Interobjectivity and Interactivity: Material Objects and Discourse in Class

Kalthoff, Herbert; Roehl, Tobias

doi:10.1007/s10746-011-9204-y

Cited by 50 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…There have only a few studies that have explored the role of the boards as part of educational or scientific practice (e.g., Suchman and Trigg ; Ochs, Jacoby and Gonzalez ; Greiffenhagen ; Pitsch ; Kalthoff and Roehl ). Of particular importance is Warwick's () pedagogical history of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge University, in which he gives a brief account of how blackboards were gradually incorporated into teaching advanced mathematics.…”

Section: Blackboards and Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The materiality of mathematics: Presenting mathematics at the blackboard

Greiffenhagen

2014

British Journal of Sociology

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Sociology has been accused of neglecting the importance of material things in human life and the material aspects of social practices. Efforts to correct this have recently been made, with a growing concern to demonstrate the materiality of social organisation, not least through attention to objects and the body. As a result, there have been a plethora of studies reporting the social construction and effects of a variety of material objects as well as studies that have explored the material dimensions of a diversity of practices. In different ways these studies have questioned the Cartesian dualism of a strict separation of 'mind' and 'body'. However, it could be argued that the idea of the mind as immaterial has not been entirely banished and lingers when it comes to discussing abstract thinking and reasoning. The aim of this article is to extend the material turn to abstract thought, using mathematics as a paradigmatic example. This paper explores how writing mathematics (on paper, blackboards, or even in the air) is indispensable for doing and thinking mathematics. The paper is based on video recordings of lectures in formal logic and investigates how mathematics is presented at the blackboard. The paper discusses the iconic character of blackboards in mathematics and describes in detail a number of inscription practices of presenting mathematics at the blackboard (such as the use of lines and boxes, the designation of particular regions for specific mathematical purposes, as well as creating an 'architecture' visualising the overall structure of the proof). The paper argues that doing mathematics really is "thinking with eyes and hands" (Latour, 1986). Thinking in mathematics is inextricably interwoven with writing mathematics.

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Section: Blackboards and Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The materiality of mathematics: Presenting mathematics at the blackboard

Greiffenhagen

2014

British Journal of Sociology

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“…7 In an ethnographic approach that combines practice theory and STS, the constant interplay of 'hard' objects and their scripts on the one hand, and human interpretation and practice on the other hand becomes visible. I thus argue for a material ethnography that highlights both the role of material objects and that of human practice in education (see also Kalthoff and Roehl 2011). Finally, postphenomenology and pragmatism remind us that in dealing with objects resistances arise and objects can withdraw from our attempts of skilfully and routinely using them.…”

Section: Towards a Materials Ethnography Of The Classroommentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Since the blackboard is visible from all places at the desks in the classroom, collective seeing is made possible. Consequently, teachers can often be heard saying: 'What's on the blackboard is official' (teacher in an interview; see Kalthoff and Roehl 2011). In future lessons, teachers and students can refer to that knowledge as collective: 'As we saw last time.…”

Section: Ethnography and Education 113mentioning

confidence: 99%

Disassembling the classroom – an ethnographic approach to the materiality of education

Roehl

2012

Ethnography and Education

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To cite this article: Tobias Roehl (2012) Disassembling the classroom -an ethnographic approach to the materiality of education, Ethnography and Education, 7:1, 109-126,The ethnography of education is challenged by the materiality of the classroom. Ethnographic accounts of school lessons mostly highlight language and interaction and offer no suitable methodology for researching objects and their role in the classroom. Moreover, objects are part of complex and interwoven assemblages involving human actors, practices and things. As such, their contribution to human practices often remains unnoticed in the background of routine activities. In order to make the materiality of practice available to ethnographic observation, we thus have to analytically disassemble these assemblages. An ethnographic approach that draws on practice theory and concepts developed in science and technology studies is proposed. Three analytic strategies dealing with the materiality of education are introduced and discussed on the basis of examples from an ethnographic research project on the role of knowledge objects in mathematics and physics classes in German secondary schools.

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“…As a consequence of this flat ontology, ANT deliberately downplays the qualitative experiences of human beings (Sørensen 2013). Kalthoff and Roehl (2011), however, have argued that this self-conscious maneuver makes ANT plunge into the pitfall of symmetry, namely semiotic indifference: A leveling of distinctions between humans, technologies, and signs ultimately leaves unexplored the differences between such elements of practice. Radical material-semiotic approaches like ANT can thus be faulted for depicting 'every worldly entity as swimming freely in a kind of semiological soup' (Scharff 2006, 136).…”

Section: Postphenomenology As a Philosophy Of Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing postphenomenological research: a brief and selective sketch of phenomenological research methods

Aagaard

2016

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education

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In time, phenomenology has become a viable approach to conducting qualitative studies in education. Popular and well-established methods include descriptive and hermeneutic phenomenology. Based on critiques of the essentialism and receptivity of these two methods, however, this article offers a third variation of empirical phenomenology: Postphenomenology. The article introduces postphenomenology, a philosophy of technology that highlights the importance of technological mediation of experience: Technologies transform our perceptions (amplify/reduce) and translate our actions (invite/inhibit). Based on this framework, two approaches to empirical fieldwork are suggested: In-depth exploration of the typical use of a given technology and critical comparison of multiple versions of a technology. It is argued that using postphenomenology as a research method helps researchers explore technological mediation, a vital and oft-neglected aspect of educational practice, but the method simultaneously entails epistemological commitments such as multistability, reflexivity, and posthumanism. The article concludes by discussing future challenges for the postphenomenological method.

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Interobjectivity and Interactivity: Material Objects and Discourse in Class

Cited by 50 publications

References 36 publications

The materiality of mathematics: Presenting mathematics at the blackboard

The materiality of mathematics: Presenting mathematics at the blackboard

Disassembling the classroom – an ethnographic approach to the materiality of education

Introducing postphenomenological research: a brief and selective sketch of phenomenological research methods

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