A central concern that TL theory approaches but does not fully address is the process whereby an individual generates a more adequate meaning perspective after shedding an outmoded one. This article complements TL theory's account with a phenomenological description of the dangers and opportunities encountered on that quest. It employs the concept…

This paper discusses a three-level model that synthesizes and unifies existing learning theories to model the roles of artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting learning processes. The model, drawn from developmental psychology, computational biology, instructional design, cognitive science, complexity and sociocultural theory, includes a causal…

Foundational to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was the influence of Marx's theory of historical materialism. Vygotsky's work radically rejected the traditional approaches of developmental psychology. The ZPD centralized the importance of potential development not only by measuring or testing what a child could perform, but a tool to…

The work of Vygotsky is widely used in teacher education and other education-related literature, in discussion of sociocultural perspectives, and in relation to themes such as second language acquisition, the teaching of mathematics, and approaches to teaching and learning. Much of this work gives the impression that Vygotsky's work is…

"Generative Knowing" explores the mystery of learning from the unknown in ways that reveal that learning is a dynamic phenomenon, encompassing both personal and societal contexts. Dewey defines learning in terms of experience, reflection, continuity, and interactivity. When learning happens, it eventually solidifies into reliable truths…

This paper argues that a teacher should and can be not only the organizer of a lesson as well as participant in a dialogue who has the equal right with pupils vis-à-vis the truth of the learning material in order to make lessons dialogic. To analyze such a teacher's way of being in the lesson, the concept of a triadic relationship among pupils,…

Dynamic systems theory (DST) is presented in this article as a suitable approach to research the acquisition of second language (L2) because of its close alignment with the process of second language learning. Through a process of identifying and comparing the characteristics of a dynamic system with the process of L2 learning, this article…

Acquisition in general and first language acquisition in particular is a very complex and a multifaceted phenomenon. The way that children acquire a language in a very limited period is astonishing. Various approaches have been proposed so far to account for this extraordinary phenomenon. These approaches are indeed based on various philosophical…

It is sometimes suggested that activity theory represents the most important legacy of Soviet philosophy and psychology. But what exactly "is" activity theory? The canonical account in the West is given by Engestrom, who identifies three stages in the theory's development: from Vygotsky's insights, through Leontiev's articulation of the…

Outlines what the terms "learning" and "development" meant in the theoretical framework on one important developmental psychologist--Vygotsky. Discusses his concepts of decontextualization and contextualization, which have implications for a possible developmental account of heterogeneity in human mental functioning. (ET)

Explains the place of learning in human development from the perspective developmental contextualism, where development involves changing relations between the developing person and his or her changing context. Demonstrates that learning is no more nor less important than other focal functions at a given level; any impact is through being part of…

Calls for a coalition of different research methods and strategies to better understand learning and development. Describes two such strategies: (1) testing-the-limits decomposing age-graded differences in upper limits of plasticity; and (2) experimental simulation of development, a coordinated sequence of theory-guided research steps. Both…

This paper describes a program of research in the application of scalogram analysis to the validation of learning hierarchies, together with the development of an alternative method for assessing hierarchical relationships among tests of instructional objectives. The relationship between scalability of tests and positive transfer between…

An overview and analysis of the use of learning hierarchies in instruction and research, examines some current research on learning hierarchies, and considers the implications of this research for instructional psychology and for theories of cognitive development. (Author)

Delineates the continuing controversy between development and learning, and notes the evidence accumulating for some type of continuum in the processes. Introduces 10 research papers on reconceptualizing the intersection of the two processes and states the arguments for debate and presentation. (ET)