Activity Theory and Formative Interventions

The Activity Theory and Formative Interventions (ATFI) course is based on the 20-year tradition of research and teaching conducted in the Center for Research on Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE) at the Institute of Behavioural Sciences, the University of Helsinki. The course is designed to introduce cultural-historical activity theory – rooted in the legacy of Vygotsky and Leont’ev – as it has been developed and applied to learning and development in educational and work practices in Finland and other countries.

ATFI provides interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological tools for studying the rapid and profound changes in the world of work, organisations, and technology. It is structured around the following content areas.

• History and future of activity theory
• Work-related learning
• Methodology and practice of developmental work research interventions

The ATFI course welcomes 30 BA and MA students aiming at careers in advanced human resource development, in workplace learning, and, more generally, in organisational development and change management.

The course consists of lectures, workshops and discussions with leading Finnish and international scholars in the field of activity theory, including the most influential Finnish activity theorist Yrjö Engeström.

The key lectures are organised as videoconference-mediated conversations with scholars representing approaches closely related to activity theory, such as Frank Blackler, Michael Cole, and Roger Säljö. The excursions to work organisations and research facilities allow students to learn from ongoing developmental work research interventions conducted by researchers and practitioners in Helsinki. The tutored small group tasks are designed to guide students to get acquainted with core literature and to formulate their interests for engaging with more demanding texts and studies in the future.

The co-ordinator of the course, Annalisa Sannino, is University Lecturer in the Department of Education at University of Helsinki. She graduated with PhD in Psychology from Université de Nancy, France, and worked as a postdoctoral Fulbright scholar in the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition and the Department of Communication at the University of California San Diego, the USA. In her recent work, she focuses on the connection between discourse and activity and on the interventionist nature of cultural-historical activity theory. She has published research articles in refereed journals in English, French, and Italian. She is also the leading editor of the book “Learning and Expanding with Activity Theory” (co-edited with Harry Daniels and Kris Gutierrez) published in 2009 by Cambridge University Press.

Please direct any questions concerning the content of this course to the Coordinator, Ms. Annalisa Sannino, annalisa.sannino(at)helsinki.fi Any questions concerning the general arrangements (accommodation, scholarship, etc.) should be addressed to the Summer School's office at summer-school@helsinki.fi