Ricoeur s triple mimesis and the zone of proximal development in the learning processes of interprofessional student teams

Anders Baerheim

doi:10.33902/jpsp.2020263947

Abstract

It has been reported that the temporal aspects of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) are underanalyzed. The aim of this article is to use the literary science concept of Paul Ricoeur’s triple mimesis to elucidate unanalyzed aspects of the temporal living and learning processes of interprofessional teams in the ZPD. Both mimesis2 and ZPD are temporal constructs embedded in the present of time, and for both mimesis2 and ZPD, activity is created and carried by the actors. While the internal processes in ZPD have remained unanalyzed to date, Ricoeur provides emplotment with its procedural mechanisms for the activity in mimesis2. Being narrating beings, humans have an affinity for narrative emplotments that then structure the activities in the ZPD. Because mimesis2 is based on narrative time, the basic requirement for employing mimesis2 in ZPD is that the ZPD has a narrative base, which is probable when health students are the actors and the case they are working on is a patient.

Highlights

Interprofessional (IP) care is carried out at the workplace, and health education programs all over the world are engaging in interprofessional education
We have recently shown how expansive learning theory may be used as an analytical tool for understanding various aspects of interprofessional learning in the workplace (Baerheim & Raaheim, 2019; Engeström, 2015)
The aim of this article was to utilize the literary science concept of the triple mimesis to elucidate unanalyzed aspects of the temporal living and learning processes of interprofessional teams in the zone of proximal development (ZPD). We saw that both mimesis2 and ZPD are temporal constructs embedded in the present time, and for both mimesis2 and ZPD, activity is created and carried by the actors

Summary

Introduction

Interprofessional (IP) care is carried out at the workplace, and health education programs all over the world are engaging in interprofessional education. Research on interprofessional learning has increased dramatically in recent years, and the theoretical aspects are starting to be elaborated (O‘Leary & Boland, 2020). We have recently shown how expansive learning theory may be used as an analytical tool for understanding various aspects of interprofessional learning in the workplace (Baerheim & Raaheim, 2019; Engeström, 2015). The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a temporal key area for learning both in expansive learning theory and the third generation of activity theory. O‘Leary and Boland (2020) found in their scoping review that activity theory was the most used theory in interprofessional research, though none of the scoped articles used the zone of proximate development for analysis

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