There is a missing link between our understanding of teaching as high-level social phenomenon and teaching as a physiological phenomenon of brain activity. We suggest that the science of human interaction is the missing link. Using over one-million days of human-behavior data, we have discovered that "collective activenes" (CA), which indicates…

There is considerable agreement about the fact that the presence of researchers in the classroom mediates teaching and learning. Why "should" two very different forms of human activity, one designed to study the other, interact and mediate each other? In this article, we propose cultural-historical activity theory as a framework for understanding…

The Developing Families Project-South Africa (DFP-SA) is a community-based model of education and training for the care, support and education of vulnerable children birth-to-three and their caregivers, guardians and families in rural and peri-urban townships. The approach fosters interactive learning among community members about early care and…

Notes that the ecological perspective on observation of learning focuses on the processes of interaction while attempting to unravel them from the inside out. Concludes that this approach requires a new look at basic assumptions about its role in the construction of theory and practice, i.e., evidence of learning will require new ways to document…

Reviews some of the current approaches for assessing asynchronous interaction. Describes an approach to assessing the contributions of students to an asynchronous forum (WebBoard) based on social constructivist learning theory. Presents a taxonomy of computer mediated discourse organized by the Simmons levels of assessing reflective thinking. (AEF)

Concepts drawn from Transactional Analysis concerning memory, association, and related components of learning theory are discussed. Ego States (Child, Parent, Adult) are described, along with the patterns and responses characteristic of each state. (PP)