificação e em um Teste de Proficiência. A análise desse primeiro conjunto de dados revelou concepções tradicionais de língua e escrita por parte das alunas, decorrentes, principalmente, 1) de sua crença na necessidade de conhecimentos relacionados à gramática e a vocabulário, 2) da apresentação de objetivos categorizados como escolar e emocional, 3) da experiência mecânica e descontextualizada que tiveram com a escrita no contexto escolar e 4) da ausência quase total de usos significativos da escrita em seu dia a dia. Os dados coletados ao longo do curso correspondem às declarações e respostas das alunas às perguntas feitas pela instrutora em seus diários dialogados. A análise desse segundo conjunto de dados revelou, por sua vez, o início de um processo de mudança propiciado pelas reflexões realizadas em aula e em seus diários. Podemos dizer que esse estudo confirmou a importância do foco nas crenças e, principalmente, na mudança de crenças no processo de ensino e aprendizagem de línguas considerando-se, sobretudo, a precariedade do ensino da escrita nos dias atuais, como revelam estudos recentes nessa área (FERREIRA, 2011; RIOS, 2010).
This research investigates the conceptions of language and writing of six students in an English writing course based on the conceptual approach (FERREIRA, 2005), a perspective for teaching second language writing which joins the Australian school of genres with a pedagogy based on Activity Theory called Movement from the Abstract to the Concrete (MAC). Based on Vygotskys theory (VYGOTSKY, 1978, 1987) and on the conceptions of language and writing from the three main approaches for second language writing teaching (see FERREIRA, 2005, 2011), this study analyses the changes in students conceptions of language and writing along the course. Planned and organized by the researcher herself, the course named Praticando a escrita em inglês por meio de gêneros textuais: a argumentação, was offered as a short-time course in a public university in the city of São Paulo. The participants were between 23 and 51 years old. Most of them were graduate students of Language and only one was not yet post graduated. The following research question was formulated: Was there any change in the students conception of language and writing along the course? In order to answer this question, we identified the students conceptions of language and writing in the beginning and along the course. The data collected in the beginning of the course corresponded to the students answers to questions formulated by the instructor in a Identification Form and in a Proficiency Test. The analyses of this group of data revealed traditional conceptions of language and writing on the part of the students, represented, mainly, by 1) their beliefs in the necessity of grammatical and lexical knowledge, 2) by the presence of objectives categorized as scholastic and emotional, 3) by their mechanical and de-contextualized experience with writing in school and 4) by the absence of significant uses of writing in their ordinary life. The data collected along the course corresponded to free declarations and the students answers to questions formulated by the instructor in their dialogue journals. This second group of data revealed the beginning of a changing process in the students conceptions of language and writing as a result of the reflections done in class and in their dialogue journals. We can say that this research confirmed the importance of focusing on beliefs and, mainly, on beliefs changes in the process of language teaching and learning, considering the problems faced by the teaching of second language writing, as recent studies have shown (FERREIRA, 2011; RIOS, 2010).

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Apresentamos nesse trabalho uma proposta de formação continuada de professores de ciências fundamentada na teoria sócio-histórica de Vigotski. Para testar a validade dessa proposta aplicamos seus fundamentos em um curso de extensão oferecido para professores de ciências do ensino fundamental (ciclo II) - Física no Ensino Fundamental: Atividades interdisciplinares em uma perscpectiva sociocultural - oferecido a professores de ciências em exercício. A partir desse estudo estabelecemos alguns critérios de análise para a avaliação das escolhas entre diferentes abordagens didáticas. Nossos estudos apontam para a necessidade de que a atividade de sala de aula seja analisada a partir de múltiplos aspectos que envolvem não apenas a esfera conceitual e a ação do professor e do aluno isoladamente, mas também e principalmente aqueles ligados às interações sociais presentes no ambiente da sala de aula. Para análise das interações discursivas utilizamos como referencial teórico a semiótica de Greimas. Concluímos que professores em formação são capazes de avançar na adoção de novas práticas a partir de troca de experiências com seus pares, desenvolvendo a partir dessas trocas e com o aporte de novos conteúdos trazidos por especialistas atividades didáticas inovadoras. Assim, apresentamos e avaliamos nossa proposta de um modelo sócio-histórico de formação de professores
We present in this paper a proposal for continuing education of science teachers based on socio-historical theory of Vigotsky. To test the validity of the proposal we applied its foundations in an extension course offered for science teachers of elementary school (5th - 8th grades) - Physics k-8 school: interdisciplinary activities in a sociocultural perspective - offered to science teachers in service. From this study we established some criteria analysis to evaluate the choices between different approaches to teaching. Our studies point to the need for the activity of the classroom be examined from multiple aspects involving not only the conceptual realm and actions of the teacher and the student in isolation, but also and mainly, those related to social interactions in the classroom environmental. For analysis of the discursive interactions we used as a theoretical foundation the semiotics of Greimas. We conclude that training teachers are capable of advancing the adoption of new practices from sharing experiences with peers, developing from these exchanges and with the input or new content brought by specialists innovative teaching activities. Thus, we belive our after proposal for a social-historical model of teaching training

L'obiettivo del presente lavoro è quello di esaminare criticamente le prospettive teoriche più note sul problema delle relazioni tra sviluppo concettuale del bambino ed acquisizione della prima lingua. Per quanto il lavoro si concentri in particolare sullo sviluppo della componente lessicale, ovvero sul legame tra concetti e apprendimento delle parole con cui gli stessi vengono codificati, verranno necessariamente trattati anche alcuni aspetti relativi alla competenza morfologica e sintattica. Dopo aver presentato sinteticamente le principali teorie proposte nell'ambito della linguistica acquisizionale e della psicologia dello sviluppo, procederemo ad una problematizzazione e discussione dei punti critici delle stesse alla luce dei risultati ottenuti in sede sperimentale negli ultimi anni. Partendo dalla consapevolezza che nell'ambito della linguistica, forse ancor più che in altre discipline, il contrasto tra impostazioni teoriche diverse si traduce spesso in discrepanze significative nell'interpretazione degli stessi dati empirici, abbiamo cercato di dare lo stesso spazio ai vari orientamenti teorici. L'obiettivo di questa tesi, infatti, non è quello di dare giudizi di merito sulla validità di una teoria in quanto tale rispetto ad un'altra, quanto di discutere in modo trasversale i nodi più problematici delle varie teorie e le implicazioni delle stesse. Questo intento è particolarmente evidente nelle conclusioni della tesi, strutturate intorno ad una serie di domande di ricerca.
This work provides a critical overview of the major theoretical perspectives on the relationships between conceptual development and first language acquisition. While our focus is on lexical development (ie. on the relation between learning a word and acquiring the relevant concept), we will also touch on some aspects which pertains more specifically to morphological and syntactical development. After briefly introducing the major theories developed in the field of first language acquisition and developmental psychology, we will discuss them in the light of experimental data collected in recent years. As the same empirical findings tend to be interpreted in completely different ways, in our work we tried to give voice to authors supporting different views. Our goal is not to assess the merits of these theores as such, but to take this comparison as an opportunity to discuss the implications and issues thereof. This will be particularly clear in the Conclusions of our work, which are structured as a series of research questions.

In the capitalist democracy, universities have been increasingly controlled by the state, which rewards generative, rather than disseminative practice. Universities have attempted to maximise income generation by increasing student numbers, and in many instances, reducing staff numbers. In the last fifty years, there have attempts to increase participation in higher education by diverse gender, racial and class groups. Since the 1980s, the disjunction between school and university education has been widening. University graduates are expected to be critical thinkers, who have high-level competancies when joining the workforce. Consequently, the lecturer is confronted with an increasingly large and diverse group of students and the increasingly complex task of teaching knowledge and skills that are relevant in an ever-changing world. The current study evaluated the practices of teaching and learning in higher education in South Africa through the examination of four successive cohorts of First Year Health Sciences learners who registered for Psychology between 2000 and 2003. A unique interpretation of L.S. Vygotsky’s ontological and epistemological framework was presented in terms of the practices of higher education in South Africa at the beginning of the Twenty-First century. Vygotsky’s conflictual model of development in which the historical (what knowledge and skills have been acquired) and the social (critical thinking in Psychology) are inextricably linked, provided the foundation of this dialectical historical materialist analysis. The teaching practices had two parts, namely tasks and tools, and social interaction. Students were positioned, not as customers, but as learners who were required to learn a specific set of knowledge and skills in order to develop understanding. A post-hoc analysis was conducted on all forms of semiotic mediation and social interactions between the lecturer and the large group of students. The cultural tasks (learning outcomes and essay tasks) and tools (problem-solving strategies for the essay tasks, the general and specific lecture outlines, lecture notes, case studies and challenge questions) were analysed in terms of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Naturalistic observations of interactions between the lecturer and a large group of students were also analysed in terms of the gender and racial characteristics of participating students and the verbal and non-verbal behaviour of the lecturer. The iii students’ cognitive and affective perceptions of all the cultural tasks and tools were analysed, and viewed in relation to the constructions of the lecturer. Matches, or shared practice, between the lecturer and the students related to the structure of the process of learning; the use of examples that relate to “real” life; the Resourcepack as a tool for the navigation of the learning process and the valuing of the interactive dialogue between the lecturer and the students. The mismatches between the lecturer and the students primarily concern the dialectic between knowledge and skills in the development of understanding. For students in the First Year of higher education, understanding is conceptualised as the reproduction of knowledge and the application of that knowledge to a concrete experience. A surprising finding in the current study was that no significant differences were found between the sociohistorical variables (gender, race and degree) concerning the cultural tasks and tools. The current study also proposed a unique method of conducting large class lecturerstudent interactions. The evidence from both the lecturer and the students supported the use of the small group learning techniques in the large classes. What makes the current study’s use of the small group method is the importance placed on a hierarchy of dialogues between the lecturer and the students in which adult guidance is of central importance. This adult guidance is dependent upon certain characteristics of the facilitation by the lecturer. The shortcoming of this particular method of conducting large classes is that dominant and subordinate groups of learners still existed in the large class. However, representivity of the subordinate groups was achieved. In addition, the students did not relate the use of the method to increased understanding of the concepts in the course. The current study also proposed a unique definition of participation in which multiple forms of activity are present.

Goal of the thesis is to present main topics of L. S. Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory, especially with respect to the question of nature and character of human being. It's focused on philosophical and scientifical sources of the cultural-historical theory and the development of Vygotsky's thinking during his professional career. It attempts to picture his concept in the context of his life, as well as in the context of ideas and historic events of his era.

This study analyzed how six Heritage language learners at the university level gained conscious awareness and control of the concept of modality as revealed in student verbalizations (Vygotsky, 1998) throughout five different written communicative events. This work took place in the only course designed for Heritage language learners at a large public suburban university in the Northeast part of the United States. Grammatical simplification in bilingual speakers is due to incomplete acquisition of Spanish, attrition or loss of an underused linguistic system (Lynch, 1999; Martínez Mira, 2009a, 2009b; Mikulski, 2010b; Montrul, 2007; Ocampo, 1990; Silva-Corvalán, 1990, 1994a, 1994b, 2003; Studerus, 1995). The result of the process of simplification is reduction or loss of forms and/or meanings. In this work, I investigated in which ways Gal’perin’s (1989) systemic-theoretical organized instruction promoted awareness, control and internalization of the concept of modality in three sets of data: definition, discourse and verbalization (Negueruela, 2003). In addition, I examined how the concept of modality emerged and proceeded. By focusing students’ attention in Negueruela’s (2003) Concept of Mood in Spanish orienting chart in a top down fashion, students were able to strengthen their theoretical understanding in practical activity while still accessing empirical knowledge, and eventually generalizing its use in new contexts across nominal, adjectival and adverbial clauses. At the definition level, Gal’perin’s Systemic-theoretical instruction promoted emergence and progress of their conceptual understanding from perceptual to semantic. At the discourse level, students’ theoretically based semantic understanding had a positive impact as revealed in student’s discourse progress throughout tasks. At the verbalization level, semantic, abstract and systematic verbalizations showed students’ emergence of awareness of the interrelated categories of modality. The conceptual category of anticipation was appropriately verbalized and contextualized 68% of the time. The absence of quality verbalizations referring to a specific conceptual category in some students lead me to conclude that students did not fully understand the meaning of some conceptual categories. On the contrary, their presence in any of the tasks showed emergence of conceptual meaning(s) in appropriate contexts, further appropriate recontextualization may provide full awareness and control.

The widely acknowledged doctor shortage in Canada has recently motivated a more critical look at the licensure rates of International Medical Doctors (IMDs), also known as International Medical Graduates (IMGs). However, very little research has been conducted on the experiences of IMDs before they enter the Canadian medical system. This qualitative study collected interview data from 15 diverse IMDs seeking licensure in Ontario, Canada. The participants varied with respect to age, country of origin, English language proficiency on arrival, and time in Canada. In addition, two bridging support programs were observed, and interviews were conducted with three educators from the programs. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis (Boyatzis, 1998; Miles & Huberman, 1994). An analysis of metaphors used by the IMDs to describe their experiences during the licensing process supported the use of poetic representation for key findings, resulting in three poems that are interspersed in the body of the thesis (Ellingson, 2011; Glesne, 1997; Richardson, 2002; Richardson & Adams St. Pierre, 2005). The theoretical framework of the research was informed by Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory, which views learning as inseparable from social interaction and context (Vygotsky, 1987). Third-generation Activity Theory (AT), which has descended from Vygotsky’s work, was applied to highlight the higher-level systemic issues related to medical licensing. Results of this study indicate that IMDs with lower English proficiency face substantial difficulties on arrival, with limited access to the type of medically-relevant language instruction needed to support them. In fact, all pre-licensure IMDs struggle to access the interactional learning opportunities (i.e., Vygotskian “mediational means”) to support their entry into the system. Licensing challenges include limited exam preparation resources that support acquisition of Canadian cultural content; unequal access to clinical observerships; and a selection process which lacks transparency and emphasizes a screening tool unfamiliar to IMDs, the residency interview. Implications of this study include the revisiting of immigration policy; increasing the transparency and effectiveness of the selection process/residency interview; reviewing the role of clinical observerships in the selection process and exploring the potential of observerships to function as a licensure portfolio assessment.

This dissertation presents a study of the scientific practices of the circle of Vygotsky’s closest collaborators and students during the decade of the 1930s-and including the early 1940s (until Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in 1941). The notion of Vygotsky Circle is introduced in this work and is explicitly distinguished from a traditional—yet frequently criticised—notion of “the school of Vygotsky-Leontiev-Luria”. The scientific practices of the Vygotsky Circle are discussed here as the unity of a) social and interpersonal relations, b) the practices of empirical scientific research, and c) discursive practices of the Soviet science—more specifically, the “Stalinist Science” of the 1930s. Thus, this study analyzes the social and interpersonal relations between the members of the Vygotsky Circle and the evolution of this circle in the social context of Soviet science during the decade of 1930s; various practices of empirical scientific research conducted by the members of the Vygotsky Circle were also overviewed. Finally, discursive practices of the Soviet scientific “doublespeak” were discussed and illustrated with several examples borrowed from publications of the time.

Using interaction analysis and discourse analysis as a method of data analysis, I take a cultural-historical approach to explore teacher-student and student-student interactions during out-of-classroom science projects. The database is composed of my fieldnotes, videotaped science fieldtrips, and videotaped computer sessions where students worked collaboratively to produce science digital videos, highlighting their experiences during science fieldtrips. This thesis is formed by three studies I conducted with elementary students from a public school in British Columbia, Canada. These three independent and yet interrelated studies have implications for science learning and instruction in general. More specifically, this thesis contributes to the understanding of student-student and teacher-student interactions during collaborative work when they are engaged in science activities that occurred out of the classroom settings, such as fieldtrips and in the computer laboratory.