O presente trabalho apresenta o estudo que visou a caracterização do processo de significação de conceitos químicos como domínio e apropriação de ferramentas culturais. O registro dos dados aconteceu durante a aplicação de um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem que tinha a solubilidade dos materiais, como conceito central. Os sujeitos da investigação foram alunos do Ensino Médio da Rede Estadual de Ensino do Estado de São Paulo, que participavam do Programa de Pré-Iniciação Científica da USP. Todo o projeto foi planejado tomando como referenciais teóricos a teoria do desenvolvimento humano de Lev Vigotski, a teoria da linguagem de Mikhail Bakhtin, a teoria da ação mediada de James Wertsch e o modelo de organização do ensino de Marcelo Giordan. Este estudo buscou resposta para a seguinte questão de pesquisa: Compreender o processo de significação como domínio e apropriação de ferramentas culturais, permitirá que caracterizemos a aprendizagem como um processo de produção de significados? Para que pudéssemos responder a esta questão e alcançar nosso objeto, desenvolvemos uma sequência didática problematizadora, acompanhamos o processo de resolução do problema e reconstruímos este processo em busca dos conceitos utilizado para resolver o problema. Depois reconstruímos o processo histórico da significação dos conceitos químicos, analisamos os significados produzidos pelos alunos e caracterizamos esses significados como domínio e apropriação de ferramentas culturais. Verificamos que os alunos dominaram e se apropriaram dos conceitos químicos, da forma de organização dos enunciados própria da esfera científica e do uso de modelos como ferramentas capazes de realizar atividades concretas. / This paper presents a study that aimed to characterize the process of meaning of chemical concepts such as mastery and appropriation of cultural tools. Data registration occurred during the implementation of a virtual learning environment which had the solubility of the materials as a main concept. The subject of the investigation was a group of high school students from a State School in the State of São Paulo, who attended the Program of Pre-Scientific Initiation at USP. The entire project was designed taking as a theoretical framework to human development theory of Lev Vygotsky, the language theory of Mikhail Bakhtin, the mediated action theory of James Wertsch and the organizational model for teaching of Marcelo Giordan. This study sought answer for the following research question: To understand the process of meaning as mastery and appropriation of cultural tools, will we characterize learning as a process of producing meanings? So, in order to be able to answer this question and reach our goal, we developed a didactic problematical sequence, we follow the problem solving process and reconstruct this process in search of the concepts used to solve the problem. Then we reconstructed the historical process of chemical concept meanings, analyze the meanings produced by the students and we characterized these meanings as mastery and appropriation of cultural tools. We found that students have mastered and appropriated themselves of the chemical concepts, the organizational form of the statements used on its own scientific sphere and the use of models as tools capable of performing concret activities.

The purpose of the dissertation is to study, describe and analyses which comparative measurement activities preschool children construct and use, and how they solve problems and communicate when they use the comparative measurement activities whilst playing with Lego (“the Lego play”). The measurement activities chosen are length/height, quantity and time. The empirical material is based on data from two preschool classes with children aged 2 – 5 year, It was collected through participant observation (video captures) of the children’s Lego play. The theoretical starting points in this study are grounded in childhood sociology and the sociocultural perspective. The study assumes the childhood sociology perspective by viewing the children as competent and active in creating meaning as well as controlling and influencing their own and others’ social environment. The sociocultural perspective gives prominence to development and learning, and its related tools and concepts are used to analyses the results of the study. That is, the Lego play is studied in a social context from the child’s perspective, and the sociocultural perspective describes and analyses the child’s use of mathematics and the acquisition of knowledge in the Lego play in a sociocultural context. The results show that children measuring length/height and quantity explored a store of measurement tools in order to make comparisons, and adapted these to the context in question. These were own body, other body, artefacts, numbers and counting. The measurements were used individually and with others, and the solving of the own or shared problems constituted a large share of the time spent constructing models during Lego play. By contrast, the time concept was used mainly as a tool when the children played with their finished Lego models. Thus, a time perspective was added to the child’s finished model, which inspired thoughts and reflections about time used in the Lego play. The children used the time concepts of the present, the past and the future, and also considered the concept of velocity in the context of the timescale. The children’s communication had a large impact on the Lego play, and they expressed their ideas verbally, physically and through action. The children’s use of mathematics was prominent and meaningful during the Lego play.

This qualitative study examines high school students´ views on independent practice in drums, as well as the drum students' experiences of strategies for practice. The study also intends to investigate which cultural tools the drum students use in their practice and whether any form of practice culture emerges. Previous research shows that independent practice in music is influenced by cultural context, knowledge of practice strategies, the quality of the exercise, teaching content, motivation and goals. In the present study, four semi-structured interviews were conducted with drum students in high school. The collected data underwent a thematic analysis from a sociocultural perspective. The result show that independent practice in drums in high school depends on physical and intellectual tools in the form of drumsticks, practice-pads, hands, feet, knees, thighs, drums, digital playback devices and headphones, motivation, social meetings with other musicians, role models, personal goals and practice strategies. The cultural tools are appropriated according to the aspect of the drumming that the informants intend to practice. The independent exercise also proves to be a cultural tool in itself that is used to handle ensemble practice as a social context. The rehearsal culture can thus be considered an important aspect of playing music with other musicians.

The study examines strategies used by voice coaches in small groups and how they apply cultural-mediating tools. The analysis is primarily based on Hultberg’s theory of cultural-psychological model of musical learning by making music (2009). However, here the strategies are defined as cultural tools through which knowledge is mediated, rather than as part of the framework.  Three voice coaches have been observed through video recordings: two at Swedish kommunala kulturskolor (municipal cultural schools) and one at a gymnasium’s (high school) arts program. The study focuses on similarities rather than differences between the voice coaches. According to the study, the voice coaches use ten thematically different strategies, which they combine in different ways and together with other kinds of cultural-mediating tools. The strategies are: routine, questions, placement, mirroring, focusing, openness, peer resources, listening and performance, body awareness, and happiness. According to the analysis, it is possible to adapt the education to the individual abilities of each student through the use of these strategies. In addition, the distributed knowledge becomes an asset for the individual student as well as for the group through interaction.