In this proposal, the inferential model of communication (Reddy, 1979; Sfard and Kieran, 2001; Sperber and Wilson, 1988) is integrated into the Activity Theory, in order to explain the interplay between discourse and joint understanding. We analyze some excerpts of teacher-researcher discus sions in a participatory inquiry conducted to promote new under standings and innovative practices, in order to integrate immigrant children in the mainstream classrooms. According to the proposed approach, the discourse provides a means for making each participant’s own perspective public, object of discussion and development. The acts of meaning do not occur in isolation but as dialogic contributions in which participants try to fi gure out each interlocutor’s perspective and to coordinate their interventions on the inter-subjective plan. A discourse is productive when it has some lasting effects on the community of partici pants: comparison of alternatives about an issue, working out a problem solution, changing personal perspec tives and modifying the subjects’ mutual positioning. An effective communication relies upon the clarity of the discursive focus (Sfard and Kieran, 2001), therefore the interlocutors cooperate in the integration of three different dimensions: the intended focus (each participant’s intentions and models), the pronounced focus (the linguistic meaning of the symbolic expressions), and the attended focus (the act of referring to specifi c aspects of a shared entity). Artifacts can play a pivotal function in clarifying the discursive focus: the participants refer to some potentially relevant aspects of available artifacts to highlight their intended meanings, to disambiguate expressions and to maximize the opportunities to develop a joint understanding. The process of integration between individual intentions, symbolic expressions and joint reference to available artifacts is crucial in conducting an educational participatory research. In the paper, the model developed by Sfard and Kieran (2001) is applied to some excerpts of joint discussions among a research group and a primary school teachers’ community, about relevant topics in multicultural learning. A critical idea for the approach is encouraging teachers and researchers to make explicit their different perspectives and modes of discourse about classroom practice, in order to discuss scaffolding strategies to foster immigrant children’s participation and learning. In each teacher-researcher session, a specifi c artifact was introduced as a material basis for the ongoing discussion in order to support the different perspectives on the emergent educational issues. The specific function played by three artifacts (an immigrant child’s drawing; an ethnographic protocol of actual classroom activities; a narrative scheme) in mutual understanding is highlighted through a “focal analysis”. The mutual positioning of participants on the regulative plane of discourse is analyzed through an“interpersonal analysis”.

The role of semiotic artifacts in a participatory research discourse.

SORZIO, PAOLO;
2006-01-01

Abstract

In this proposal, the inferential model of communication (Reddy, 1979; Sfard and Kieran, 2001; Sperber and Wilson, 1988) is integrated into the Activity Theory, in order to explain the interplay between discourse and joint understanding. We analyze some excerpts of teacher-researcher discus sions in a participatory inquiry conducted to promote new under standings and innovative practices, in order to integrate immigrant children in the mainstream classrooms. According to the proposed approach, the discourse provides a means for making each participant’s own perspective public, object of discussion and development. The acts of meaning do not occur in isolation but as dialogic contributions in which participants try to fi gure out each interlocutor’s perspective and to coordinate their interventions on the inter-subjective plan. A discourse is productive when it has some lasting effects on the community of partici pants: comparison of alternatives about an issue, working out a problem solution, changing personal perspec tives and modifying the subjects’ mutual positioning. An effective communication relies upon the clarity of the discursive focus (Sfard and Kieran, 2001), therefore the interlocutors cooperate in the integration of three different dimensions: the intended focus (each participant’s intentions and models), the pronounced focus (the linguistic meaning of the symbolic expressions), and the attended focus (the act of referring to specifi c aspects of a shared entity). Artifacts can play a pivotal function in clarifying the discursive focus: the participants refer to some potentially relevant aspects of available artifacts to highlight their intended meanings, to disambiguate expressions and to maximize the opportunities to develop a joint understanding. The process of integration between individual intentions, symbolic expressions and joint reference to available artifacts is crucial in conducting an educational participatory research. In the paper, the model developed by Sfard and Kieran (2001) is applied to some excerpts of joint discussions among a research group and a primary school teachers’ community, about relevant topics in multicultural learning. A critical idea for the approach is encouraging teachers and researchers to make explicit their different perspectives and modes of discourse about classroom practice, in order to discuss scaffolding strategies to foster immigrant children’s participation and learning. In each teacher-researcher session, a specifi c artifact was introduced as a material basis for the ongoing discussion in order to support the different perspectives on the emergent educational issues. The specific function played by three artifacts (an immigrant child’s drawing; an ethnographic protocol of actual classroom activities; a narrative scheme) in mutual understanding is highlighted through a “focal analysis”. The mutual positioning of participants on the regulative plane of discourse is analyzed through an“interpersonal analysis”.
2006
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11368/2561699
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