• Educational Technology International
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.79-105
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• 2009

The notion of contradiction from Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) perspectives is known as an "engine" for the development of human practices because participants attempt to adjust their practices to resolve contractions. This study examines two middle school teachers' classroom practices from CHAT, focusing on the role of contradictions that emerged between their existing teaching practices and constructivist activities in the development of a student-centered technology-integrated learning environment. Findings indicated that teachers' awareness and resolution of contradictions played a large role in the development of a technology-supported student-centered learning environment, a culturally more advanced activity system: students displayed greater responsibilities for their learning and were guided to make effective decisions for their learning activity.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.52-71
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to analyze the learning activities which use asexual reproduction learning application(app) of students with special needs through the Cultural Historical Activity(CHAT). The asexual reproduction learning app was developed for students with special needs, and analyzed the learning activities of students with special needs in perspective of CHAT. The app was developed as subsidiary study material for asexual reproduction inquiry learning. Main functions of the app were composed of concept learning, problem solving, video playing, and report writing. According the CHAT analysis, findings indicated that students with special needs as the subject were able to organize division of labor demonstrated in cooperative learning with the object to actively participate in the class by using the tool of an app. This study also showed effective teaching strategy for improvement of learning achievement and task behavior level of student with special needs.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.149-155
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• 2019

In this study, the multiplicity of synchronous online class discussion activity is explored at conceptual level. From the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), each utterance may be considered as a product of the activity system. Alderfer's ERG theory is employed as another theoretical framework for the study. Based on the subject's existence, relationship, growth needs, their class discussion activities constitute four different dimensions: physical/biological, cultural/institutional, social/relational, and cooperative knowledge construction. It is inherent in individual activities and has a different arrangement according to their interests and situations, and at the same time acts as a factor of cooperation and competition among the participants. Through this, collective discussion activities represent complex and dynamic development patterns.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.885-899
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• 2018

As 'Science Inquiry Experiment' is newly introduced in the high school curriculum, where inquiry and experiment oriented education is insufficient, this study aims to analyze teacher's practice of 'Science Inquiry Experiment' in depth and identify contradictions during its process in the perspective of Cultural Historical Activity Theory. The research participant is teacher SHIN who is exclusively responsible for Science Inquiry Experiment. Starting with reflection on the practice of Science Inquiry Experiment class conducted in the first semester, interviews with participants, participatory observation and local materials were used during the 2nd semester's Science Inquiry Experiment class. A descriptive analysis of the teacher SHIN's practice of Science Inquiry Experiment was carried out and the contradictions in the activity system of the teacher SHIN were identified. The result reveals that in the overall practice of teaching Integrated Science and Science Inquiry Experiment, there were contradictions between teacher SHIN's recognition about cooperation(subject) and shared responsibility with other teachers(division of labor), and between teacher SHIN's recognition about the subjects(subject) and contrasting contents in teacher training courses(community). In the practice of teaching Science Inquiry Experiment, there were specific contradictions between teacher SHIN's recognition about the subject(subject) and time of job assignment(rule), between experimental activities(object) and experimental tools(tool), and between purpose of the subject(object) and directions about assessment(rule). These contradictions directly or indirectly influence the practice of teaching Science Inquiry Experiment. There needs to be support for constructing an activity system capable of supporting and promoting teachers' practice of Science Inquiry Experiment, and we made several suggestions to resolve the problems.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.33-42
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• 2014

There are complex interactions between personal and contextual features in teaching in a science museum. In order to analyze two teachers' holding classes in a science museum, the CHAT (cultural historical activity theory) was used as an analysis tool in a case study. The analyses of the results revealed that both teachers had difficulties teaching in a science museum due to the contradictions among the factors of subject, rules, community, and division of labor in the activity system. Although both teachers had trouble with similar contradictions, there appeared to be different sets of internalization and externalization of such conflicts depending on the difference in the teacher's perceptions and experiences about teaching in a science museum, the passion and the motivation of the teachers. These suggested that efforts should be preceded to foster the activity system providing both emotional and social supports to teachers in order to activate teaching in a science museum. Taking a teacher training course on teaching in a science museum was also found to fail to function as mediating artifacts. The course should provide not only the experience of executing proper teaching strategies for teaching in a science museum and the feedback on their teaching, but also the guidance on how to lead to optimal expansion of the factors in the activity system.