Sense-making, mediation and artefacts: culture and technology according to educational psychology

Journal title RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA
Author/s Maria Beatrice Ligorio
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/1
Language Italian Pages 12 P. 147-158 File size 203 KB
DOI 10.3280/RIP2013-01010
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This article describes the relationship educational psychology maintains with both the cultural dimension and the use of technology at school. In this first case, the reference is to Cultural Psychology and to Activity Theory, alongside with the models of community of learners and practice. The sense-making process is central for such relationship. In the second case, the concepts of mediation and artifact are the starting points to define the contribution of the Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and the Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) approaches. After discussing also methodological aspects, the article will shortly describe various experiences of use of innovative technologies, including technology purposely created. The article ends with a proposal meant to highlight the political role school should cover. Such proposal is based on the triangulation of: (a) that part of educational psychology attentive toward cultural processes and technology; (b) valuing those positive experiences already undertaken at school; (c) empowering students’ role.

Keywords: Mediation, artifacts, cultural psychology

  1. Aharony, N. (2009). The Use of a Wiki as an Instructional Tool: A Qualitative Investigation.
  2. Journal of Web Librarianship, 3(1), 35-53. DOI: 10.1080/19322900802660334
  3. Bereiter, C. (2002). Education and Mind in the Knowledge Age. Mahwah (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum.
  4. Besana, S. (2012). Social Network e apprendimento informale. Un contributo di ricerca, TD Tecnologie Didattiche, 20(1), 17-24.
  5. Brown, A.L., Campione, J.C. (1990). Communities of learning or a context by any other name. In D. Kuhn (Ed.), Contributions to Human Development, 21, 108-126.
  6. Bruner, J. (1983). Child’s talk: Learning to use language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  7. Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  8. Churchill, E.F., Snowdon, D., & Munro, A. (2001). Collaborative Virtual Environments. Digital Places and Spaces for Interaction. London, UK: Springer Verlag. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4471-0685-2
  9. Cole, M. (1996). Cultural Psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  10. Collins, A., Brown, J.S., & Holum, A. (1991). Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making things visible. American Educator, 15(3), 6-11, 38-46.
  11. Engestrom, Y. (1991). Activity theory and individual and social transformation, Multidisciplinary Newsletter for Activity Theory, 7/8, 14-15.
  12. Engestrom, Y., Miettinen, R., & Punameaki-Gitai R.-L. (1999). Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511812774
  13. Engestrom, Y., & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and future challenges, Educational Research Review, 5, 1-24. DOI: 10.1016/j.edurev.2009.12.002
  14. Kim, A.J. (2000). Community building on the web: secret strategies for successful online communities. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press.
  15. Koschamn, T. (1994). Toward a theory of computer support for collaborative learning, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3, 210-225.
  16. Ligorio, M.B. (2003). Euroland: un mondo tridimensionale per l’apprendimento collaborativo cross-nazionale. In S. Caravita & M.B. Ligorio (Eds.), Apprendimento collaborativo. Dal gruppo alla rete (pp. 121-141). Roma: Edizioni Carlo Amore.
  17. Ligorio, M.B. (2010). Dialogical relationship between identity and learning, Culture & Psychology, 16, 109-115. DOI: 10.1177/1354067X09353206
  18. Ligorio, M.B., & Cacciamani, S. (2013). Manuale di Psicologia dell’Educazione. Roma: Carocci.
  19. Ligorio, M.B., Cacciamani S., & Cesareni D. (2006). Blended Learning: dalla scuola dell’obbligo alla formazione adulta. Roma: Carocci.
  20. Ligorio, M.B., & Cucchiara, S. (2011). Blended Collaborative Constructive Participation (BCCP): A model for teaching in higher education. eLearning Papers, http://www.elearningeuropa.info/it/node/111469.
  21. Ligorio, M.B., & Hermans, H. (2005). Identita dialogiche nell’era digitale. (pp. 15-40). Trento: Erickson.
  22. Ligorio, M.B., & Veermans, M. (2005). Perspectives and patterns in developing and implementing international web-based Collaborative Learning Environments, Computers & Education, 45(3), 271-275. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2005.04.007
  23. Loperfido, F.F., Cucchiara, S., Sansone, N., & Ligorio, M.B. (2012). Intrecci tra apprendimento e identità nei forum online. In O. Albanese, M.B. Ligorio & M.A. Zanetti (Eds.), Identita, Apprendimento e Comunita Virtuali. Strumenti e attivita online (pp. 9-20). Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  24. Lurija, A.R. (1928). The Problem of the Cultural Development of the Child, Journal of Genetic Psychology, 35, 493-506.
  25. Mancini, I., & Ligorio, M.B. (2007). Progettare scuola con i blog. Riflessioni ed esperienze per una didattica innovativa nella scuola dell’obbligo. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  26. Mazer, J.P., Murphy, R.E., & Simonds, C.J. (2007). I’ll see you on ‘Facebook’: The effects of computer-mediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Communication Education, 56, 1-17. DOI: 10.1080/03634520601009710
  27. Rafaeli, S. (1988). Interactivity: From new media to communication. In R.P. Hawkins, J.M. Wiemann & S. Pingree (Eds.), Sage Annual Review of Communication Research: Advancing Communication Science: Merging Mass and Interpersonal Processes (pp. 110-134). Beverly Hills: Sage.
  28. Rogoff, B. (1995). Observing Sociocultural Activity on Three Planes: Participatory appropriation, guided participation, and apprenticeships. In J.V. Wertsch, P. Del Rio & A. Alvarez (Eds.), Sociocultural Studies of Mind (pp.139-164). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139174299.008
  29. Scardamalia, M. (2002). Collective Cognitive Responsibility for the Advancement of Knowledge. In B. Smith (Ed.), Liberal Education in a Knowledge Society (pp. 67-98). Chicago (IL): Open Court.
  30. Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2006). Knowledge Building: Theory, Pedagogy and Technology. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 97-115). Cambridge: University Press.
  31. Selwyn, N. (2009). Faceworking: exploring students’ education‐related use of Facebook, Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 157-174. DOI: 10.1080/17439880902923622
  32. Vygotskij, L.S. (1929). The Problem of the Cultural Development of Child, The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, 36(3), 415-432. DOI: 10.1080/08856559.1929.10532201
  33. Vygotskij, L.S. (1978). Mind in society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA). (Trad it. Il processo cognitivo, Boringhieri, Torino, 1987).
  34. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511803932
  35. Wundt, W. (1921). Elements of Folk Psychology. Londra: Allen and Unwin.

Maria Beatrice Ligorio, Sense-making, mediazione e artefatti: cultura e tecnologia secondo la psicologia dell’educazione in "RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA " 1/2013, pp 147-158, DOI: 10.3280/RIP2013-01010