Yes, we write about the Russian tradition(s) Anna and we are in agreement
about the
centrality of methodology. What I am interested in seeing more discussion of
at this moment on xmca, is the methodological importance of the kinds of
performance-based interventions that Lois is interested in. When interesting
messages such as Eric's come across the screen it is difficult not to make
lots of interesting connections!
mike
On 12/12/05, Stetsenko, Anna <AStetsenko@gc.cuny.edu> wrote:
>
> Mike, indeed the intervention strategy is of prime importance. It has a
> long history in CHAT, especially in Galperin-Elkonin-Davydov line of
> research where it was not only a method but the core theoretical prinicple
> and the prism through which to understand and conceptulize human
> development. Galperin in particular staunchly argued against the method of
> 'mere observation' which he saw this as the main impediment for all of
> Western psychology (in both its behaviorist and cognitivist incarnations).
>
> There is a position according to which the major hallmark of all of CHAT
> from Vygotsky to Galperin-Davydov-Elkonin is precisely the change of method,
> rather than of any abstract theoretical ideas.
>
> I hope this line gets more exposition as it deserves now that you became
> interested in this.
> Anna
> PS. Some materials on this can be found in Stetsenko& Arievitch in MCA
> (1997) on mathodology of active co-construction of development; Human
> Development (2000) - on methods of teaching-and-learning (arguably the most
> vivid example of intervention method), plus Arievitch & Haenen in
> Educational Psychologist, 2005, 40 (3), 155-65.
> ________________________________
>
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu on behalf of Mike Cole
> Sent: Mon 12/12/2005 12:57 PM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: Re: [xmca] Artist as creator reminds me of combined motor method
>
>
>
> Interesting generalization, Eric.
>
> Right now I am kind of enamored of Yrjo's intervention strategy because
> it
> is a conscious
> effort to apply the method of dual stimulation as a method of
> organizational
> self-learning/development. The quesion of agency seems crucial in this
> line
> of work.
>
> That the method of dual stimulation is a mirror image of the combined
> motor
> method seems
> well worth further examination. That method, we should not forget, was
> used
> to drum
> students out of the university if they had other than peasant/worker
> backgrounds, and people
> in Russian often referred to him as inventor of the lie detector.
>
> This brings us back to questions of intersubjectivity and agency from a
> new
> angle.
>
> I am mulling over how all this fits together with a methodology that
> fronts
> performance. I have the intuition borrowed from many that it is an
> instantiation of a practice that emodies the idea
> that the thought is completed in the word. But I am still puzzling.
>
> thanks for the extra puzzle.
> mike
>
> On 12/12/05, ERIC.RAMBERG@spps.org <ERIC.RAMBERG@spps.org> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > From: Mike Cole (mcole@weber.ucsd.edu)
> >
> > Date: Fri Feb 22 2002 - 09:33:48 PST
> > Next message: Mike Cole: "iscrat/aera"
> > Previous message: Mike Cole: "discoordinations"
> > Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]
> >
> >
> >
> > Perhaps the finest book written by AR Luria in his long career was
> called,
> > in English, *The nature of human conflicts*. In it, ARL described a
> method
> > he called the comibned motor method, which has interesting relations to
> > the method of dual stimulation that surface many years later.
> >
> >
> > In the combined motor method, a person is asked to engage simultaneously
> > in several kinds of actions which are to be coordinated. The actions
> might
> > be holding one hand steady, pressing a button with the other hand every
> > time
> > a word stimulus is presented, and perhaps responding verbally as well.
> >
> >
> > This method sets up a system of interpersonal coordination between what
> > has come to be called the "subject" (who is the object of the
> > experimenter's
> > activity) and the experimenter. It takes a while for the subject to
> master
> > the coordination, which might begin with the prnounciation of a set of
> > words or with pure tones that are then substituted for by words.
> >
> >
> > When the system of coordination is stable, the experimenter introduces
> > "critical" words that relate to some hypothetical event in the subject'
> > s prior experience. Examples include subjects hypnotized and told not
> > to reveal the story they had just been told, suspected criminals, and
> > college students from wealthy families who wanted entrance to Moscow
> > University at a time of proletarian purging of such people.
> >
> >
> > Luria argued that one can know what another is thinking under the
> > condition
> >
> > that one sets up such a system of coordination and then is able to
> > SELECTIVELY disrupt it by prsenting critical words which are just those
> > words that the subject does not want the experimenter to know about.
> >
> >
> > Hence, selective discoordination becomes a window into, precisely, what
> > another person is thinking (assume precision in knowledge of the
> universe
> > of possibile bits of knowledge involved and of measurement-- both very
> > iffy).
> >
> >
> > One does not need a fancy apparatus to see this mechanism at work. I see
> > and have recorded many examples from undergraduates playing computer
> > games with kids where they are highly coordinated (a condition very much
> > like Czikhzentmihaly's (swp?) FLOW) and then something occurs which
> > indicates that one or the other has misunderstood the other in a very
> > particular way.
> >
> >
> > The most public example of this I have experienced was a few years ago
> > when I showed a class an antiapartheid MTV song called "Sun City." In
> > the film, there is a very repetitive refrain, "I ain't gonna play Sun
> > City" which referred to a boycott of a white's only spa in South
> > Africa. Repeatedly in the film, this refrain was accompanied by a
> > marching mix-ethnicity crowd walking up a street and coming over the
> > horizon into view in synch with the music.
> >
> >
> > Pretty mezmerizing.
> >
> >
> > Then, at one point, Bruce Springsteen appears in the group of marchers
> > and at the sight of him, a class of 200 students burst into laughter
> > simultaneously. They had been quiet up to that point and were quiet
> > afterward until discussion time. Then they articulated their surprise
> > at Springsteen appearing. He was not the only musician they recognized
> > in the waves of marchers. But there was something incongruous to them.,
> > collectively and individually, about his experience which they could
> > then talk about.
> >
> >
> > And, most important, when the laughter occurred, all felt that they knew
> > why the others were laughing just at the moment when they laughed.
> >
> >
> > Make of it what you will. I take this to be an example of selective
> > discoordination that reveals something about others' thought processes.
> > Laughter is not the only such expression, of course. Surprise, chagrin,
> > horror, etc. can all be evoked, and maybe even conceptual change.
> >
> >
> > mike
> >
> >
> >
> > The discussion of Psychology and the Actor's Creative Work reminded me
> of
> > the previous post from Mike Cole. The combined motor method is an
> > extremelye effective teaching tool that can sometimes be coordinated in
> > team teaching situations where the subject matter is difficult for high
> > school age students to discuss (i.e. sex, home life, peer pressure). We
> > do
> > not call it the combined motor method but essentially that is what it
> is.
> > A worksheet is passed out for students to work on. Anything simple and
> > easy to understand will work. One teacher will take the "lecture
> > position"
> > and the other will be in the class seated where the students
> are. Before
> > the lesson is too far on the seated teacher will interrupt the lecture.
> > Usually it has to be an interruption that is "over the top" and will get
> > the students to be surprised. Once this reaction is received the class
> > turns into a give and take discussion that in all my time of practicing
> > has
> > always been well received and beneficial. Some time I will try to
> record
> > this dialogue and provide a more concrete example.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > xmca mailing list
> > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> >
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