Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Towards a Cultural Historical Theory of Knowledge Mapping: Collaboration and Activity in the Zone of Proximal Development

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Digital Knowledge Maps in Education

  • 1669 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter locates knowledge mapping within the theoretical framework of cultural historical activity theory. Cultural historical activity theory provides an analytic tool for understanding how knowledge maps can act as “stimuli-means”: a cultural artefact that can mediate the performance of subjects (Vygotsky, 1978). Knowledge maps possess Vygotsky’s double nature: they not only enable students to enact academic practice but also allow reflection on that practice. They enable students to build an “internal cognitive schematisation of that practice” (Guile, 2005, p. 127). Further, cultural historical activity theory gives the tools to analyse the social context of our use of knowledge maps and thus consider the mediating rules (tacit and explicit) and division of labour that mediate our use of knowledge maps. Knowledge maps can be viewed as acting within Brandom’s (2000) space of reasons, which allows learners to use reasons to develop and exchange judgements based on shareable, theoretically articulated concepts and collectively develop the ability to restructure their knowledge and enact these judgements (Guile, 2011). In particular multimodal collaborative knowledge maps can act as Vygotsky’s (Vygotsky, 1978) zone of proximal development, where teacher and peer-to-peer interaction allow students to solve problems and learn concepts and skills that they would be otherwise unable to tackle.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Kaptelinin and Miettinen are referring to the object of activity rather than cultural historic activity theory but the description is apt to both.

  2. 2.

    Parlton was a term invented by Feynman to explain interactions within protons. It was subsequently overtaken by the more successful quark (see Gleick, 1992, pp. 387–396).

References

  • Adams, K. (2004). Modelling success: Enhancing international postgraduate research students’ self-efficacy for research seminar presentations. Higher Education Research and Development, 23(2), 115–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar-Tamayo, M. F., & Aguilar-Garcia, M. F. (2008). Novak and Vygotsky and the representation of the scientific concept. Paper presented at the Concept Mapping: Connecting Educators.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays by M.M. Bakhtin (C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhurst, D. (2005). Il’enkov on education. Studies in East European Thought, 57(3), 261–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldón, M. O., & Berionni, A. (2006). Models of social constructivism, laboratory teaching and concept maps to build scientific knowledge and organize concept network teaching experiences in first level education in Italian schools. Paper presented at the Concept Maps: Theory, Methodology, Technology. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Concept Mapping.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandom, R. (2000). Articulating reasons: An introduction to inferentialism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Britton, L. R., & Anderson, K. A. (2010). Peer coaching and pre-service teachers: Examining an underutilised concept. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 306–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brophy, J. (1999). Toward a model of value aspects of motivation in education: Developing appreciation for particular learning domains and activities. Educational Psychologist, 34(2), 75–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaiklin, S. (2003). The zone of proximal development in Vygotsky’s analysis of learning and instruction. In A. Kozulin, B. Gindis, V. Ageyev, & S. Miller (Eds.), Vygotsky’s educational theory in cultural context (pp. 339–364). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coltman, P., Petyaeva, D., & Anghileri, J. (2002). Scaffolding learning through meaningful tasks and adult interaction. Early Years, 22(1), 40–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cripps Clark, J. (2001). Creating a community of scholarship: The CODET experience. Paper presented at the Deakin University Students Association Postgraduate Research Conference, Deakin University, Toorak.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cripps Clark, J. (2003). A survey of the methodologies and methods of science education research. Paper presented at the Symposium on Contemporary Approaches to Research in Mathematics, Science, Health and Environmental Education, Deakin University, Burwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, H. (2005). Subjectivity, identity and workplace divisions of labour. Paper presented at the Sociocultural Theory in Educational Research and Practice, University of Manchester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davydov, V. V. (2008). Problems of developmental instruction: A theoretical and experimental psychological study (P. Moxhay, Trans.). New York: Nova Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derry, J. (2008). Abstract rationality in education: From Vygotsky to Brandom. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 27(1), 49–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devenish, R., Dyer, S., Jefferson, T., Lord, L., van Leeuwen, S., & Fazakerley, V. (2009). Peer to peer support: The disappearing work in the doctoral student experience. Higher Education Research and Development, 28(1), 59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(3), 168–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elkonin, D. B. (2005). The psychology of play, preface: The biography of this research. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, 43(1), 11–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (1992). Learning by expanding: An activity theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Meittinen, & R. Punamaki (Eds.), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (2000). Activity theory as a framework for analyzing and redesigning work. Ergonomics, 43(7), 960–974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (2007). Putting Vygotsky to work: The change laboratory as an application of double stimulation. In H. Daniels, M. Cole, & J. V. Wertsch (Eds.), The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y. (2009). The future of activity theory: A rough draft. In A. Sannino, H. Daniels, & K. Gutierrez (Eds.), Learning and expanding with activity theory (pp. 303–328). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Engeström, Y., & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and future challenges. Educational Research Review, 5(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feryok, A. (2009). Activity theory, imitation and their role in teacher development. Language Teaching Research, 13(3), 279–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foot, K. (2002). Pursuing an evolving object: A case study in object formation and identification. Mind, Culture and Activity, 9(2), 132–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleick, J. (1992). Genius: Richard Feynman and modern physics. London: Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guile, D. (2005). Knowledge, mediation and activity. Unpublished PhD, Institute of Education, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guile, D. (2011). Interprofessional learning: Reasons, judgement, and action. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 18(4), 342–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, D. (2000). Self and other in Bakhtin’s early philosophical essays: Prelude to prose consciousness. Mind, Culture and Activity, 7(3), 227–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jonassan, D., & Rohrer-Murphy, L. (1999). Activity theory as a framework for designing constructivist learning environments. Educational Technology: Research and Development, 47(1), 61–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaptelinin, V., & Miettinen, R. (2005). Perspectives on the object of activity. Mind, Culture and Activity, 12(1), 1–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinchin, I. M., Hay, D. B., & Adams, A. (2000). How a qualitative approach to concept map analysis can be used to aid learning by illustrating patterns of conceptual development. Educational Research, 42(1), 43–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C. D., & Smagorinsky, P. (2000). Introduction: Constructing meaning through collaborative inquiry. In C. D. Lee & P. Smagorinsky (Eds.), Vygotskian perspectives on literacy research: Constructing meaning through collaborative inquiry (pp. 1–15). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leont’ev, A. N. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prenice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leont’ev, A. N. (1981). The problem of activity in psychology. In J. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 37–71). Armonk, NY: Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manouchehri, A. (2002). Developing teaching knowledge through peer discourse. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(6), 715–737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mariani, L. (1997). Teacher support and teacher challenge in promoting learner autonomy. Perspectives, 23(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, J. (1996). Mind and world. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLoughlin, C., Brady, J., Lee, M. J. W., & Russell, R. (2007). Peer-to-peer: An e-mentoring approach to developing community, mutual engagement and professional identity for pre-service teachers. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Conference.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehra, J. (1996). The beat of a different drum: The life and science of Richard Feynman. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, N. (2000). The guided construction of knowledge: Talk amongst teachers and learners. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, N., & Howe, C. (2012). Explaining the dialogic processes of teaching and learning: The value and potential of sociocultural theory. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 1(1), 12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreira-Unisinos, S. M. (2010). Concept map as a school genre: Considerations for teaching and learning. Paper presented at the Concept Maps: Making Learning Meaningful, The Fourth International Conference on Concept Mapping, Viña del Mar, Chile.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nobelprize.org. The Nobel Prize in Physics 1965. Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1965/.

  • Novak, J. D., & Cañas, A. J. (2006). The origins of the concept mapping tool and the continuing evolution of the tool. Information Visualization, 5(3), 175–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radziszewska, B., & Rogoff, B. (1991). Children’s guided participation in planning imaginary errands with skilled adult or peer partners. Developmental Psychology, 27(3), 381–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasku-Puttonen, H., Etelaplelto, A., Hakkinen, P., & Arvaja, M. (2002). Teachers’ instructional scaffolding in an innovative information communication technology-based history learning environment. Teacher Development, 6(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritella, G., & Hakkarainen, K. (2012). Instrumental genesis in technology-mediated learning: From double stimulation to expansive knowledge practices. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 7(2), 239–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, W.-M., & Tobin, K. (2002). Redesigning an ‘urban’ teacher education program: An activity theory perspective. Mind, Culture and Activity, 9(2), 108–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sennett, R. (2012). Together: The rituals, pleasures, and politics of cooperation. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spasser, M. A. (2002). Realistcally evaluating the flora of North America digital library project as an activity network: A case study. Mind, Culture and Activity, 9(4), 270–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoyanova, N., & Kommers, P. (2002). Concept mapping as a medium of shared cognition in computer-supported collaborative problem solving. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 13(1), 111–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tharp, R. G. (1992). Instructional and social context of educational practice and reform. In E. A. Forman, N. Minch, & C. A. Stone (Eds.), Contexts for learning: Sociocultural dynamics in childrens development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Boxtel, C., van der Linden, J., Roelofs, E., & Erkens, G. (2002). Collaborative concept mapping: Provoking and supporting meaningful discourse. Theory into Practice, 41(1), 40–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verenikina, I. (2003). Understanding scaffolding and the ZPD in educational research. Paper presented at the Educational research, risks and dilemmas: NZARE/AARE Conference 2003, Auckland, New Zealand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1933/1966). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. Psychology and Marxism Internet Archive. Retrieved January 6, 2006 from http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1933/play.htm.

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1934/1962). Thinking and speaking (E. Hanfmann, G. Vakar & N. Minnick, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1987a). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 2. The fundamentals of defectology (N. Minick, Trans.). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1987b). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 4. The history of the development of higher mental functions (N. Minick, Trans.). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1987c). The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: Volume 5. Child psychology (M. J. Hall, Trans.). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, G. (2007). Who we become depends on the company we keep and on what we do and say together. International Journal of Educational Research, 46, 100–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wertsch, J. (1985). Vygotsky and the social formation of the mind. Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zinchenko, V. P. (2001). Developing activity theory: The zone of proximal development and beyond. In B. A. Nardi (Ed.), Context and consciousness: Activity theory and human-computer interactions (pp. 283–324). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

    John Cripps Clark

Authors
  1. John Cripps Clark
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Cripps Clark .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Open Universities Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Dirk Ifenthaler

  2. CfBT Education Trust, Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Felda (Trolak), Sungkai, Perak, Malaysia

    Ria Hanewald

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Clark, J.C. (2014). Towards a Cultural Historical Theory of Knowledge Mapping: Collaboration and Activity in the Zone of Proximal Development. In: Ifenthaler, D., Hanewald, R. (eds) Digital Knowledge Maps in Education. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3178-7_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation