NARRATIVES AS MEDIATIONAL TOOLS FOR CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Drawing on sociocultural theory (VYGOTSKY, 1987), which emphasizes that learning and development are situated dynamic processes which occur through social relations, the present study aims at investigating the development of concepts by student-teachers through narratives documented in a portfolio for initial teacher education. This qualitative work is part of a microgenetic study which took place during an elective course in a Letras – Inglês Licenciatura undergraduate program at a federal university in the Southern Brazil. The participants were asked to keep a portfolio in which they would record information regarding their development within the context of the course. In addition, all their interactions with teacher educators and peers during the lessons were video recorded in order to be related to their narratives. Results indicate that the use of narratives as mediational tools encouraged the student-teachers to reflect on their learning experience during this course. They made use of the portfolio to describe and to make sense of new concepts they were exposed to during their lessons, which helped the student-teachers to regulate their own thinking and to internalize new concepts, reinforced the notion that concept development indeed follows a twisting path (VYGOTSKY, 1986), and promoted integration between scientific concepts and situated understandings and practices.