Re: Passion and rationality
Dewey Dykstra, Jr. (dykstrad who-is-at varney.idbsu.edu)
Sat, 6 Apr 1996 13:21:12 -0700
>Gordon wrote:
>> Rather, what makes it social is that the
>>change takes place in and through the participation in joint activity and
>>involves the appropriation of modes of acting and thinking that are enacted
>>in the interaction and mediated by artifacts that have an interpersonal,
>>cultural - and not simply an individual - function.
>
> Gordon, the second part of this ("involves the appropriation of modes
>of acting and thinking...") makes good sense to me, but I am still
>struggling with the notion of "joint activity" as it applies to the
>lecture situation. If individual listeners listening silently (and
>individually) to a lecture constitutes "joint activity," then it
>becomes difficult for me to imagine any situation which would NOT
>qualify as a joint activity, and if every human action is by definition
>a joint activity, then it begins to feel like a not very useful concept
>to me. What would NOT be a joint activity? And how would that
>differ from what we find happening in the lecture course?
> Robin
Except that 'joint activity' indicates that we should probably include in
our sense making _more_ than just a student's performance on a test when we
try to understand teaching and learning. The upshot here is that "joint
activity" cannot be used to "outlaw" lecture any more than "the learner
constructs his/her knowledge" can. It's not that simple.
Dewey
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Dewey I. Dykstra, Jr. Phone: (208)385-3105
Professor of Physics Dept: (208)385-3775
Department of Physics/SN318 Fax: (208)385-4330
Boise State University dykstrad who-is-at varney.idbsu.edu
1910 University Drive Boise Highlanders
Boise, ID 83725-1570 novice piper
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