Objects to Learn about and Objects for Learning 1: Which Teaching Practices for Which Issues?

Resulting from a conference that took place in Amiens, France, in June 2019, this book examines the place and role of objects centered in teaching practices from kindergarten to university, both in the context of France and elsewhere. These "objects for learning" are considered in their physicality as productions, work or signs that are used for learning. They become “objects to learn about” when the object itself is the learning objective. This book offers a cross-disciplinary perspective, linking the different disciplinary fields studied and the many reference sources used by the authors. This two-volume work offers an overview of current research on the subject, with this first volume introducing the questions addressed and then going on to investigate the relationship between objects and languages, looking at objects at the heart of early learning.

Table of Contents:
Preface. From a Conference to a Book on the Role of Objects in the Practices of Teachers xi Joël BISAULT, Roselyne LE BOURGEOIS, Jean-François THÉMINES, Mickaël LE MENTEC and Céline CHAUVET-CHANOINE Acknowledgements xxi Introduction. In the Teaching Resources Store Cupboard: Investigating the Functions and Uses of Objects in the World of School xxiii Joël LEBEAUME Introduction to the Subject. Didactics and Socialization Processes: Walking Between Objects, Things and Worlds xxxvii Sylvain FABRE Part 1 Objects and Language(s) 1 Chapter 1 The Children’s Illustrated Literature Book in an Elementary School English Session: An Object Considered in its Materiality? 3 Élise OUVRARD 1.1 The origins of questioning and theoretical framing 3 1.2 Constitution of the corpus 6 1.3 Analysis of the results 7 1.3.1 The book–object in the classroom 7 1.3.2 A varied instrumentation of the picture book 9 1.3.3 Sense experience 13 1.3.4 Memory aids, objects of affection 15 1.4 Conclusion 17 1.5 References 18 Chapter 2 Objects as Catalysts for Writing 21 Bruno HUBERT 2.1 Introduction 21 2.2 The object, a mediator in self-knowledge 22 2.2.1 Bring your exercise books to teacher training 22 2.2.2 Personal items for writing at school in third and fourth grades 22 2.3 Objects as organizers of the act of writing in the Elementary Section 24 2.3.1 From handling objects to the entry into narrative 24 2.3.2 From concrete objects to objects of knowledge 26 2.3.3 An aid to representation 29 2.3.4 Writing, an object of interactions and desire 30 2.4 Conclusion 32 2.5 References 33 Chapter 3 The Role of Artifacts and Gestures in English Language Learning 35 Zehra GABILLON and Rodica AILINCAI 3.1 Introduction 35 3.2 Theoretical background 36 3.2.1 The CLIL approach 37 3.2.2 Theoretical position 38 3.2.3 Issues and assumptions 40 3.3 Methodology 41 3.3.1 Characteristics of the population 42 3.3.2 Characteristics and content of activities 42 3.3.3 Data collection 44 3.3.4 Methods of data analysis 44 3.4 Results 46 3.5 Discussion 54 3.6 Conclusion 55 3.8 References 56 Chapter 4 From Object to Instrument for Language Development in Kindergarten: Necessary Support in the Development of Professional Competence Among Probationary Public School Teachers 61 Émilie MAGNAT and Karima OLECHNY 4.1 Introduction 61 4.2 From object to instrument for language in kindergarten 62 4.2.1 From educational object to instrument 62 4.2.2 A consideration of objects, a key stage in the training of school teachers 65 4.3 Learning objects: Speech instruments for teacher and pupils 71 4.3.1 Support that determines awareness among probationary school teachers 71 4.3.2 On the effect of object–instruments on pupils’ speech 74 4.4 Conclusion and perspectives 76 4.5 References 77 Chapter 5 Professional Testimony: Construction and Analysis of a “Graphic Object” in a Physics Class in a 12th Grade Science Major 79 Laurent MOUTET 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Description of the second pilot sequence 80 5.2.1 Context of the activity 80 5.2.2 Handout distributed to the pupils 81 5.2.3 Construction of the “graphic object” of the situation 81 5.2.4 A priori analysis of the sequence 85 5.2.5 A posteriori analysis of the sequence 86 5.3 Conclusion 95 5.4 Appendices 95 5.4.1 Appendix 1: Concepts of special relativity required 95 5.4.2 Appendix 2: Handout distributed to the pupils 96 5.5 References 98 Part 2 Objects and Early Learning 101 Chapter 6 Mascots and Notebooks: Preschool Objects Circulating between the School Space and the Family Space 103 Marie-Noëlle DABESTANI 6.1 A pair of peripatetic objects from the transition zone 103 6.1.1 A mascot and a notebook for multiple uses 103 6.1.2 Context of emergence and current use 105 6.2 Theoretical background and corpus 108 6.2.1 Studying the school–family relationship space 108 6.2.2 Studying the scansion functions between socialization spaces 109 6.2.3 Corpus 110 6.3 Between the “correct use” of the mascot and a plurality of practices 111 6.3.1 “Someone we love” 111 6.3.2 The parental skill of giving feedback on a life experience 112 6.3.3 A mascot’s absence from the child’s home: Time to get serious again 114 6.3.4 Take the mascot seriously to be on the school’s side 116 6.3.5 A socializing object and a mediator of the teacher’s authority 119 6.4 The parental role written into the mascot’s suitcase 121 6.4.1 Everyday objects in the suitcase 121 6.4.2 Cultural objects at the bottom of the suitcase 123 6.4.3 Standards of good practice contained in the notebooks 124 6.5 Conclusion: Accentuated, attenuated or neutralized scansion between socialization spaces 126 6.6 References 127 Chapter 7 Educational Posters in Kindergarten: A School Object that May Be a Differentiator? 131 Elisabeth MOUROT 7.1 Introduction 131 7.2 Our methodological choices 134 7.2.1 The choice of three sociologically contrasting fields of observation 134 7.2.2 The choice to select materials according to their semiotic complexity 135 7.2.3 The choice to analyze cognitive–linguistic activity at three levels 137 7.3 Findings 139 7.3.1 First level of analysis: Differentiated interpretative models 139 7.3.2 Second level of analysis: Variations in the models of interpretation favored by the pupils 142 7.3.3 Third level of analysis: Social variations in the use of language 146 7.4 Discussion: From the construction of the meaning of the study materials to the representation of the act of learning in kindergarten 150 7.5 Conclusion 153 7.6 References 156 Chapter 8 Professional Testimony: A Programmable Object for Learning Computer Science at Elementary School 159 Olivier GRUGIER and Sandra NOGRY 8.1 Introduction 159 8.2 Teaching sequence observed in cycle 1 161 8.2.1 Presentation of the teaching sequence 162 8.2.2 Phase 1: Constructing a scheme by identifying the actuators 162 8.2.3 Phase 2: The Clear button, an obstacle to understanding the concept of a sequence 163 8.3 Teaching sequence observed in cycle 2 164 8.3.1 Presentation of the teaching sequence 164 8.3.2 Phase 1: Deconstructing an inoperative scheme and learning about the control commands 164 8.3.3 Phase 2: Constructing the concept of a sequence 165 8.4 Teaching sequence observed in cycle 3 168 8.4.1 Presentation of the teaching sequence 168 8.4.2 Phase 1: Constructing a scheme by identifying the actuators 168 8.4.3 Phase 2: Programming movements and reproducing them 169 8.5 Discussion 171 8.5.1 Time for discovering how the robot works 172 8.5.2 Guidance with pedagogical artifacts and procedures 172 8.5.3 Learning progression between cycles 172 8.6 Acknowledgements 173 8.7 References 173 List of Authors 175 Index 179 Summary of Volume 2 181