Affordances; Crossing the border from personal perceptual schemas to socially

mediated learning dispositions.

Using the notion of affordances to investigate interactions between adults and children in

parent and toddler groups

Martin Needham

EECERA conference 2007.

Context

• Studies in New Zealand (Wylie, 2003)and the in the UK, (Sylva et al., 2004) suggest that more positive social and intellectual benefits accrue for children in programmes that adopt pedagogies utilising interactive styles exhibiting features of scaffolding and co-construction.

How is children’s learning being supported ?

Who and what is supporting children’s learning?

• Activity Theory-

Looking at the whole context of activity as a unit of analysis, tools, parents, practitioners other children, social context.

Engestrom, Y., Miettinen, R., Punamaki, R.J. (1999)

What learning is being supported?

Schemas –• trajectories - vertical, horizontal and oblique, throwing,

jumping, dropping, fascination with the beginning and end of lines

• connecting - joining things up and separating them • rotational - going round and round • transporting - moving things from one place to another • enveloping and containing - covering things up and

putting things inside. (Nutbrown 1999, Athey 2007)

Affordances

Carr (2000, 2001) draws attention to the significance of transparency in the materials and processes made available to children since this may allow them to access materials more independently.

• It is suggested that infants quickly come to recognise objects as wholes rather that as individual parts, the theory of affordances further suggests that young children’s perceptions may be tuned into what objects and creatures offer to the child.

What are Affordances (Gibson 1979)

Further aspects of affordances from Gibson.• Purposeful implications for the needs of

the individual (what use is it?)• Emotional and cross sensory interest• Shared cultural meanings how will others

perceive this resource and the implications for me (theory of mind)

• Can I control this resource (malleability / permanence)

Adapting theory to pedagogy and research

Affordance is in the object

• Gibson acknowledges derivation from gestalt theory particularly the idea of afforderungscharakter (Kurt Lewin 1935) but Gibson asserts his theory is different in that “the affordance of something does not change as the need of the observer changes”

Vygotsky (1978)

• “in short things have such an inherrent motivating force…every perception is a stimulus to activity…in play things loose their determining force. The child sees one thing but acts differently in relation to what he sees” p96

object meaning

is inverted to

meaningobject

Sir Fredrick Bartlett 1932

• Bartlett suggests that “ A new incoming impulse must become not merely a cue to setting up a series of reactions all carried out in a fixed temporal order, but a stimulus which enables us to go direct to that portion of the organised setting of past responses which is most relevant to the needs of the moment” (Bartlett 1961 pg 206).

Learning story

Affordance aspects Remembrance Aspects

Purpose Purpose

emotional emotional

Control Control

Awareness of others ideas

Awareness of others ideas

Brendan and the pop up toy

Aspects of affordances Potential remembrances

Purpose and meanings

Brendon seems intent on opening up each of the objects on the pop up toys. The toys appear to communicate their purpose clearly. Brendon seems to keep this purpose in mind despite the distraction of other activities and delay in response from others.

Purpose and meanings

Brendon revises his knowledge of buttons switches and pop up toys he may be more immediately aware of possible complexity and challenge as a result of the encounter with the more complex buttons of the toy.

Aspects of affordances Potential remembrances

Emotion and feelings

Brendon remains calm and determined to work through the problem. He is patient in recruiting adults to help him approaching them with smiles and open gestures.

Emotion and feelings

The situation reaffirms Brendon’s calm and patient attempts to try to solve things for himself and the success of seeking support from others. Polite, perseverance pays off after time.

Aspects of affordances Potential remembrances

Control and manufacture

Brendon is intent on improving his control over the toy and seems familiar with the idea of buttons but not dials and switches on this type of toy. He uses patient gestures approaching adults for help in solving the problem he has encountered

Control and manufacture

Brendon is likely to remember that buttons may also twist and slide as well as simply be depressed

Aspects of affordances Potential remembrances

Awareness of others’ ideas

Brendon seeks support from his mother and adults in the room to try to gain insight from them in how to operate the different switches.

Awareness of others’ ideas

That different adults may perceive his interests and objectives in different ways if one does not try another

What does this analysis afford?

• Draws attention to some of the different aspects of the child’s response/interests

• Draws attention to the different perceptions and intentions of the same situations

• Draws attention to what aspects of experience is focussed upon in the situation

• It adds greater flexibility to the notion of schemas.

• Allows exploration of how the breadth of aspects are supported by people and context.

Activity Theory and Affordances• Several authors point to connections between activity

theory and affordances Wertsch (1998) draws attention to attempts to link the notion of affordances to mediated activity emphasising the need for “socio cultural research to formulate its position vis-a-vis the antimony between individual and society” p38.

• “Activity theory and Gibsonian thinking share the basic idea that perception is not afferent, that it is connected with action. Only through acting do people perceive their environment. Activity theory insists that our action and perception are mediated by a variety of tools. Activity theory gives a useful handle for understanding the mediators, and how they are shaped, in a dialectical relationship with the changing practice of use.” (Albrechtsen, Andersen, Bødker and Pejtersen 2001 p15)

References and Bibliography• Albrechtsen, H., Andersen, H.H.K., Bødker,S., and Pejtersen, A. M. (2001) Affordances in Activity Theory and

Cognitive Systems Engineering.• Athey, C. (2007) Extending thought in young children, Sage, London.• Bruner, J. (2007) Cultivating the possible, Oxford University, Oxford.• Carr, M. (2000) Technological affordance social practice and learning narratives in an early childhood setting.,

International Journal of Technology and Design education, 10, 61-79.• Carr, M. (2001b) Emerging learning narratives, In Learning for Life in the 21st Century(Ed, Wells, G. C., Guy.)

Blackwell, London.• Cole, M. (1996) Cultural Psychology a once and future discipline, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.• Daniels, H. (2001) Vygotsky and Pedagogy, RoutledgeFalmer, London.• Engestrom, Y., Miettinen, R., Punamaki, R.J. (1999) Perspectives on Activity Theory, Cambridge University

Press, Cambridge.• Gibson, J. (1979) The ecological approach to visual perception, Houghton Miflin Company, Boston.• Goff, T., W. (1980) Marx and Mead, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.• Jordan, B. (2004) Scaffolding learning and co-constructing understandings, In Early Childhood Studies(Ed,

Anning, A., Cullen J. and Fleer, M.) Paul Chapman Publishing, .London.• Koffka, K. (1931) The growth of Mind, Kegan Paul, London.• Lave, J. a. W., Etienne. (1991) Situated Learning Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University

Press, Cambridge.• Luria, A. S. (1979) The Making of Mind, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.• Nutbrown (1999) Threads of thinking, Paul Chapman Publishing, London.• Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2003) Intensive Case Studies of practice across the foundation stage, Institute of Education,

London University, London.• Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2004) Quality teaching in the early years, In Early Childhood Studies(Ed, Anning, A., Cullen J.

and Fleer, M.) Paul Chpaman Publishing, London.• Vygotsky, L., Semnovich (1978) Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Masschusetts.• Wells, G. C., Guy. (2002) Learning for Life in the 21st Century, Blackwell, London.• Wertsch, J., V. (1985) Vygotsky an the social formation of mind, Harvard University Press, Cambridge,

Massachusetts.• Wertsch, J., V. (1998) Mind as Action, Oxford University Press, New York.• Wood, D. (1998) How children think and learn, Blackwell, Oxford.• Wylie, C., and Thompson, J. (2003) The Long-term Contribution of Early Childhood Education to Children's

Performance- Evidence from New Zealand, International Journal of Early Years Education, 11, 69- 78.