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Psychology today seems less capable than ever of
providing a coherent account of the human mind
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• Much contemporary research in psychology does not
  have practical implications

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We need to

• Reformulate the questions we ask so that
  disciplinary integration will be natural and
  necessary
• Develop theoretical frameworks that can be
  understood/extended by a variety of disciplinary
  perspectives
• Formulate methodologies that include
  participation from a variety of disciplines

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Key Definitions

• Teleology a doctrine explaining phenomena by
  reference to goals or purposes

• Semiotics the study and general theory of
  signs and symbols in artificial and natural
  languages with regard to their relationship to
  the things they represent, to each other, and to
  their use

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Prerequisites
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Themes of Vygotskian Sociocultural Approach to
Mediated Action

• GENETIC ANALYSIS
• - Phylogenic Transition (elementary - higher
  mental functioning)
• Ontogenesis (cultural/ organic devt)
• Microgenesis - emerging
  mental patterns - thought to speech

• DOMAIN RELATIONSHIP
• 1. Principles of Parallelism (devt across domains
  simult) but each have own unique set of
  principles.
• CRITICAL MOMENT - bifurcation of development into
  - Natural Psychological - Cultural
  Psychological

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Genetic Law of Cultural Devt

• Occurs on 2 planes
• SOCIAL - interpsychological or intermental
• PSYCHOLOGICAL - intrapsychological or intramental

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Zone of Proximal Devt

• The distance between a) Learners actual devt
  level b) Higher level of
  potential
• Teach to the level of POTENTIAL

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MEDIATION

• Higher mental functioning Human
  Action are mediated by TOOLS (tech)
  SIGNS (psych tools) which alters the entire
  flow structure of mental functions determines
  the structure of a new instrumental ACT.
• MEDIATIONAL MEANS originate in social life.
  

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SEMIOTIC POTENTIALS

• SOCIAL SPEECH (external)
• EGOCENTRIC SPEECH (transitional)
• INNER SPEECH (internal)
  The transition from one to the other
  r/t the way speech comes to serve as its own
  context (semiotic potential of language to
  increase contextualization)

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Properties of Speech

• SYNTACTIC - Inner has unique
  abbreviated fragmentory Syntax

• SEMANTIC - Structure Function of Inner
  Egocentric differ from Social Speech
• Sense predominates over meaning
• Fluid, dynamic

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Bakhtins Influence

• VYGOTSKY studied INTRAMENTAL functioning how
  conceptual devt emerged in institutionally
  situated activity eg teacher - student

• BAKHTINs work extended this by looking at the
  sociocultural situatedness of mediated action on
  the INTERMENTAL plane - linked the inner with
  outer

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BAKHTIN

• UTTERANCE unit of analysis in speech with a
  focus on situated action
• VOICE - the speaking consciousness - expresses
  utterances with a unique point of view (voice)

• SPEAKING CONSCIOUSNESS - written/spoken comm -
  with own perspective, intention, conceptual
  horizon, world view
• VOICES always exist in a SOCIAL MILIEU

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ADDRESSIVITY

• MEANING requires the VOICE of the listener
  responding to the VOICE of the speaker/author
• TRANSLATED in our minds into an active context
  COUNTER WORD

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Bakhtins Philosophy

• Any true understanding is dialogic in nature.

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Primordial Dialogism of Discourse

• A SPEAKERS concrete UTTERANCES INTERANIMATE the
  UTTERANCE of another
• ALTERNATE in a rhythmic DIALOGUE

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INNER SPEECH

• Resembles the alternating lines of a DIALOGUE
  INNER DIALOGUE
• Like an inner transmitting transmitted VOICE

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SOCIAL LANGUAGE

• We use different NATIONAL LANGUAGES for varied
  contexts
• SOCIAL USE applies different discourse to
  specific social stratum in a given social system
  at a given time

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Hybrid Construction

• A VOICE uses two speech styles or two semantic
  belief systems
• VENTILOQUATION - a VOICE speaks through another
  VOICE TYPE in a social language

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Why After School Educational Activity is a Major
Educational Issue (US)

• 1. Concern over declines in educational
  achievement across grade levels
• 2. Increased after school childcare demands
• 3. Debate over the consequences of holding
  children back a grade vs under preparing them
  for information society
• 4. Reform of higher education to include service
  learning opportunities, increasing student
  proficiency in working w/ new info technologies
  and increasing courses that expose students to
  rigorous research

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Fifth Dimension
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Importance of Goal Formation

• such collaborations need common goals
• easiest at the highest level to provide enriched
  educational experiences
• more difficult at the specific level

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Notion of Leading Activity

• individual goals/personal motivation
• e.g. undergrads the fundamental motivation
  course credit

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The Role of Discoordination

• Discoordination and conflict are inevitable
• e.g. from community staff the formal demands
  for regular staffing, upkeep of equipment and
  different ways for adults and children to
  interact (non-hierarchical and non directive)

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The Centrality of Communicative Practices and
Mediational Means

• Vygotsky thought is completed in the word
• thus, emphasized interactions where participants
  had to pause to comment on their problem solving
  in oral or written reflections
• computer mediated communication was essential to
  interaction among experimental systems in
  different locations