Breaking out of a professional abstraction: The pupil as materialised object for teacher trainees

Conference item

The paper discusses the materialization of the pupil as a professional object for elementary school teacher trainees involved in a project of developmental intervention. Davydov's theory of learning as ascending from the abstract to the concrete and Leont'ev's notion of object are used as theoretical lenses to conceptualize this process. The analysis reveals that experimentation as the first phase in the process of ascending from the abstract to the concrete is fed by conflictual encounters both within the individuals who carry with them a previously acquired empirical abstraction and in the interaction with authorities who reproduce the empirical abstraction. Four steps are distinguished within the action of experimentation. The four steps are: 1) contrasting different views, 2) experiencing conflicting views, 3) experimenting with mediating artifacts, and 4) establishing dialectical connections. The four steps may be used as tools for facilitating and empowering the process of overcoming empirical abstraction among learners.

Authors: Sannino, A

• Publication status: Not published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publication date: 2008-01-01
• Language: English
• Keywords: elementary school teacher trainees; pupils; 5D
• Subjects: Teaching and teacher education; Education