Activity Theory
Activity Theory
Activity Theory
) Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics 29(2) June 2009
Iskra Nunez
Institute of Education, University of London
The utilisation of CHAT (hereafter, AT) to study developmental processes and forms
of human practices varies across disciplines such as work management, education,
(Engestrm, 2001) and human computer interaction (Kuutti, 1996). Thus, to
understand what AT has to offer to the field of mathematics education is crucial to
historically trace the assumptions that underpin the concepts in AT and to understand
how the mathematics educational community has operationalised AT concepts.
In Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, the word activity does not refer to the
practical immediate actions of human beings, such as reading or problem solving.
Instead, the meaning of activity in the conceptual sense is rooted in classic German
philosophy and is derived from the word ttigkeit. Schurig (1998) explicates that the
conceptual richness behind ttigkeit has an emancipatory character. The historicity of
AT is depicted in Hegels classics. Hegel is considered the first philosopher to point
out that the development of humans knowledge is not spiritually given, but
developed in history from living and working in natural environments (Engestrm and
Miettinen, 1999).
Later, the meaning of activity (ttigkeit) is conceptualised differently under
historical materialism (Marx, 1945). Here, labour becomes the basic feature of
human activity. Activity is not only performed to transform nature, but in the process
of transforming nature humans themselves are cognitively transformed (Engels,
1940). This dual transformation never occurs in isolation; instead, it is accomplished
in community with the help of others and/or with the help of instrumental means. (In
AT terms, these instrumental means are called mediators of activity and are
represented with the concepts of instruments/tools, rules, and division of labour).
Human activity is also seen as object-oriented (Kaptelinin, 2005). That is,
human activity is not random, but purposefully orientated towards the achievement of
an objective (or object of activity). From historical materialism, the concept of
activity cannot be trivialised with the common definitions of practical activities. It
signifies a revolutionary, creative and self-changing practice in which the human
subject produces the conditions necessary for her/his life, and at the same time, she/he
produces her/himself.
In Soviet psychology, L. Vygotsky took the ideas of Marx and Engels to
introduce a new model to explain human behaviors (Figure 1).
such as passing an exam (see Flavell 2001, Roth 2003). This depends on who the
subject is. The community may consist of the teacher and students (Jurdak 2006); it
may also include family and policy makers (Venkat, H. and Adler 2008). The
instruments may represent mathematics concepts, strategies, procedures, language,
gestures, group work, and computing technologies such as computers, calculators, or
interactive white boards (Coupland 2006, Groves and Dale 2005, FitzSimons 2005,
Lim and Hang 2003, Zevenbergen and Lerman 2007). The rules may be represented
as employing the correct language (Hardman 2005), assessments (Jaworski 2003),
curriculum protocols, algorithms (Kanes 2001), questioning (Williams, Wake, and
Boreham 2001) or whole class grouping by ability (Venkat and Adler 2008). Lastly,
division of labour may be represented as assigning tasks, interventions, collaborative
agreements, validation of solutions, or student-centred vs. teacher-centred pedagogies
(Hardman 2005).
Further research
Acknowledgements
This study is possible by funds from The Centenary Scholarship.
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