Oliver Ding - Activity Analysis Center (Page 7)

Lev Vygotsky’s “Ecological Mind” [Activity Theory]

Vygotskian scholars don’t use “Ecological Mind” to describe Vygotsky’s ideas. I just use the term to highlight Vygotsky’s three ideas which are highly relevant to ecological approaches of psychology: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Perezhivanie, and Social Situation of Development.

The Concept of Development [Activity Theory]

One of Yrjö Engeström’s major theoretical contributions is Developmental Work Research which is based on the concept of Zone or Zone of Proximal Development.

Pierre Rabardel: Instrumental Genesis [Activity Theory]

Rabardel (1995) went back to Vygotsky’s ideas and made a distinction between the “physical object” and the “physical object which in used” by introducing a new concept called Instrument.

Activity System: Four levels of contradictions [Activity Theory]

A key concept of activity theory is “contradictions”. Engeström also used this concept to guide the notion of “expansion”. The concept of “contradictions” can be applied to different levels of analysis.

Chained Activity Systems [Activity Theory]

In order to discuss the relationship between learning activity and other types of human activities, Engeström used a new term called Activity Network.

Case Study: TEDx as "Formation of Concept" [Activity Theory]

There are three phases of the formation of concepts: Phase 1: Initialization; Phase 2: Objectification; Phase 3: Institutionalization. Let's use TEDx as an example.

The Re-Engagement Project [Project Approach]

Forming a concept is a collaborative project. I’d like to share the concept of Re-engagement with you and others. Together, we can remember great people, great books, great events, great things, etc.

Case Study: Collaborative Learning Space [Activity Theory]

Andy Blunden and Michael Arnold write a chapter titled Formation of the Concept of “Collaborative Learning Space” for the book Collaborative Projects. They share a story of developing a new concept “Collaborative Learning Space”.

Andy Blunden: Project-oriented theoretical approach [Activity Theory]

Andy Blunden’s Project-oriented theoretical approach is a major development of Activity Theory in the past decade.

All Edge: The Projectification of Work [Activity Theory]

The Activity System model has been orienting many empirical research since 1987. Clay Spinuzzi’s book All Edge: Inside the new workplace networks (2015) is a great example.