Vygotsky Podcast

Are there any benefits to trying to study Vygotsky on your own?  And is it doable? (Originally published Jan 23, 2020)  

Full video: http://tiny.cc/cr83iz

What's better: theory or practice?  (Originally published Jan 23, 2020)

Full video: http://tiny.cc/cr83iz

When does learning NOT make us smarter?  

Full video: http://tiny.cc/fl83iz

"we didn't give up; we overcame the dramas of our lives...and the way we look on the world now very much depends on the dramas of our life we've overcome..."  (Originally published Jan 23, 2020)

Full video: http://tiny.cc/fl83iz

What would Nikolai say is the central point of CHT?  (Originally published Jan 23, 2020)

Full video: http://tiny.cc/fl83iz

Why is Vygotsky's most famous concept still "a victim of misunderstanding"?  (Originally published Jan 23, 2020)

Full video here: http://tiny.cc/fl83iz

What do you think is the most powerful threshold concept in Vygotsky's work?  Andy Blunden weighs in, followed by responses from three other Vygotskian researchers. (Originally published Jun 25, 2020)

From Meyer and Land (2003): "Threshold Concepts’ may be considered to be “akin to passing through a portal” or “conceptual gateway” that opens up “previously inaccessible way[s] of thinking about something”   

Meyer and Land, 2003: "Our discussions with practitioners in a range of disciplinary areas have led us to conclude that a threshold concept, across a range of subject contexts, is likely to be:  

Transformative, in that, once understood, its potential effect on student learning and behaviour is to occasion a significant shift in the perception of a subject, or part thereof.    

Probably irreversible, in that the change of perspective occasioned by acquisition of a threshold concept is unlikely to be forgotten, or will be unlearned only by considerable effort.   

Integrative; that is, it exposes the previously hidden interrelatedness of something."  

Flanagan, 2020: "Examples of the threshold concept must be transformative and involve a traverse through a liminal space. They are likely to be characterised by many of, but not necessarily all of, the other features listed below: 

Transformative: Once understood, a threshold concept changes the way in which the student views the discipline. - Troublesome: Threshold concepts are likely to be troublesome for the student. Perkins [1999, 2006] has suggested that knowledge can be troublesome e.g. when it is counter-intuitive, alien or seemingly incoherent.  

Irreversible: Given their transformative potential, threshold concepts are also likely to be irreversible, i.e. they are difficult to unlearn.    

Integrative: Threshold concepts, once learned, are likely to bring together different aspects of the subject that previously did not appear, to the student, to be related.  

Bounded: A threshold concept will probably delineate a particular conceptual space, serving a specific and limited purpose.    

Discursive: Meyer and Land [2] suggest that the crossing of a threshold will incorporate an enhanced and extended use of language.  

Reconstitutive: "Understanding a threshold concept may entail a shift in learner subjectivity, which is implied through the transformative and discursive aspects already noted. Such reconstitution is, perhaps, more likely to be recognised initially by others, and also to take place over time (Smith)".   

Liminality: Meyer and Land [4] have likened the crossing of the pedagogic threshold to a ‘rite of passage’ (drawing on the ethnographical studies of Gennep and of Turner in which a transitional or liminal space has to be traversed; “in short, there is no simple passage in learning from ‘easy’ to ‘difficult’; mastery of a threshold concept often involves messy journeys back, forth and across conceptual terrain. (Cousin [2006])”.

David Kellogg weighs in on the question, "Which 'threshold concept' of Halliday's can open portals for teachers?" (Originally published Jun 19, 2020)

0:07 - A question for David 

2:05 - David tells us about "magic gateways" 

5:02 - Teachers can use metafunctions to better diagnose and locate struggle 

10:18 - The 3 great metafunctions of the Hallidayan system 

12:44 - Demonstration: a closer look at one metafunction  

Thank you, David.   

Potentially of interest: http://tiny.cc/l8e1qz

Andy Blunden weighs in. (Originally published Jun 2, 2020)

Here is The Lancet's retraction: http://tiny.cc/o3tiqz

More context on the Lancet hydroxychloroquine study: http://tiny.cc/h4tiqz 

Here is the paper referenced in Andy's answer: https://bit.ly/3eWif4e

One ammendment from Andy: "One error in my improvisation: The Lancet were apparently tipped off by a whistleblower, rather than by reviewers, but the link you give tells the story as seen by the Lancet. Thank you. The other thing, 'trust network' was apparently a term coined by Wikipedia in 2004 to characterise the network of expertise they have assembled to build Wikipedia. How about that, eh? And this draws attention to how social media 'reify,' or formalise trust networks, giving them stablility, which is amplifying the problem of politicisation which I mentioned. The advent of web-based news, in which the reader curates their own news, is another instance."

I am trying to understand Vygotsky's theory in a way that's easy to explain.  This is harder than I had hoped.  For instance, a sufficient understanding of dialectics appears to be a requirement.  Here, I share helpful notes from a trusted source -- Kevin deLaplante -- with sincere thanks. (Originally published Mar 2, 2020)

About Kevin: https://kevindelaplante.com/about/