Session 2 Reading - Notes

Lim, C.P. , & Hung, D. (2003). An activity theory approach to research of ICT integration in Singapore schools. Computers & Education, 41(2003), 49-63

This reading focused on the question ‘How has ICT been integrated in Singapore schools such that students engage in higher order thinking?’ The conclusion reached is that "The effective integration of ICT in a learning environment depends on the way ICT is situated within that larger social cultural milieu" (Lim, 2003, p.62). i.e. that what happens in the classroom is not isolated from the social expectations of the school and the wider educational constructs of the country.

The focus of most of the paper is on explaining how the Activity Theory Framework aids in the analysis of an Activity System - and thus enables the researchers to understand the factors at work in the classrooms.

The development of the Activity Theory Framework was based on the work of the Russian psychologists Vygotsky, Rubinshtein, Leont'ev and others. In attempting to understand how the framework works it is important to know that "In Activity Theory the unit of analysis is an activity directed at an object which motivates activity, giving it a specific direction." In Lim's research the object of the research is the development of the higher order thinking skills by students. The tools used by students are ICT tools, software and hardware.

In another definition of Activity Theory Martin Ryder notes:
Activity Theory is not a "theory" in the strict interpretation of the term. It consists of a set of basic principles which constitute a general conceptual system which can be used as a foundation for more specific theories. These basic principles of Activity Theory include object-orientedness, the dual concepts of internalization/externalization, tool mediation, hierarchical structure of activity, and continuous development. The principle of object-orientedness states that human beings live in a reality which is objective in a broad sense; the things which constitute this reality have not only the properties which are considered objective according to natural sciences but socially/culturally defined properties as well.

In seeking to understand what is meant by an activity system the University of Helsinki - Centre for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research explains the triangular relationship between the factors.