Embodied multi-modal communication from the perspective of activity theory

I begin by appreciating the contributions in the volume that indirectly and directly address the questions: Why do gestures and embodiment matter to mathematics education, what has understanding of these achieved and what might they achieve? I argue, however, that understanding gestures can in general only play an important role in ‘grasping’ the meaning of mathematics if the whole object-orientated ‘activity’ is taken into account in our perspective, and give examples from my own work and from this Special Issue. Finally, I put forward the notion of a ‘threshold’ moment, where seeing and grasping at the nexus of two or more activities often seem to be critical to breakthroughs in learning.     

Create-A-Scape: Mediascapes and curriculum integration

The paper is a theoretical reflection on a research study of ‘Create-A-Scape’, a software resource for making mediascapes to support learning in the primary and secondary school curriculum. Mediascapes are collections of location-sensitive texts, sounds and images that are geo-tagged or ‘attached to’ the local landscape, and learners use mobile technologies, such as PDAs, to roam in a space or landscape to detect and respond to these multimedia tags. The study, commissioned by Futurelab, was conducted in the summer of 2007 in England. Its aims were to investigate the Create-A-Scape resource and present insights into its use, perceptions of use, and the implications and potential of mediascape tools for learning, teaching and pedagogy. A survey of all who had downloaded the software outlined early perceptions and use of the resource. Five selected case studies were developed through visits, observations and interviews with teachers and pupils using the resources to create mediascape activities. A cross-case analysis articulated three distinctive theoretical perspectives, namely creativity, teacher knowledge and a sense of place. The paper presents the conduct and findings of the study, develops the discussion of the theoretical framework, and considers the potential of such resources for mobile technologies in curriculum integration, and supporting learning in meaningful physical places.     

An Australian perspective of a forest school: shaping a sense of place to support learning

There is growing discussion on the use of local outdoor environments to enhance a person’s sense of belonging. Sense of belonging and sense of place are components that can promote positive learning identities and attachments to community and, in turn, address issues of cycles of disadvantage. This article researched the impact of an interpretation of the forest school approach to learning in a primary school in regional Western Australia. Using a case-study approach, the research aimed to develop understandings of experiences with regard to self-esteem, sense of belonging and engagement and how these factors supported learning. Results indicated that strategies such as those suggested by the forest school approach can promote a sense of self, belonging and relational connections. These in turn can help to develop dimensions of place, identified as place attachment and place meaning. This has implications for future planning by providing greater depth in understanding the impact of the forest school approach to teaching and learning within the context of the single case primary school. It also raises questions as to how place-shaped identity nurtured in this approach to learning can be positively transferred back into the school and classroom setting.     

Liking to be liked: imitation,familiarity and pedagogy in the first years of life

This paper offers a review of the literature on the role of imitation in the earliest stages of social interaction between babies and familiar partners. The review focuses on the ways in which reciprocal imitation marks familiar relationships that provide special contexts for babies to engage actively and exuberantly in the construction of a shared culture. Because adults' perception of a baby's actions and intentions are filtered by the adult's experience of living within a particular culture, babies can obtain valuable information about this culture from the differences between what they do and how familiar adults respond to them. As they become increasingly interested in the social meaning of people's behaviour, infants also become more sensitive about how their own actions may be interpreted, showing pride and delight when their intentions are realised and embarrassed withdrawal when their efforts fail. When very young children are observed in unfamiliar contexts and when they are cared for and educated in professional settings, they may have relatively few opportunities for lively, joyful exchanges with reassuringly familiar partners and this can distort adults' perceptions of ‘normal’ infant behaviour. It is argued that adults' attentive interest in mutually enjoyable exchanges with young children is an important difference between humans and other apes and provides an essential foundation for pedagogy and for children's active participation in a shared culture.     

论敬畏感的缺失及培养

敬畏感对于规约个人行为和构建有序的和谐社会意义重大。但由于市场经济的价值导向、中国传统文化的衰落以及西方科学主义和多元文化的冲击,现代人越来越缺失了敬畏感。高校思想政治教育应通过加强大学生的秩序感、联系感和和谐感的哲学思维意识的培养,以期逐步树立大学生的敬畏意识。     

Creativity as a twenty-first-century competence: an exploratory study of provision and reality

Recently, creativity has begun to be talked about as a twenty-first-century competency [UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). 2006. The World Conference on Arts Education: Building Creative Capacities for the 21st Century: Working Document, Lisbon, Portugal, 6–9 March 2006. Lisbon: UNESCO]. Several government-endorsed publications have also stressed the importance of fostering creativity in the classroom [Robinson Report. (1999). Great Britain Department for Education and Employment. Department for Culture, Media and Sport. National Advisory Committee on Creativity and Cultural Education. All Our Futures: Creativity and Culture in Education. London: DfEE; DfES. (2004). Excellence and Enjoyment: A Strategy for Primary School. London: DfES; QCA. (2005). Find It! Promote It! London: QCA]. This study aims to explore opportunities to foster creativity following the new National Curriculum’s introduction (DfE (Department for Education). [2013a. National Curriculum for Art & Design. London: DfE; DfE. 2013b. National Curriculum for History. London: DfE; DfE. 2013c. National Curriculum for Science. London: DfE]). It explores provision and attempts to go beyond this into daily classroom practices by interviewing teachers. Analysis indicates a wide variation in terms of in-school provision. Certain schemes of work may be more successful at fostering creativity and that relying purely on the National Curriculum can hinder opportunities for creativity. Teacher responses indicate that they value creativity but find it hard to accurately describe incidents of creativity being fostered and teaching creatively is often confused for teaching for creativity. Training has been designed to address this, although a pervading emphasis on schools’ performativity will mean creativity is not embedded into daily learning to the extent it can be a twenty-first-century competence unless there is a major policy change.     

Why a critical pedagogy of place is an oxymoron

Given the growing environmental awareness, educators – especially in science and environmental education – need to avoid embracing a ‘critical pedagogy of place’. Why conflating critical pedagogy with place‐based education is an oxymoron, and why it perpetuates the thinking and silences that undermine both the diversity of the world’s cultures and ecosystems are the main foci of this essay. The main theorists of a critical pedagogy of place – Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren, and David Gruenewald – draw on a tradition of thinking that emphasizes decolonization and reinhabitation. While these words create the illusion of a culturally and ecologically sound approach to place‐based education, these theorists are unable to recognize the nature and ecological importance of the cultural commons that exist in every community – and that represent alternatives to a consumer‐dependent existence. In effect, their commitment to universalizing the process of decolonization without a deep knowledge of the diverse cultural practices that have a smaller ecological impact meets the definition of an oxymoron where two contradictory positions are assumed to be compatible. A culturally informed knowledge of place takes account of different approaches to dwelling on the land, as well as the ability to listen to the keepers of community memory of past environmentally destructive practices and of sustainable traditions of community self‐sufficiency. It is not driven by a Western ideology that takes for granted the progressive nature of change, or assumes that Western theorists possess the answers that the other cultures should live by.     

Exploring the dimensions of place: a confirmatory factor analysis of data from three ecoregional sites

Themes of place, situatedness, and locale are increasingly prominent in environmental education literature and practice. Sense-of-place research, which considers how people connect with places and the influence of those connections on engagement with the environment, may have important implications for environmental education. Prior place studies have proposed that people’s place connections have various dimensions. This paper explores four place dimensions, analyzing data from a survey (n?=?712) conducted in three ecoregional sites in which we investigated residents’ sense of place. We examine how our data fit a proposed typology of place dimensions – a four-dimension (biophysical, psychological, sociocultural, and political-economic) categorization based on previous conceptions of the dimensions of place. We use structural equation modeling to question whether a 4-factor conceptualization of the dimensions of sense of place is superior to plausible alternatives. In comparing the four-dimension model with alternative models, we find that the four-dimension model is the best fit for these data. Our findings suggest that environmental and place-based education may benefit from an understanding and consideration of this four-dimension conceptualization of place in program design, implementation, and evaluation.     

论精神异化与人的创造能力的丧失

人的创造能力来源于精神,精神是人创造发明的不竭源泉。如果生命中的创造本性被异化为非创造性的东西,那么人就有可能由于精神异化而丧失创造发明能力。生活中有些人之所以终生毫无任何创造发明,正是由于这些人的精神被异化造成的,因此,人只有克服异化、全面占有自己作为人的类本质,才能拥有强大的创造发明能力。     

Action research,pedagogy, and activity theory: Tools facilitating two instructors' interpretations of the professional development of four preservice teachers

This paper explores the value of action research in the understanding of the professional development of 4 preservice secondary school mathematics (PSSM) teachers and their instructors in a teacher education program. It draws upon data collected from multiple cycles in a research project (2007–2010). The goal of the long term project was to explore how PSSM teachers combined knowledge from their content area and pedagogy courses with the action research course. This paper represents how activity theory facilitated the instructors' interpretations and understandings of the benefits and challenges of using action research as a professional development strategy with PSSM teachers.     

网络信息寻求行为研究理论框架之活动理论

本文尝试对网络信息寻求行为研究框架——活动理论,及其在信息寻求研究中的适切性进行论述,并尝试给出活动过程模型。     

对接资源需求 强化运营管理 打造高水平科技服务平台

重点研究了北京大学研发实验服务基地的资源和需求对接模式,总结了专业运营服务机构的运营手段和方式,希望以此为基础继续开展基地工作,提升北京大学基地需求对接的效率和科技服务的水平,力争为首都企业和科研院所提供更高质量的服务,并将北京大学的优质科技资源的服务能力辐射至全国。     

在数学教育活动中玩具及操作性学习方式与幼儿创新能力发展关系的实验研究

幼儿对客观材料的操作是他们思维运算的关键,数理逻辑经验是在动手操作中形成的。那么提供什么样的操作材料才能引发幼儿的主动性、探索性和创造性的操作?采取什么样的操作方式才能帮助幼儿感知理解数量关系,促进知识的迁移,激发幼儿的学习兴趣,发展幼儿的创新能力?本文对这个问题进行了较为深入的研究。     

大学生创新训练项目对本科生创新能力形成的影响调查与分析

以成功智力理论为基础,自编《本科生创新能力调查问卷》,选取上海市E校大三、大四年级共378位本科生进行调查。调查发现:相较于没有参与过大学生创新训练项目的本科生,参与过项目的本科生创新能力各维度的得分更高,且差异显著。本科生参与该项目的次数越多,创新能力水平越高。在参与该项目的过程中,参与动机、导师指导显著影响项目参与者的创新能力。从而建议设计多层次的创新训练课程体系,构建全方位的校内导师管理体系,促进高校创新育人。     

From the Technical Know-How to the Free Flow of Ideas: Exploring the Effects of Leader,Peer, and Team Communication on Employee Creativity

Creativity is the lifeblood of a successful organization, as creative employees drive companies to be innovative and competitive. While studies have examined how leaders foster creativity, researchers have overlooked how communication between workgroup peers and teams cultivate creative output. Interviews were conducted to determine the effects of leader, peer, and team communication on employee creativity within the national video game industry. Results indicate communication exchanges uniquely influence employee creativity, with peer associations being most crucial. Informal mentoring, or “creativity coaches,” were vital lifelines within creatively driven organizations. Additional findings highlight the importance of structure, support, and trust in creatively supportive organizations.     

从学科结构,教材结构到教学结构

一门科学的学科结构是由诸多科学事实,概念、原理、定律等按照一定的联系和方法构成的逻辑体系。教材内容之间的主要内在联系即教材结构,教学内容结构、教学方法结构、学生心理结构有机地统一于教学过程形成教学结构。一个合格的教师,要深谙学科结构,要精通教材结构,尤其要创造性地针教材结构转化为适宜的教学结构。     

Imagination and the Cognitive Tools of Place-Making

In environmental and ecological education, a rich literature builds on the premise that place, the local natural context in which one lives, can be an emotionally engaging context for learning and the source of life-long concern for nature. A theory of imaginative education can help uncover new tools and strategies for place-based educators. Conversely, a focus on the imaginative dimensions of place-making sheds new light on the nature of imaginative development, with important implications for educational theory and practice.     

身体与空间的互构:具身教学的创新路径研究

具身教学创新的根本是突破以教师为中心、以知识"灌输"为主的单向教学,构建感官体验多通道整合的教学方法。文章通过阐述具身教学的基本内涵,结合"地方感"理论学习课堂案例,从"身体"—"空间"互构视角出发,分析具身教学要素,提出具身教学的基本逻辑,探究具身教学实施路径。有利于明确具身教学操作,既为具身教学创新研究突破已有学科禁锢,也为课堂理论学习提供理念引导,促进高校教学改革的深度发展。     

Populism,democracy and a pedagogy of renewal

ABSTRACT

Laclau and Mouffe have long argued the democratic possibilities of ‘left populism’ underpinned by their agonistic critique of liberal democracy. We are currently witnessing the attempted application of their theories by European political parties. However, there remains very little international scholarship taking up the challenge of situating these arguments in the broader literature on the relationship between democracy and education. We argue that this is an urgent task, particularly in the context of populist trends which appear inimical to educational practice. Thus, we explore the implications of populism for adult education aimed at defending and extending democratic life. We question the conflation of agonistic democracy with left populism on several grounds, and we consider how a focus on education might help to ground their theory and clarify its ambiguities. We argue that adult educators can surface aspects of the context which representations of populism on the one hand, and populist representations on the other, often hide. Our argument is illustrated through two vignettes of populist events and the educational problems and opportunities they posed.