Abstract
This chapter presents the perspective of “transactional inquiry” for understanding learning. In my understanding, this perspective is not strictly separable from the other two perspectives discussed in this volume – termed participation/identity theory and dialogic theory. Rather than being an alternative, the ideas have been developed together in many researchers’ minds, providing mutual support and value. In particular, I study and understand cognition within an activity theory framework, within which the notion of identity is fundamental. For the purposes of this book, I have focused on a transactional perspective, stressing Dewey’s notion of inquiry, which I have found to be useful in many settings, and aiming to bridge biological, cognitive, and social perspectives on learning. I provide an overview of the transactional/inquiry framework, an analysis of three aspects of classroom inquiry (perceptual work, playful attitude and purposeful context), and conclude with a proposed program of studies for practice-based science of teaching and learning, including research questions relevant to the classroom we have analyzed in this volume.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bamberger, J. (1991). The mind behind the musical ear. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bartlett, F. C. ([1932] 1977). Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology (Reprinted). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Ballentine Books.
Binsted, K., & Ritchie, G. (1997). Computational rules for punning riddles. Humor, 10(1).
Brown, J., Collins, S., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18, 32–42.
Burke, T. (1994). Dewey’s new logic: A reply to Russell. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Clancey, W. J. (1997). Situated cognition: On human knowledge and computer representations. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Clancey, W. J. (1999). Conceptual coordination: How the mind orders experience in time. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Clancey, W. J. (2001a, August). Field science ethnography: Methods for systematic observation on an arctic expedition. Field Methods, 13, 223–243.
Clancey, W. J. (2001b). Is abstraction a kind of idea or how conceptualization works? Cognitive Science Quarterly, 1(3–4), 389–421. Special issue on abstraction.
Clancey, W. J. (2002). Simulating activities: Relating motives, deliberation, and attentive coordination. Cognitive Systems Research, 3, 471–499.
Clancey, W. J. (2005). Towards on-line services based on a holistic analysis of human activities. In P. Ritrovato, C. Allison, & S. A. Cerri (Eds.), Towards the learning GRID: Advances in human learning services. Amsterdam: IOS Press.
Clancey, W. J. (2006). Participant observation of a Mars surface habitat simulation. Habitation: International Journal for Human Support Research, 11(1/2), 27–47.
Clancey, W. J., Lee, P., Cockell, C., Braham, S., & Shafto, M. (2006). To the north coast of Devon: Collaborative navigation while exploring unfamiliar terrain. In J. D. A. Clarke (Ed.), Mars analog research. American Astronautical Society Science and Technology Series (Vol. 111, pp. 197–226). San Diego, CA: Univelt, Inc. AAS 06-263.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. ([1986] 1989). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the craft of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Cognition and instruction: Issues and agendas. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
Dewey, J. (1938). Logic: The theory of inquiry. New York: Henry Holt & Co.
Dewey, J. (1958). Experience and nature. In Later works, 1: CD-ROM of The collected works.
Dewey, J., & Bentley, A. F. (1949). Knowing and the known. Boston: The Beacon Press. (Online: http://www.aier.org/knowingandtheknown.html)
Garrison, J. (2001). An introduction to Dewey’s theory of functional “Trans-Action”: An alternative paradigm for activity theory. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 8, 275–296.
Glenn, P. (2003). Laughter in interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hall, R. (1996). Representation as shared activity: Situated cognition and Dewey’s cartography of experience. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 5, 209–238.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mulkay, M. (1988). On humor: Its nature and its place in modern society. Cambridge: Polity.
Provine, R. R. (2000). Laughter. New York: Penguin Books.
Sacks, H. (1984). Notes on methodology. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.), Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis (pp. 21–27). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schön, D. A. (1979). Generative metaphor: A perspective on problem-setting in social polity. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 254–283). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Merriam-Webster (2002). Webster’s third new international dictionary, unabridged. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (22 Nov. 2004).
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Clancey, W.J. (2011). A Transactional Perspective on the Practice-Based Science of Teaching and Learning. In: Koschmann, T. (eds) Theories of Learning and Studies of Instructional Practice. Explorations in the Learning Sciences, Instructional Systems and Performance Technologies, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7582-9_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7582-9_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7581-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7582-9
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)