Learning Study as a way to inquire the meaning of knowing what is to be known : The meaning of knowing how to move in specific ways

• The Learning Study inquires teaching and learning in relation to a specific object of learning. The meaning of knowing the specific object of learning is specified in the research process – in the planning and analysis of the pre-test as well as in designing and analysis of research lessons. In this symposium the focus will be on different aspects of the knowledge generation in a Learning Study concerning the meaning of knowing what is expected to be known. By inquiring teaching and learning of a specific content our knowledge regarding that content will be differentiated and deepened. The meaning of knowing a specific object of learning is a dynamic knowledge object – depending on the specific group of students in interaction with a specific content. Each new group of students will make it possible to discern new aspects of the learning object. By analyzing student difficulties as well as interactions in the classroom new aspects of the learning object will be discerned. In the symposium four different Learning Studies from different school subjects will be presented. The meaning of knowing will be explored and discussed from different angles – from the perspective of the learners (in the pre-tests) and  the teachers (in the teacher discussions) as well as from how it is constituted in the classroom interaction (documented in the videos from the research lessons).Chair: Ingrid CarlgrenDiscussant: Ference Marton Contributions:Pernilla Ahlstrand – Learning Study as a way to inquire about progress in acting and presence on stage.Theatre is a subject in upper secondary school in Sweden as part of the national aesthetic program. The new kind of syllabus is organized in relation to content areas as well as subject specific capabilities for the students to develop. The syllabus also includes criteria for the assessment of students’ capabilities – to be used when giving marks to the students and working with formative assessment or assessment for learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998, Gipps 1995. The criteria are expressed in general, non-subject specific terms. This is for example formulated as the difference between a simple and complex way of being able to express something in the theatre syllabus. In my research I investigate how learning study as a research approach and phenomenography as a method of analyzing pretests can be used as another and deepened way to describe different levels of knowing in relation to the national criteria.Theatre knowledge and the way knowledge is transferred is in previous research to a great extent described as tacit (Lagerström 2005, Järleby 2003, Johansson 2012). This gives theatre teachers even further challenges, trying to formulate what is described as tacit knowing (Polanyi 1958/1998 &1967/2009, Johannessen 1988, 1999, 2002, Janik 1995, 1996, Schön 1983).The capability of being present was found suitable as an object of learning, as it is something that teachers have experienced difficulties with when teaching and instructing. Presence is a core quality in acting and it is one of the criteria teachers agree on being of great importance when assessing a student but in what way can the knowing of the capability of being present be described?It will be discussed whether an outcome space (in relation to filmed material) can be a way to develop teachers and students understanding of the meaning of knowing as a help to work with assessment for learning. Eva Björkholm - The meaning of knowing how to construct a  linkage mechanism. Discerning aspects of the object of learning by analyzing classroom interactions This presentation describes a Learning Study within primary technology education focusing on the capability to construct a specific linkage mechanism. What one has to know in order to be able to construct a linkage mechanism is, however, not self-evident. The study reported here explores the meaning of this specific knowing. The study was conducted in collaboration with two primary school teachers and their two classes (children aged 6-7 years). Throughout the whole study step by step, starting with the analysis of the pre-test, followed by three cycles of planning and evaluation of research lessons, and the analysis of post-test, the meaning of the object of learning was specified (Marton & Pang, 2006; Carlgren, 2012). The presentation will focus on knowledge generated from the video recorded lessons by analyzing the classroom interactions and students’ difficulties that were made visible through these interactions. Teacher-student interactions as well as student-student interactions were analyzed. By analyzing students’ difficulties regarding the specific object of learning, critical aspects of the expected knowing were discerned and in this way the meaning of knowing what is expected to be known was made explicit.The results are presented in the form of critical aspects of what it means to know how to construct a linkage mechanism for this group of students. The critical aspects identified in the pre-test were further elaborated in the research lessons and by analyzing the classroom interactions in terms of student difficulties, additional aspects that were critical for students’ learning were identified. By gradually identifying the critical aspects, the collective understanding of the meaning of the object of learning was developed and specified. Jenny Frohagen – The meaning of knowing how to make expressions in artifacts: generating knowledge through designing lesson tasks    The school subject sloyd derives from a practical knowledge tradition which covers knowing in craft and art (Mäkelä, 2011; Hasselskog, 2010; Borg, 2001). However, sloyd teachers express difficulties when trying to explain and deal with aesthetic aspects when teaching sloyd (Fransson, 2010; Borg, 2007). There has been a tendency of trivializing the subject content into a shallow form of craft knowledge understood as ‘merely’ working with traditional craft techniques (Borg, 2008; Skolverket, 2005). There is a need to articulate the aesthetical features of knowing in sloyd. In my contribution I will present results from a Learning Study in sloyd focusing on the knowing of interpreting symbolic expressions in sloyd artefacts.In my presentation I will focus on how the iterative process of designing (short) lesson tasks given to the students during the research lessons and also in pre- and post-tests in each cycle, can be a way of understanding the object of learning. Since explicit tests of the students knowing are rarely found in sloyd education, conducting Learning Studies in sloyd can be a meaningful way of developing subject specific tasks. In this Learning Study different designs of tasks has been explored during the process as a way to inquire the knowing of interpreting symbolic expressions in sloyd artefacts. The results from this study show how the articulation of an object of learning in sloyd can be specified and validated throughout the process of designing and carrying out subject specific tests and lesson tasks. Depending on how the object of learning was articulated, the tasks/tests changed focus and the meaning of the knowing differed. By analyzing the students learning outcomes and redesigning the pre- and post-test in a Learning study as well as the given lesson tasks, new aspects of the learning object can be discerned. Gunn Nyberg – The meaning of knowing how to move in specific ways: embodied understanding as somatic graspingThe subject physical education has a tradition of being a ‘practical’ subject. However, practical forms of knowing such as for example bodily awareness and capability to move (e.g. jumping, running or dancing) do not, neither for teachers nor pupils, seem to be a main issue of learning in PE (Tinning, 2010; Redelius et al, 2009,). The knowing involved in moving is not easily articulated and may, according to Polanyi (1954), “often result in explaining away quite genuine practices or experiences” (p. 385). The aim of this study is to explore and articulate the meaning of knowing how to move in a specific way exemplified through a movement called ‘house hop’.The study takes as it’s starting point an epistemological perspective on capability to move corresponding with Ryle’s (1949) “knowing how”, not separating mental and physical skills. Accordingly, a phenomenographic analysis of students’ experiencing of the learning object (‘house hop’) have been used. The paper draws mainly on data from video recordings of the pre-test and transcripts of two video recorded lessons from a Learning Study in upper secondary school. The findings show the meaning of knowing house hop as different ways of knowing the movement as well as several aspects to discern in order to know the movement in a powerful way.This presentation will focus on how students’ experiencing of a movement are expressed in their way of moving. Taking this as a starting point when teaching and learning movements can contribute to an approach to capability to move as comprising mental and physical processes as one process. Conceiving the knowing involved in ‘house hopping’ (as well as other ways of moving) this way could also contribute to a discussion concerning subject specific knowledge in PE and particularly it’s ‘practical’ dimension.   

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