Att utveckla mellanstadieelevers kritiska och temporala tänkande: En lärandeverksamhetsteoretisk studie rörande hållbar utveckling

Developing the critical and temporal thinking of middle school students : A study on learning activity theory in relation to sustainable development

The aim of the study is to investigate what critical and temporal thinking can mean for younger students (aged 9-10) that requires the adoption of various perspectives in the context of sustainable urban planning, and how such knowing can be orchestrated in joint theoretical exploration work. A particular area of interest is the concept of contradictions (as used in activity theory) as a potential didactic tool for the subject, i.e. in what way it can be a driver for students and teachers to jointly identify problems, explore knowledge content with different tools (learning models) and discuss possible creative solutions to environmental and sustainability issues.

This study used the learning study research approach. In collaboration with teachers, lessons were designed, analysed and evaluated to extract knowledge through the iterative process that characterises this approach. The design of the research lessons was structured in accordance with Davydov’s theory of learning activity. The students’ experiences were analysed phenomenographically and the analysis of the lessons was guided by Engeström and Sannino’s conceptual tools for how contradictions can manifest themselves (such as in dilemmas, conflicts and double-binds).

The results of the study include phenomenographical descriptions of what it means to know how to use a natural site for sustainable urban planning, and what critical aspects students need to be able to discern in order to be competent to participate in such a practice. The results also show that the way contradictions are manifested in joint work (involving teachers and students) affects the form of practice that develops and the opportunities for students to jointly make the problem their own and explore the complexity of sustainable urban planning using mediating tools (learning models).

The discussion highlights how the results of the study can be used as tools for designing, implementing and evaluating teaching, and, more broadly, the results are reflected in ways in which the task used in the research lessons can be developed.