Re: [xmca] Kindergarten as Activity System

Dear Anton,

I`m looking for some support to understand my present experience in a Kindergarten as an Activity System as well.
In the case there is no further contribution on this thread, please keep me dated.

Kindly

Silvio

Anton Yasnitsky <the_yasya@yahoo.com> wrote: Dear colleagues,

we are presently starting a research on, roughly,
voluntary behaviour development in preschoolers
in Kindergarten settings. So, I wondering if
anybody is aware of any research done on
Kindergarten (child day care center) as an
Activity system, from any research perspective. I
believe there is a lot of literature on this out
there, but this is a fairly new topic to me, so
-- any help will be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Anton.

--- Paula Towsey

wrote:

> Dear Mike and Anton
>
> Although Vygotsky maintains that solving the
> problem of the blocks isn't
> dependent on 'previous experience or knowledge'
> (T&L, 1986, pp.97-98), I
> found that there are other elements of a
> school-like nature that Vygotsky
> apparently did not discuss in Chapter Five of
> T&L. His introduction to this
> (finely crafted and delicate) instrument starts
> along these lines:
>
> "The functional method of double stimulation in
> the study of concept
> formation begins by introducing nonsense words
> that from the beginning have
> no meaning for the subject. According to
> Vygotsky, the introduction of
> nonsense words was adapted from Ach's (1921)
> use of nonsense words in his
> experimental procedures. These nonsense words
> are artificial concepts that
> actually mean a combination of characteristics,
> of real attributes, but "for
> which no ready concept and word exist" in the
> given language (1986, p. 97).
> This experimental method is designed to reveal
> the processes involved in the
> subject's coming to understand the nonsense
> words and, at the same time, to
> reveal the development of these concepts. The
> procedure can be used with
> adults and children because solving the problem
> doesn't depend on or
> presuppose prior experience or knowledge of the
> words and concepts in the
> experiment: the experiment doesn't use 'tall',
> 'short', 'large' or 'small'
> on their own, but combines these into new
> relationships exemplified in the
> words cev, bik, mur, and lag." (Towsey, 2007,
> p.58)
>
> For your interest, I've attached my discussion
> of the three-year-olds'
> responses to the blocks - the 'hidden
> curriculum' seemed to be preparing
> these children well for a rote-style approach
> to education!
>
> Paula
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
> [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
> Behalf Of Anton Yasnitsky
> Sent: 30 May 2007 08:18 AM
> To: mcole@weber.ucsd.edu; eXtended Mind,
> Culture, Activity
> Subject: Re: [xmca] FW: The functional method
> of double stimulation - and
> somephotographs
>
> Just in case: we are meeting with our Ukrainian
> team in a couple of days and are open to any
> research initiative of this kind. A good
> starting
> point for a cross-cultural project, eh :)?
>
>
> --- Mike Cole wrote:
>
> > Might some kind of collective, distributed
> > effort at conducting a small
> > study using these materials
> > be of interest to XMCA folks?
> > mike
> >
> > On 5/29/07, Carol Macdonald
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > P
> > > Great to get this. I tried at the weekend
> to
> > see how you were, but you
> > > were
> > > out.
> > >
> > > I am about to contact Nicoleen for the 2nd
> > time, and will let you know
> > > directly I hear something.
> > >
> > > Jaki's results are back--with 16 pages of
> > corrections. But at least they
> > > are finally back from the second examiner.
> > >
> > > I am now drowning in work on four projects.
> > >
> > > On Thursday I am to have a two hour meeting
> > with the Kellogg Foundation
> > > about the bibliotherapy project proposal.
> > Wish me luck.
> > >
> > > Rush, rush
> > > Love
> > > C
> > >
> > >
> > > On 29/05/07, Paula Towsey
> >
 wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Dear Ana
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Thank you for your suggestion that I
> > forward this email to the
> > > group. The
> > > > blocks I used for my cross-sectional
> study
> > were made by Stoelting Co.
> > > > (USA),
> > > > according to the specs. provided by Jacob
> > Kasanin and Eugenia Hanfmann
> > > > (+/-1936/37).
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > My research exercise, 'In Search of
> > Vygotsky's Blocks: exploring cev,
> > > bik,
> > > > mur, and lag in South Africa', was
> > conducted for my M. Ed. (Psychology
> > > in
> > > > Education) by course work and research
> > report at Wits University.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: Paula Towsey
> > [mailto:paulat@johnwtowsey.co.za]
> > > > Sent: 28 May 2007 04:47 PM
> > > > To: 'ana@zmajcenter.org'
> > > > Subject: The functional method of double
> > stimulation - and some
> > > > photographs
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Dear Ana
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > To introduce myself: my name is Paula
> > Towsey and I followed, with a
> > > great
> > > > deal of interest, some of your
> conversation
> > about the method of double
> > > > stimulation - Vygotsky's Blocks - on the
> > XMCA in March. I conducted
> > > > research with this method last year but
> > wasn't able to join in with your
> > > > conversation because I wasn't on the XMCA
> > mailing list in March. I am
> > > now
> > > > -
> > > > but am writing to you separately because
> > the topic is no longer current
> > > on
> > > > XMCA. I do hope that by writing to you
> > directly I'm not breaking any
> > > XMCA
> > > > protocols!
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > In reading between the lines, Ana, it
> seems
> > to me that the pathway you
> > > > followed with the method of approach with
> > the blocks at the University
> > > of
> > > > Belgrade was more directly linked - for
> > historical and geographical
> > > > reasons,
> > > > perhaps - in source to Sakharov's
> approach.
> > The sources I was most
> > > easily
> > > > able to find flowed mainly through
> Hanfmann
> > and Kasanin via Kozulin's
> > > > translation of Thought and Language
> (1986):
> > suffice it to say here
> > > (though
> > > > I
> > > > can send you more) that I noticed a
>
=== message truncated ===>
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Received on Wed May 30 13:04 PDT 2007