This microgenetic inquiry examines the emotional experience and meaning-making processes of a group of girls attending a mainstream secondary school on the Mediterranean island of Malta. Students come to the classroom with a baggage of prior experiences and it is the teacher's job to build on these experiences in order to instil confidence in the students to learn. Using a sociocultural approach, this investigation delves into the Vygotskian concept of perezhivanie or 'past emotional experience' and the role affective factors have in learning. Throughout this inquiry it is shown that the elusive phenomenon of perezhivanie can be grounded in evidence within the classroom setting. It provides an understanding of students' emotional life and recognises its importance within the learning context by examining the expression of students' inner feelings through their semiotic activities during lessons and their reflections on this activity after lessons. Through the use of film and photo stills students' semiotic mediation and meaning-making are investigated, discussed and evaluated analytically. Students' voices are solicited through a series of conversational interviews. This investigation argues that, by attending to the role of perezhivanie at individual, group and whole class levels, students can be helped to engage better in the lesson and to maximise learning process. By recognising and understanding in greater depth this historically under-researched Vygotskian concept, appropriate pedagogical approaches and experiences may be developed within collaborative teaching and learning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:633442 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Spiteri, Katya |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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