Review of Expansive learning at work: toward an activity theoretical reconceptualisation (Engestroms, 2001)
Friday, 6 Mar 2015, 10:59
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What kind of theory of learning is offered by classic activity theory?
Mediation (Vygotsky); Collective Activity System
What are the five principles of current activity theory?
First Principle – a group of learners with a learning objective in an activity system is taken as the prime unit of analysis
Second Principle –An Activity system is a community of multiple points of view, traditions and interests (multiple voices)
Third Principle – (Historicity) Activity System take shape and get transformed over lengthy periods of time
Forth Principle –Contraindications inform and fuel change and development of the group
Fifth Principle – Possibility of expansive transformations in activity systems that goes beyond the original learning objective
What is the problem with the ‘standard’ theories of learning that expansive learning addresses?
That people and organisations are all the time learning something that is not stable, not even defined or understood ahead of time.
The issue being that with ‘Standard’ theories it presumes that the knowledge of skill to be required is itself stable and reasonably well defined. Example of a Fixed in a classroom environment could be learning mathematical formulae which may be successfully understood for the need of passing an exam but the real test is then if this formulae is understood by the learner to apply to other settings that may come about in daily life (e.g. maths is everywhere).
Review of Expansive learning at work: toward an activity theoretical reconceptualisation (Engestroms, 2001)
What kind of theory of learning is offered by classic activity theory?
Mediation (Vygotsky); Collective Activity System
What are the five principles of current activity theory?
First Principle – a group of learners with a learning objective in an activity system is taken as the prime unit of analysis
Second Principle –An Activity system is a community of multiple points of view, traditions and interests (multiple voices)
Third Principle – (Historicity) Activity System take shape and get transformed over lengthy periods of time
Forth Principle –Contraindications inform and fuel change and development of the group
Fifth Principle – Possibility of expansive transformations in activity systems that goes beyond the original learning objective
What is the problem with the ‘standard’ theories of learning that expansive learning addresses?
That people and organisations are all the time learning something that is not stable, not even defined or understood ahead of time.
The issue being that with ‘Standard’ theories it presumes that the knowledge of skill to be required is itself stable and reasonably well defined. Example of a Fixed in a classroom environment could be learning mathematical formulae which may be successfully understood for the need of passing an exam but the real test is then if this formulae is understood by the learner to apply to other settings that may come about in daily life (e.g. maths is everywhere).
Reference:
Yrjö Engeström . (2001). Expansive Learning at Work: Toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. Available: http://www.tandfonline.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/doi/pdf/10.1080/13639080020028747. Last accessed 6th March 2015