Saying more than you know in instructional settings

James Wertsch

Sibel Kazak

pp. 153-166

in: Timothy Koschmann (ed), Theories of learning and studies of instructional practice, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

In this chapter we focus on the role of mediational tools in organizing social and psychological processes in instructional settings. We begin by introducing the approach of Vygotsky and Shpet to instruction and learning where the focus is on the mastery of cultural tools by the learners. Drawing on this framework we then analyze episodes of teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction in a science classroom as students organize the plant-height data on a given graph paper in order to answer specific questions about the data, such as the central tendency and the variability.