Abstract
This paper seeks to reflectively discuss my use of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a theoretical framework for the first time in a local case study. The study aimed to explore language teachers’ practices and challenges in the process of using videos as instructional tools at a language bridge program. Data included interviews, class observations, and document analysis. Using CHAT as the theoretical basis of the study, Activity Systems Analysis (ASA) was utilized to analyze the data. However, this was not an easy task for a beginning researcher. This reflective account will discuss how I attempted to understand CHAT and use ASA for my small-scale case study.Keywords: CHAT; activity systems analysis; theory application; educational researchPart of the Special Issue Debating the status of ‘theory’ in technology enhanced learning research
Highlights
While there are a lot of books and articles that share a thorough understanding and/or an expert critical review of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Activity Systems Analysis (ASA), very few seem to highlight how this theory can be approached by beginning researchers in their attempt to understand CHAT and apply it to their studies
I stumbled upon CHAT in a course led by Brett Bligh, an Activity Theorist, who provided us with a number of theoretical perspectives to explore at the beginning of the course
Many AT studies mostly utilized the theory to code their data and categorize results, to explain their findings, or to address the contextual elements surrounding the study. While these uses were surely on my list, I wanted to go a further step with CHAT and use it to help with formulating research questions and data collection tools as I wanted to be able to map my instruments to the a). research questions and b). theoretical constructs adopted in my study
Summary
While there are a lot of books and articles (theoretical and empirical) that share a thorough understanding and/or an expert critical review of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and Activity Systems Analysis (ASA), very few seem to highlight how this theory can be approached by beginning researchers in their attempt to understand CHAT and apply it to their studies. At the risk of exposing my limited beginning understanding of CHAT, I intend to showcase this journey and reflect on how I attempted to (and struggled to) utilize CHAT for the first time in my educational research. I will take you through the journey of using CHAT in my study, reflecting on my experience as a beginning researcher with the theory during my case study. It is important to note, that the narrative is presented linearly only to make it easier to follow, and not to reflect the nonlinear and iterative process of understanding and using the theory
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