Sentido pessoal, significado social e atividade de estudo: uma revisão teórica

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Por que aprender isso, professora? Sentido pessoal e atividade de estudo na psicologia histórico-cultural

This research investigated the process of personal sense attribution to the study activity of students in Elementary School. The theoretical reference is the Historical-Cultural Psychology. It was conducted with students from 4th grade in a public school. The methodological procedures were: observation the daily life of a classroom; learning oriented situations; focus groups; interviews. As a result, we sought to define the analysis unit: the relation between the study activity motives and the objectives of study actions. It is defended the thesis that for the scholar learning to happen, the study actions of the students must have a personal sense correspondent to the motives and to the social meanings of the study activity, towards the human development promotion.

Crianças desatentas ou práticas pedagógicas sem sentido? Relações entre motivo, sentido pessoal e atenção

The objective of this paper is to analyze the role of pedagogical activity in the formation of attention. first, we present critically the concept of adhd analyzing the criteria used for its diagnosis. analyze, then, the process of constitution of attention as higher psychological function by examining their relationship with the structure of pedagogical activity. finally, we focus on the relationships between the motives of activity and the formacion of attention, presenting the concept of actions that generate motives for learning as an important theoretical tool that can put the teacher in the active role of producer new motives to bring students to develop psychological functions superiors, including attention. as conclusion, we criticize the medicalization process, bringing the challenge of to develop attention for its real locus, school education.

The importance of sensing one's movement in the world for the sense of personal identity

Within philosophy and cognitive science, the focus in relation to the problem of personal identity has been almost exclusively on the brain. We submit that the resulting neglect of the body and of bodily movements in the world has been detrimental in understanding how organisms develop a sense of identity. We examine the importance of sensing one’s own movements for the development of a basic, nonconceptual sense of self. More specifically, we argue that the origin of the sense of self stems from the sensitivity to spontaneous movements. Based on this, the organism develops a sense of “I move” and, finally, a sense of “I can move”. Proprioception and kinesthesis are essential in this development. At the same time, we argue against the traditional dichotomy between so-called external and internal senses, agreeing with Gibson that perception of the self and of the environment invariably go together. We discuss a traditional distinction between two aspects of bodily self: the body sense and the body image. We suggest that they capture different aspects of the sense of self. We argue that especially the body sense is of great importance to our nonconceptual sense of self. Finally, we attempt to draw some consequences for research in cognitive science, specifically in the area of robotics, by examining a case of missing proprioception. We make a plea for robots to be equipped not just with external perceptual and motor abilities but also with a sense of proprioception. This, we submit, would constitute one further step towards understanding creatures acting in the world with a sense of themselves.