Vygotsky Podcast

This lesson is good enough but also far from great.  How might you rethink, revise, or improve it?  Huw Lloyd offers more helpful feedback on this and other lessons here: http://tiny.cc/r5v6tz  (Initially published December 17, 2020)

Class documents here: http://tiny.cc/i9v6tz

Huw Lloyd helps me to rethink a lesson that I like but also know is flawed. The suggestions are adaptable to many types of lesson revision.   (Initially published December 17, 2020)

The lesson, influenced by Vygotsky's idea that "word meaning develops,"  is summarized here: http://tiny.cc/z7v6tz  

Full chat here: http://tiny.cc/r5v6tz  

Main reference: "The primary result of this work . . .that constitutes the conceptual  center of our investigation (is) the finding that word meaning develops.  The discovery that word meaning changes and develops is our new and  fundamental contribution to the theory of thinking and speech. It is our  major discovery, a discovery that has allowed us to overcome the  postulate of constancy and unchangableness of word meaning which has  provided the foundation for previous theories of thinking and speech."  (Vygotsky, 1987, p. 245)  The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky. Vol.  1. Problems of general psychology, Including the volume Thinking and  Speech. New York: Plenum. Vygotsky, L. S.  

Related: "Where do new words come from?" - Marcel Danesi (TED-ED) - http://tiny.cc/flx6tz

Huw Lloyd suggests a method of concept-building where the concept (in  this case, register) feels like a "personal invention not (just) a  historical invention."  (Initially published December 17, 2020)  

Full chat here: http://tiny.cc/r5v6tz

Huw Lloyd discusses some cognitive benefits of synthesizing different  perspectives, invoking an interesting metaphor from Michael Cole.  (Initially published December 17, 2020)

Full chat here: http://tiny.cc/r5v6tz

After clarifying some theoretical distinctions and then presenting some teaching ideas of his own, developmental researcher Huw Lloyd helps me to rethink some of my own classroom lessons. Classroom handouts are  linked at the bottom of this description.  (Initially published December 15, 2020)

Highlights include: 

0:40 - Clarifying the relationship between activity and epistemological forms 

3:40 - Attention is freed up when operations are achieved (gas-tank analogy) 

7:24 - Designing lessons to distribute activities amongst the group 

10:20 - Bringing multiple perspectives together 

12:12 - Davydovian ways to introduce academic concepts (e.g., register) 

20:16 - A request for feedback on some classroom lessons 

21:40 - Activity 1: "Word meaning develops" 

24:30 - Huw's feedback on lesson 1: redesigns to make students more active participants  

31:24 - Reaching all students is a challenge -- some ideas 

37:10 - Activity 2: building poetry-reading skills 

41:33 - Huw's feedback on lesson 2: restructure to enhance independence & authentic inquiry 

48:15 - Activity 3: the follow-up assessment to lesson 2 

50:05 - Activity 4: "The Visitor" - imaginative in-role mentorship 

54:00 - Huw's feedback on lesson 4   

59:42 - Reaching all students is a challenge -- some ideas 

1:02:10 - Ideas to extend or rethink lessons from a developmental education lens 

1:07:04 - Seeing into students' heads is a challenge 

1:08:42 - Pedagogical takeaways from Huw 

1:13:04 - A final key point: redesigning for problem-oriented inquiry  

References: 

Lloyd, H. (2020) "A Study of Active Orientation, Part 1: A Perspective-Based Theory of Cognitive Development" - http://tiny.cc/vua6tz 

Classroom handouts: http://tiny.cc/snr6tz  

This chat is Part 3/3.  Part 2 is here: http://tiny.cc/tnr6tz

Huw Lloyd gives an example of how sign use can turn a conscious action into an unconscious operation.  (Initially published December 13, 2020)

Full chat: http://tiny.cc/kac6tz  

Lloyd, H. (2020) "A Study of Active Orientation, Part 1: A Perspective-Based Theory of Cognitive Development" - http://tiny.cc/vua6tz

In a previous chat, Huw Lloyd introduced "5 epistemological forms  implicated in cognitive development."  Here, Here Huw digs into various  finer details of how such forms may develop, and also discusses how and  why the trio signs, actions, and operations can be a helpful system for  construing psychological development.  Part 1 is here: http://tiny.cc/4om6tz  (Initially published December 13, 2020)

Highlights include:  

0:28 - Getting more into the formative process of cognitive development (or recapping/clarifying some key parts of part 1) 

3:45 - Some useful ways to think about epistemological forms 

5:25 - We can choose to treat anything - within our perception - as a sign 

8:42 - Situation- and setting-based reasoning  

13:25 - Knowing where to look: epistemology can fuel confidence in setting-based situations  

16:50 - Empirical vs theoretical orientations 

20:24 - The compelling nature of not knowing 

25:30 - Planting a flag to recap the chat thus far 

26:50 - The relation of Huw's work to Activity Theory and CHT  

28:12 - Actions as goal-directed movement & thinking (made manifest through signs) 

30:39 - Automatic vs. autonomic operations   

35:44 - Operations don't require conscious attentions and are not serial (brick wall analogy) 

38:44 - Conscious actions can turn into unconscious operations 

42:29 - A "middle ground" where a residue of external signs still remains (w/ examples) 

48:00 - The role of active orientation in expressing intention 

50:22 - Actions and reactions (and emotions regulating actions) 

55:11 - Productively distinguishing emotion from feeling  

1:02:07 - How signs can suggest strategy and thus orientation (followed by a demonstration) 

1:04:30 - Discerning AO by studying microdevelopment and morphogenesis of actions into operations 

1:10:30 - Capturing neoformations and demonstrating conscious awareness and independence 

1:14:16 - Does this kind of analysis transfer to many domains?  

1:15:40 - Development is not just about importing culture but increasingly sophisticated sign use 

1:16:59 - How might similar investigations go with older learners? 

1:21:27 - Some quick closing questions  

Some quotations: 

- "these epistemological forms are representative of degrees of sophistication with using signs"  

- "signs are like one side of the coin of which the other one is awareness"  

- "as your reasoning improves, the richness of where you can put your attention improves" 

- "he knows where to look" and has confidence 

- "those signs that become used can detach themselves from the necessity of conscious awareness of them" 

- "by looking at the configuration of signs at play, you can discern strategy, and from strategy you can discern orientation" 

-"development is not just about importing culture" but increased "sophistication in the use of signs"  

Lloyd, H. (2020) "A Study of Active Orientation, Part 1: A Perspective-Based Theory of Cognitive Development" - http://tiny.cc/vua6tz

What role does active orientation play in cognitive development, or cognitive reorganization?  Huw Lloyd gives a unique answer.  (Initially published December 9, 2020)

Full chat: http://tiny.cc/kac6tz 

Lloyd, H. (2020) "A Study of Active Orientation, Part 1: A Perspective-Based Theory of Cognitive Development" - http://tiny.cc/vua6tz

Huw Lloyd introduces '5 epistemological forms implicated in cognitive development,' increasingly sophisticated forms of thinking.  (Initially published December 8, 2020)

Full chat: http://tiny.cc/kac6tz 

Lloyd, H. (2020) "A Study of Active Orientation, Part 1: A Perspective-Based Theory of Cognitive Development" - http://tiny.cc/vua6tz

Huw Lloyd cautions against ignoring epistemological or individual facets when talking about mental tools.  (Initially published December 8, 2020)

Full chat: http://tiny.cc/kac6tz 

Lloyd, H. (2020) "A Study of Active Orientation, Part 1: A Perspective-Based Theory of Cognitive Development" - http://tiny.cc/vua6tz