What Is an Activity Theory?

The theory of activities originated from the classical philosophy of Kant and Hegel, formed from Marx's dialectical materialism, was proposed by Vygoschi, and matured from the former Soviet psychologists Leontev and Lulia. Research results. Activity theory emphasizes the bridge role of activities in the internalization of knowledge and skills. Activities form the basis for the occurrence and development of psychology, especially human consciousness. And human activities have objectivity and sociality.

The theory of activities originated from the classical philosophy of Kant and Hegel, formed from Marx's dialectical materialism, was proposed by Vygoschi, and matured from the former Soviet psychologists Leontev and Lulia. Research results. Activity theory emphasizes the bridge role of activities in the internalization of knowledge and skills. Activities form the basis for the occurrence and development of psychology, especially human consciousness. And human activities have objectivity and sociality.

Chinese name

Activity theory

Foreign name

activity theory

Origin

Kant and Hegel's Classical Philosophy

Presenter

Vigoski

Applied discipline

psychology

Connotation of activity theory

The English form of "activity" is "activity", which is derived from the Latin "act", and its basic meaning is "doing", that is, "doing." Both Chinese and Western philosophy have done a lot of thinking and discussion about "activity". The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle first proposed the concept of "poiein." He believed that activities were divided into theoretical, production, and practical activities. He discussed this issue in the "Category". Many western philosophers also discussed activities in their own understanding, and they all have certain development. However, they only recognize abstract, speculative activities or mechanical understanding of "activities", and believe that activities are only human behaviors such as personal behavior and daily communication. This understanding is different in the history of Chinese philosophy. In China, the word "activity" was not precisely defined in ancient Chinese, but the word "xing" can be said to be the word closest to the meaning of "activity". In the history of Chinese philosophy, "exercise" and "knowledge" are inseparable. From Zhu Xi's "discussion on the order, we should give priority to knowledge; on the importance of the matter, when the act of force is important" to Wang Yanxiang's "knowledge and action" We can see the relationship between "exercise" and "knowledge" in Chinese philosophy. Chinese thinkers also more agree with the "integration of knowledge and action."

The concept of "activity" has a more comprehensive and in-depth interpretation after the emergence of Marxism: human activity is human emotional activity, and it is understood as "activity" as a practice. Comrade Mao Zedong also summarized the relationship between knowledge and action in the "Practical Theory" and maintained the "relationship between cognition and practice", and pointed out that doing "is something that is subjective and objective."

"Activity" is the basic form of human existence and development, the process of communication and transformation between human beings and surrounding objective things, and the process by which human beings complete the goal of understanding the objective environment and their needs. Labor is the basic behavior of human existence, and it is the process by which human beings create material wealth and spiritual wealth. In the process of teaching and learning, learning is the work of the learner. In the process of learning, the completion of the learning activity by the learner is the acquisition of the need for knowledge and the change of the external environment. So for the teaching category in activity theory, "activity" is the sum of behaviors in teaching and learning. It is the sum of students' knowledge and skills development.

Definition of activity theory

Activity theory is not methodology. It is a philosophical framework for the study of different forms of human practice as a development process. It also includes the interrelated individual and social levels, and points out that the relationship between humans and environmental objects is linked by cultural connotations, tools, and symbolic intermediaries.

Kuutti, a representative of activity theory research, believes that "activity theory is a cross-disciplinary framework for studying different forms of human practice as a development process", including the personal and social aspects connected at the same time, and the use of artifacts. Kuutti defines a certain scope for the study of activity theory, which includes individuals, society and their connections, and is an individual's practice in society. From Kuutti's point of view, activity theory focuses on the practical process rather than the knowledge itself. It is the nature of the tools that people use in the development process, different environmental roles, social relationships, the purpose and meaning of the activity, and ultimately achieve the subject or object. The process and results of change. Activity theory is a human practice process.

The study of activity theory in China can be traced back to the "life education" experiment of Mr. Tao Xingzhi and the "live education" experiment of Mr. Chen Heqin in the 1920s and 1930s. After decades of exploration, many primary and secondary schools in China have accumulated a lot of experience in educating people. In the early 1990s, the State Education Commission formally incorporated the activity curriculum into the nine-year compulsory education curriculum plan, and activities and its cognitive development received due attention. The study of activity theory and time gradually formed a climax.

Activity theory content

The philosophical basis of activity theory is the dialectical materialist philosophy of Marx and Engels. The basic content of activity theory research is the process of human activities, the process of two-way interaction between people and the natural and social environment, and social groups and the natural environment. It is the practice process and result of human individuals and groups. Human consciousness and activity are a dialectical unity. In other words, human psychological development and human external activities are dialectical and unified.

The basic unit of analysis in activity theory is activity. The activity system contains three core components (subject, object, and community) and three secondary components (tools, rules, and division of labor). The secondary components constitute the connection between the core components. The relationship between them is shown in the figure.

Active system diagram

Subject. In instructional design, the subject is the student and the executor of instructional design. The analysis of subjects in activity theory is also the analysis of learners. It should investigate the characteristics of learners' cognitive level, emotion, and skill level. The analysis of learners is conducive to giving reasonable teaching goals in teaching design and organizing more effective teaching activities, which is the guarantee of subsequent work.

Object (Object) In teaching design, the object is the teaching goal, or the learning purpose, which is the subject that is affected and changed through certain activities. The analysis and design direction of the object varies from person to person depending on the subject, and on the other hand it must meet certain requirements, so the object is both subjective and objective. The analysis and accurate positioning of teaching goals in the teaching process is also a prerequisite for smooth and effective teaching.

Community / community. In instructional design, the community of activity theory refers to the common learners other than the learners themselves. Teachers and other staff. The community here refers to the participants who complete the learning process with the learner. The community plays an important role in the whole process. Sometimes it is guidance and sometimes participation. In the process of learning activities, the community constantly influences the subject and provides the necessary resources or funding for the subject. Therefore, the activities are sometimes individual and sometimes belong to the community.

tools (tools), the tools in activity theory can be understood in the teaching design as a teaching environment, including the design of the hardware and software used in the teaching process. Activity theory believes that human activities cannot be separated from tools, and so is learning. Pen, ink, and paper are essential tools for learning in ancient times, modern teaching materials, computers, etc. These are the hardware required for learning. And harmonious student relations, happy mood, good network, etc. are software tools. A good teaching environment design can make learning more effective.

Rules (rules) are used to coordinate subject and object, and are a kind of restriction and agreement in the process of teaching activities. For example, in most cases, students must obey the teacher's arrangements. When the teacher interacts with the students, the two must maintain a certain relationship. When participating in role-playing, the participants must observe the role arrangements.

division of labour. In the teaching process, different members must complete different tasks in the teaching process. Teachers are teachers, students are tutors for learners, and educational technicians. In activity theory, completing the activity process requires different members to complete different tasks so that the activity can proceed normally. It is also the same in teaching. Although some roles may change at some time according to the teaching needs, everyone must complete it. Tasks that one should complete, otherwise teaching will not be carried out in a healthy way.

Principle of activity theory

There are five main principles of activity theory, including goal-oriented, hierarchical structure, combination of internalization and externalization, and tool intermediation and development principles.

Goal-oriented means that the activity is directed to the goal. No matter what kind of activity form or process, his goal is certain. Leonteev believes that activities reflect the needs of the learning subject, and when the learners meet the learning needs, the goal is achieved. In teaching activities, goals can change form, but cannot change its nature, that is, teaching goals should be determined in the teaching process. Activity theory has a hierarchical structure. Leonev believes that there are three levels of activity: activity, action, and operation. An operation is an action unit in an activity, which has a smaller target and a lower level of activity. An action is an activity unit under a series of operations. An action completes a larger goal than an operation and is closer to an activity. Activities are the highest-level structure, the goals of activities are fixed, and actions are used to complete activities. There are various forms of activities, and the corresponding actions are more complicated, but the goals are constant with respect to time, place, and learner. Internalization and externalization refer to two aspects of the impact of activities on people. Internalization is the internalization of knowledge, skills, theories, etc. into the human mind. It is a change in the learner's external world perception. Externalization is the manifestation of changes in learner behavior due to internalization. In the activity theory, activities change from internalization to externalization, and externalization affects a process of internalization. Externalization and internalization interact and interact. Activity theory requires the intervention of tool intermediaries. Activity theory uses a large number of tools, both based on human culture, such as symbols and languages, as well as physical activity tools, such as machines and natural environments. These tools are the basis of activity theory. For online learning, the online teaching platform has also become a basic tool for active learning. Guided by activity theory, the use of a suitable online platform is bound to become a new bright spot in online education. Development is a requirement of activity theory and a basic meaning for learners.

The key point in activity theory is that the inner and outer are integrated and unified. The internality of activity theory lies in the spirit of the theory itself, which is the soul of teaching design, and its external manifestation is the expression of activity form design. The development of the network and the maturity of hardware technology have made our lives embody the advantages of the network everywhere. The education in the new era has been extended towards individualization and lifelong direction. Combining the soul of activity theory with the form of the Internet will definitely bring a fresh spring breeze to education. ^[1]