Re: [xmca] My ISCAR

Hi all, thanks to Steve for articulating some ideas. You may be
interested in the editorial of 15(3), where I reflect on the praxis
of theorizing and clarifying with the triangles as tools.

        I think one needs to add that there is a short coming in Steve's
presentation, which is that he does not emphasize enough that tools
are only tools in activity, praxis. It makes no sense to speak of
tools as such. The triangle can be very different tool depending on
whether Jaakko Virkunen uses it in his change-lab kind of work with
practitioners or whether someone uses it to theorize events past,
including their own praxis, etc. So it only makes sense to say, in
this activity, the triangle had this and this and this function. In
another activity, it had that and that and that function. These
different functions may not overlap, and we get therefore a very
different tool. Saying that it is the same makes only sense in an
idealistic ontology, not in a practical one.
        At best, it makes sense to speak of a boundary object, where some
material aspects are repeated across settings, but not the ideal
dimensions.
        As boundary object, the triangle then has coordinating function,
again, in specific activities as realized and objectified by
practitioners in sensuous (to speak with marx) practice.
Cheers,
Michael

On 27-Sep-08, at 10:10 AM, Au, Wayne wrote:

Steve,
Well put. I intend to use the triangle to think through how
curriculum functions in the classroom, where on one level, the
classroom itself is a triangle and where students and teachers are
also triangles in and of themselves (or something like that).

W-

On 9/26/08 7:28 PM, "Steve Gabosch" <stevegabosch@me.com> wrote:

What a great way to describe what ISCAR felt like, Emily. And I
really liked Jonna's post last week. What I get from these posts is
what I also came away with at ISCAR - many new and many deepened
relationships that mean a great deal to me. And a whirlwind of social
and intellectual moments that kept my brain and heart at full tilt
from the beginning to the end. New ways for me to think about old
questions - and new questions I had never considered.

There are so many issues and ideas and threads and themes that ISCAR
moved me forward on - or made me aware of for the first time - that I
couldn't begin to articulate half of them. So I'll mention just one
set of questions that came up in a few of my many stimulating
conversations.

Basically, this: Is the activity triangle a useful tool?

After a number of conversations where these kinds of questions came
up, I found myself being able to list 6 useful aspects of the activity
triangle. And as I did, I could see many aspects of the conference
itself reflected in these various aspects.

One, the activity triangle suggests a way of joining the two overall
aspects of activity - the sociological (rules, communities, divisions
of labor) and psychological (subjects, mediating tools/signs, and
objects) by providing mnemonics for places to start investigating both
aspects simultaneously. In other words, "activity" is used as a way
to conceptualize human experience in both psychological and
sociological terms at the same time, something that to my knowledge
has never been successfully done, and rarely attempted. The triangle
in some ways represents this new approach, both in spirit and in
methodology.

This freedom and facility to go from one kind of "realm" to another at
ISCAR was one of its hallmarks for me. The incredible range of
research at ISCAR from the macro to the micro, the social to the
psychic, the biological to the historic, the cultural to the neural,
and everything in between is extraordinary and unique in academic
social science. One would have to search far and wide to find another
scientific conference that does anything close to this kind of
analysis and synthesis of so many aspects of humanity, aspects that
are traditionally divided into highly bounded disciplines. The
activity triangle in its simplistic way represents this profound bio-
social, cultural-historical, socio-cultural and cultural-psychic range
of perspectives so many brought to ISCAR. By poking its upper half
into the realm of traditional psychology and its bottom half into the
realm of traditional sociology, the ATr indicates the possibility of
seeing the human world through the eyes of human activity in **all**
its forms and levels from a common perspective. While most probably
don't actually refer to the activity triangle very often, if at all,
the idea of seeing human activity in an entirely new way that breaks
down and transcends all the old barriers and restrictions is something
I saw many at ISCAR striving for, each in their own way.

Two, the ATr emphasizes mediational and transformational dynamics in
all human activities, actions and operations - everything is
connected, everything is changing everything else, and is being
changed itself. I saw this sense of the dynamism of life constantly
expressed at the conference, in so many creative ways. But it was
even deeper than that. The sense that the world not only is changing,
but can be **consciously** changed, seemed to pervade the conference.
I found this attitude very inspiring.

Three, the ATr emphasizes that activity has a strong cyclical aspect.
It indicates how each incremental change in an activity system steps
through all the dynamic relationships within it, and which it is
within, and creates a slightly new system and changed object each
time, over and over, around and around, until the system itself is
transformed into something else.

Fourth, it also indicates how activity has a strong linear aspect -
how alongside its cyclical meanings, the triangle also captures in a
single picture, moving from left to right, how a process can begin
with a subject and a context, and end with a transformed object. The
ability of the ATr to depict both the cyclical and linear aspects of
change - both continuity and discontinuity - is one of its most
powerful features, and helps explain why it can be so easily used to
depict so many different things in so many different time frames and
scales.

Fifth, the inner triangles and locations of the nexus points of the AT
allow for a depiction of the key economic categories of production,
distribution, exchange and consumption. Michael Roth has an
interesting discussion of this aspect of the activity triangle in a
recent editorial in the MCA Journal. Picking up on his thoughts, I
found myself talking with some about how the activity triangle can be
used not just for activity systems, which are determined by
fundamental motives, such as eating and being sheltered, but also for
what I call "action systems," where goals drive repeated actions, such
as going to a particular school class or commuting to work. Most uses
of the ATr in empirical analyses seem to be focused on "action"
systems rather than "activity" systems - that is, on goal-driven
rather than motive-driven activities. This is not a problem, in my
mind. Rather, it shows the general applicability of the AT as a way
to help one begin an inquiry into any level of human activity. This
issue came up in a session where Kris Gutierrez spoke about cultural
practices. In some activity conceptions, the terms "action" and
"practice" clash. Using this "action system" concept, however, the
terms are complementary - cultural practices are simply repeated
actions that become culturally routinized and individually
internalized. The way that Kris discusses and theorizes cultural
practices, in my view, is a very good example of the multidisciplinary
power of CHAT.

Sixth, the triangle represents (you have to go to the Helsinki site to
see this depicted in a little animation) how animal relations (nature,
population, individuals) were transformed into human relations.
Individuals became subjects, populations became communities, and
nature became humanly transformed objects - with entirely new entities
appearing for the first time, such as tools/signs, rules, and
divisions of labor. So the ATr also has meaning regarding some key
anthropological concepts.

There are these, and other useful ideas represented in the activity
triangle, even if individually these ideas are general and basic, and
if some of these ideas are less important to some, and more important
to others. Taken together, however, these ideas begin to explain how
so many people from so many disciplines from so many parts of the
world speaking so many different languages can find a common
perspective - human activity - from which to discuss, research and
change the human world.

The activity triangle and the activity theorizing it suggests, despite
its occasional ridicule (after all, it is just a little cartoon), and
despite its obvious simplicity, is somehow able to represent important
aspects of one of the most multidisciplinary approaches to human
experience ever invented. It certainly cannot answer any questions or
do any calculations - sorry to disappoint any cognitive
quantitativists who have held such hopes :-)) - but in its simplistic
way it indicates certain ways to begin asking useful questions. Any
toolbox that helps people ask new kinds of questions is certainly
something to think about - don't you agree?

There were many good examples of employing this toolbox at ISCAR. For
me, one of finest pieces of research work and use of the CHAT and ATr
toolbox that I saw at ISCAR was Mary Van der Riet's keynote address on
"CHAT and HIV/AIDS: An activity system analysis of a lack of behaviour
change". This research is a brilliant example of how the activity
triangle and CHAT can help ask questions in new ways. A life and
death question was addressed: why are so many sexually active young
people in South Africa not using condoms, despite the very high rate
of HIV infection? This paper is a classic and I hope becomes well read.

This link should get those with Moodle accounts to her paper:
http://moodle.id.ucsb.edu/file.php/1428/Van_der_Riet_Mary.pdf

Looking at how a) CHAT guided Mary, how b) she was able to critique
not only the existing individualist rational-behavioral paradigms
currently in vogue in SA government AIDS prevention programs, but also
c) aptly critique the critics of these programs, and d) contrast a
CHAT approach with these perspectives, and then go on to e) begin to
dig deeply into the social motives and cultural issues surrounding
this complex question, the methodological power of CHAT and the ATr
stood way out for me.

In my view, Mary moved the entire CHAT community forward with this
single paper. At the same time, while this paper shows how CHAT can
be applied to **analyzing** critical social problems, it does not have
(nor did it claim to have) any suggested **solutions**. It will be
very interesting if this research effort eventually does generate
suggested solutions, and if they can be implemented, and then their
results observed. That is a tall order, of course, but it is what
CHAT must do. Another shortcoming, not just of the paper, but of CHAT
itself - as well as the activity triangle as it is presently construed
- is that little attention is paid to class issues. CHAT in its
current form today does not obscure attention to issues of social
class, but it also does not directly facilitate it. But these and
other limitations of this paper are a consequence of its strengths -
it applies 3rd generation CHAT to a very difficult and vital social
problem, revealing both the effectiveness and limitations of the kinds
of questions 3rd generation CHAT has so far learned how to pose.

As a kind of answer to the pragmatic question I asked to start with -
is the activity triangle useful? - I would suggest that it matters
little whether you use this cartoon or any other number of ways to
collect your thoughts. The heart of the matter lies in what questions
you ask. And that little ATr has some good ones to get you started,
as Mary Van der Riet's paper illustrates.

Finally, this business about asking questions is one of the ways I
find helpful to understand what brings the people of ISCAR (and the
people of xmca, too) together. We certainly don't agree on all the
same answers, but despite the wide variety of disciplines, cultures
and traditions we are influenced by, we are often asking similar
questions - and above all, we are willing learn new ways to ask and
pursue them. I saw this in nearly every single presentation I saw, in
every conversation I had at ISCAR, and in every person I listened to.
For me, this constant striving to learn new ways to ask and pursue
questions about every aspect of humanity was the heart and soul of the
entire conference - "my ISCAR", as Emily nicely put it. And that is
something I will always keep with me and treasure.

- Steve

On Sep 26, 2008, at 12:08 AM, Duvall, Emily wrote:

> It's hard to pull the week together, to be honest.
> So many people, so many sessions, so little sleep... but here goes
> some
> stream of consciousness... perhaps it will encourage others to talk in
> more depth.
> At some point I would like to talk a bit more about the work that
> Tatiana shared with me once I have worked with it a bit.
> Truly a gift... thank you for the intro Elina!
> ~ Em
>
> My ISCAR
>
> Monica, my intrepid and talented grad student, and I find the elevator
> to room 4412.
> We don't have to walk up four flights!
> We think it's four flights...
> Home for the next week... :-)
>
> There's Ana...time for wining, dining and...
> CHAT-ting!
> We see Pooh on the way... they call it Pooh, Ana says..
> It's a pile of rocks. We have a landmark.
> The Bear.
>
> Monday I sleep and grade my online class;
> I thought I'd get out to go kayaking
> I say hi to Gordon - I make it out to get a Latte; soy.
> Monica was off to CHADOC.
> We're up half the night talking.
>
> Tuesday it begins in earnest.
> The importance, eh?
>
> Drawing,
> Drawing pictures, arrows, squiggles...
>
> Primacy of the word in psychological development
> 'Seeds of communication' as mother and child smile at each other
> Readiness to take culture in... Zinchenko
> Sensation/acts integrated through affect...
>
> John-Steiner - the complementarity of cognition/affect
> Dialectical relation.
> Cole's brain and culture co-construct
> What about schooling constructing, schooling as culture
> Consequences of schooling
> Neurophysiological
>
> Smagorinsky et al...
> Arts in core curriculum
> Role of affect in writing...
> Mahn: Writing Protocol
> Writing to Learn
> Dialogic interaction, negotiation of meaning, analysis of text
> Promotion of conceptual thinking
> Allowing students to access the concept in their own language
>
> ...ways in, eh?
>
> Putting more faces to names on xmca... Preiss, Connery...
>
> Tuesday night, I head out to sing-along Mama Mia with an old friend
> from
> high school...
> I skip Carl's fireside chat...
> Later Carl asks me if I prefer singing to Marx?
> 12 years of choir notwithstanding, I think I'm better off with Marx.
>
> Views of culture influence psychological phenomenon
> Cultural psychology should be focused on explanation
> Ratner - negative impact of ZPD
> Think about the etiquette of race,
> Explain the psychology, the perpetuation of oppression
>
> National narrative: Wertsch and the cultural tools that we don't know
> are there
> How they shape... narrative templates, like a schematic
> Narrative power rather than accuracy, but grounded in historical
> episodes
> Example:
> 1. Setting: Russia is peaceful
> 2. Trouble: wonton attack - want to destroy Russian
> 3. Russia: almost destroyed
> 4. Russian heroism & sacrifice = victory
> Ethnocentric narcissism...
>
> Symbolic tools may not help if you don't know how to use them
> Kozulin - must introduce them!
> Mediated learning experience: immigrant/minority students learning new
> ways
> Rigorous mathematical thinking example
> Foster internalization of psychological tools
> The factory metaphor...
>
> USD
> CHAT-ting!
> Taking turns in the Israeli army and the ease of switching between
> English and Afrikaans...
> The trials of living in England if you're not English...
> You know, you just can't get a glass of Riesling in California.
>
> It's Thursday so it must be Dynamic Assessment!
> And it's a Penn State reunion Thorne...
> And then Poehner and Lantolf...
> My introduction to Vygotsky.
> Iddings talks DA... high stakes testing for ESL students
> Poehner talks DA...understanding the object by changing it
> Roth talks DA... problematizing... is there something that can be
> assessed
> Atencio talks DA... try to bring in authentic/world... not just an
> analytic lens
>
> Dinner out - we miss the aquarium.
> CHAT-ting!
> Peter and Leo, Jim and Holbrook, Steve and Matt, and...
> Monica and I are up late again, talking, CHAT-ting.
> She has to listen to my talk rehearsal.
> I should have taped it.
>
> I change it at the last minute...
>
> It's Friday....and MORE DA!
> Some issues with scheduling...
> Kozulin talks DA...cognitive modifiability with adults, new
> immigrants,
> changing futures
> I talk DA... high stakes testing of reading for children with learning
> disabilities
> Robbins talks DA... zones of potential development
> ... some issues with technology.... timing
> Kotik finds us a room and we gather to talk DA for hours more...
> Lantolf and Poehner talk about their training cd...
>
> The Friday night party...
> Wolfgang tells me about cortisol levels and ADHD...
> Elina introduces me to Tatiana
> My Saturday is planned...
> International song fest after the conga...
>
> Akhutina and I spend the morning together.
> She graciously takes me through her work.
> And I see where I need to go next. This is my high point.
> I see where I have stopped too soon, both theoretically and
> practically.
> It's the impetus I need to move forward.
> The School of Attention materials are so much deeper than our western
> ways.
> I see how much time we waste.
> How superficial the content in our schools seems.
> Neuropsychology... Isn't this close to where we began with Cole?
>
> My head and heart are full.
> But I manage to catch Rogoff so my cup runnethed over (my grammar
> overrunneth)
> Did you get the handouts Monica?
> And the ethnography...
> Hey, there we are, University of Idaho!
>
>
>
>
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--
Wayne Au
Assistant Professor
Department of Secondary Education
CSU Fullerton
P.O. Box 6868
Fullerton, CA 92834
Office: 714.278.5481
Editorial Board Member: Rethinking Schools (www.rethinkingschools.org)
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