Jacques Haenen

Connecting Sociocultural Theory and Educational Practice: Galperin's Approach.

Learning and instruction have always been important topics in the sociocultural school of thought founded by Vygotsky and further developed by his followers. Taking sociocultural ideas as a starting point, Piotr Galperin developed an original conceptual system and a new method of investigation that made teaching and learning a central part of psychological research. We analyze Galperins theory and discuss its direct relevance for educational practice. The analysis is based on a spiral model that, we suggest, most adequately represents Galperins procedure of the formation of mental actions. This model helps to clarify the relevance of Galperins approach to current issues in psychology and education.

Sociocultural theory and the practice of teaching historical concepts

Learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with peers. (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 90) In our teacher education courses, we discuss with the trainee teachers educationally relevant topics from the field of learning theory. One of these topics is the acquisition of historical concepts. Through practical experiences and classroom assignments, the trainee teachers become aware of some of the problems involved in the teaching of concepts. Often, they plan to teach concepts in a straightforward matter-of-fact manner using a transmission model of teaching. As teacher educators, we challenge this idea in order to replace this approach with more effective models. So, with our trainee teachers we discuss how secondary education students can achieve a deeper understanding of concepts. Two basic elements of helping trainee teachers teach for understanding are (1) methods to create powerful learning environments and (2) methods to present the historical subject matter in terms of a meaningful whole. This approach is influenced by a Vygotskian sociocultural theory of teaching and learning. In this perspective the creation of a learning environment can be conceived of as a shared problem space, inviting the students to participate in a process of negotiation and co-construction of knowledge. Lev Vygotsky, the founder of the sociocultural theory, developed a new framework for conceptualizing these educational dialogues, through which students acquire new modes of handling knowledge and solving problems.

Gal’perian Instruction in the ZPD

Arievitch and Stetsenko’s article (this issue) – on Piotr Gal’perin’s approach to cultural tools and cognitive development – illustrates the theoretical transformation currently taking place within educational psychology. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) has certainly become one of the inspiring founders of this transformation. As a psychologist following in his footsteps, Piotr Gal’perin (1902–1988) could justifiably be called a Vygotskian, although he departed from Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and took the next step by further developing its educational implications. Until now, Gal’perin stands apart from Western educational psychology, but several authors have mentioned the potential of his work. Apart from Arievitch and Stetsenko, these are Amano [1999], Arievitch & Van der Veer [1995], Gallimore & Tharp [1990], Grigorenko [1998], Haenen [1996a, 1996b], Karpov & Haywood [1998], and Wertsch [1995]. In Russian psychology, Gal’perin’s name is well known and widely acclaimed. Arievitch and Stetsenko give an overview of Gal’perin’s position on instruction and its relation to cognitive development. I will add to their article by briefly sketching one historical aspect of Gal’perin’s place in Russian educational psychology. Then, I will illustrate his approach using the case of handwriting, a basic cultural tool mediating the child’s cognitive functioning.

A qualitative analysis of language learning tasks: the design of a tool

This study outlines the construction of a tool to enhance the competence of foreign language teachers in estimating the effectiveness of language‐learning tasks. Five assumptions basic to second‐language acquisition are crucial to the design of the tool. Subsequently, drawing on insights from cognitive psychology about information‐processing, a category system of learning activities is developed. This description holds clues to the nature of the mental actions carried out in the working memory. After presenting two tasks to demonstrate the tool, its contribution to the enhancement of the teacher’s competence in estimating the learning impact of language‐learning tasks is discussed.

Evaluating the level of degree programmes in higher education: Conceptual design

Evaluating the level of degree programmes became crucial with the Bologna Agreement in 1999 when European ministers agreed to implement common bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes and a common system of quality assurance. The European Quality Assurance system demands evaluation of the degree programme level based on valid and reliable outcomes. To meet this standard, an Educational Level Evaluator (ELE) had been conceptually designed within the framework of the Design Research Methodology: the research clarification identifies the problems that need to be solved and the criteria against which the outcome of the research is evaluated. The descriptive stage focuses on acquiring understanding of the instrumentation’s key by conceptualising the degree programme level and developing four critical factors. The level concept has to be clear and the instrumentation should be reasoned transparently, empirically proven, and feasible. In the prescriptive stage, the critical factors are used to address the development of the conceptual design of the ELE, which is basically a procedure aiming to evaluate the degree programme level validly and reliably. It is concluded that the design provides measures and actions leading to validity and reliability, and that it now needs to be empirically proven. For this reason, empirical studies are undertaken.

Evaluating the level of degree programmes in higher education: the case of nursing

The European Quality Assurance system demands that the degree programme level is represented in terms of quantitative outcomes to be valid and reliable. To meet this need the Educational Level Evaluator (ELE) was devised. This conceptually designed procedure with instrumentation aiming to evaluate the level of a degree validly and reliably still needed empirical evidence. In this study the ELE was carried out in collaboration with five professional bachelor nursing degree programmes. The degree programme level was conceptualised into disciplinary thinking and professional attitude. Disciplinary thinking refers to higher order thinking on complex disciplinary problems. Professional attitude refers to processing attitudinal characteristics of the profession that the study addresses. The level was operationalised into themes, resulting in good face validity: nursing science, care plan, diagnosing, and nurse–person relationships, and specified by learning outcomes representing the bachelor level (0.78). The learning outcomes were processed in a questionnaire for recent graduates (N = 470). Four components ≥ 1 eigenvalue measured the conceptualised themes explaining 72–80% variance and scale reliability from 0.78 in the single samples. With this study the level was evaluated validly and reliably and the conceptual design was demonstrated to be evidence-based.