Dialogical Approaches and Tensions in Learning and Development : At the Frontiers of the Mind

The book pursues the goal of exploring and strengthening a dialogical approach of communication and cognition. It brings together contributions from world-leading researchers related to the dialogical approach in education and psychology. It presents, among others, the place of language and materiality in the development of communication and thinking, as well as the role of the methods in the relationship between researchers and participants. This leads to an innovative definition of the dialogicality and how a dialogical approach can provide heuristic (conceptual and methodological) tools to better understand how people think, communicate and learn in a complex world. The authors hereby develop an epistemological framework inspired by scholars such as Michaïl Bakhtin, Lev Vygotsky and Herbert Mead under the assumption that dialogue, or dialogicality - and therefore the presence of the other – is fundamentally entangled into the human thinking and development. This book contributes to the understanding of human communication, cognition and mind, and participates in a scientific dialogue which helps to advance future research. It includes theoretical and empirical chapters and presents innovative methods of inquiry, which makes it a useful tool for both teaching and research. Series Editors’ Note A Cognitive Approach to Mediated Learning and Development: A Comprehensive Portray Contents Contributors 1 At the Frontiers of the Mind... An Introduction 1.1 A Dialogical Approach to Dialogue in Learning and Development 1.2 At the Frontiers of the Mind 1.3 The Structure of the Book References 2 When Dialogism Crosses the Frontiers of Psychology 2.1 The Frontier as Metaphor: A Source of Inspiration 2.2 Dialogism: Inviting Language to the Table of Psychology 2.2.1 Learning and Development: A Core Field of Research in Sociocultural Psychology 2.2.2 Dialogue: A Polysemous Concept 2.2.3 What Relevance for Psychology? 2.3 Putting Dialogical Tensions Under the Lens 2.3.1 Dialogical Tensions as Potential Obstacles 2.3.2 From Tests to Contexts 2.4 Suspension Points References 3 Dialogical Interaction in the Making of Social Theories 3.1 Fragmentation and Unification of Social Theories in Sociology 3.2 Dialogically Based Interactions 3.2.1 Dialogues, Narratives and Interactions 3.2.2 Dialogical Balance 3.3 Dialogical Interactions in the Making of Social Theories 3.3.1 Dialogue Between the Individual and the Social Environment 3.3.2 Dialogues Between the Individual and Others 3.3.3 Internal Dialogues 3.4 Conclusion References 4 Languaging in Real Life: On Contexts and Communication Beyond Formal Linguistics and Conversation Analysis 4.1 Introduction: Some Assumptions of an Extended Dialogism 4.2 Some Developments in the Theory of Languaging 4.3 A Brief Summary Acknowledgements References 5 Sign-Making, Inscriptions and Access to Epistemic Practices: Development in a Designed World 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Minds, Symbolic Technologies and Human Development 5.3 Symbolic Technologies and the Historical Emergence of Epistemic Practices 5.4 Learning and Development: Epistemic Practices in a Designed World References 6 Toward a Dialogical and Sociocultural Method of Inquiry: Three Steps Participative Generalization and Reflection (3PGR) 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Conceptual Framework for the 3PGR 6.3 Why We Need a New Method for Studying Dialogical and Sociocultural Phenomena 6.3.1 Is There a Place for Generalization in Dialogical and Sociocultural Psychology? 6.3.2 Request for a Participative Interpretation of Key Findings 6.3.3 A Relevant Research for a Person and the Community: Supporting Reflection, Empowerment, and Agency 6.4 3PGR: A Sociocultural and Dialogical Method of Inquiry and Activism 6.4.1 The First Phase: Participative Identification of Social Discourses 6.4.2 The Second Phase: Studying Dialogical Relations of Participants with Social Discourses 6.4.3 The Third Phase: Participative Interpretation and Support of Participants’ Reflection and Agency Related to the Constitutive Role of Social Discourses in Their Process of Becoming 6.5 3PGR: Concluding Remarks and Final Reflections References 7 Makerspaces as Tertiary Artifacts? The Meaning of Material Artifacts in Students’ Social Interaction During Technology-Rich Creative Learning 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Research Insights into Artifacts in Novel Educational Designs and Spaces 7.3 Sociocultural Theorizing on Artifacts 7.4 A Schema of Mediating Artifacts 7.5 Study 7.6 Methods 7.7 Results 7.7.1 Example 1: Material Artifacts Constraining the Students’ Activity 7.7.2 Example 2: Translating Material Artifacts into Meaningful Actions 7.7.3 Example 3: Creative and Transformative Learning Actions with and Beyond Material Artifacts 7.8 Makerspaces as Tertiary Artifacts? Acknowledgements References 8 Dialogic Interactions and Literacy as a Sociocultural Practice 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Antecedents 8.2.1 A Dialogic Perspective on Teaching-and-Learning 8.2.2 Understanding Literacy Processes 8.2.3 Reading Comprehension 8.2.4 Written Composition 8.2.5 Dialogic Interactions and Literacy as a Sociocultural Practice 8.3 The Context of the Studies: The National Curriculum and Learning Together 8.4 Dialogic Interactions, Reading Comprehension and Written Composition 8.5 Promoting Dialogic Interactions and Literacy Social Practices in Primary School Settings 8.6 Conclusions References 517070_1_En_BookFrontmatter_OnlinePDF.pdf Series Editors’ Note At the frontiers of dialogical minds in learning and development Contents Contributors