Materials Mediated Teaching in Higher Education: Conceptualizing Teachers' and Learners' Use of Materials

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Rethinking Teaching Materials and Instructional Approaches

Abstract

This study aims to propose a conceptual framework for exploring teachers’ and learners’ interactions with materials in classroom settings. It employs two sets of theoretical ideas, namely, Vygotsky’s (1978) mediation theory and Wartofsky’s (1979) classifications of artefacts. Drawing on the analysis of textbooks, interviews, and lesson observations from four Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and their eight students in higher education in China, we identified four orientations of mediated relations in materials use. The mediational means is the utilisation of materials, which is formulated through the participation of teachers, learners, materials and context. Utilisation schemes are linked with materials at pragmatic, epistemic and heuristic levels. Significance of this hybrid framework in understanding materials use is also addressed.

Authors

• Zhan Li, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

• Yueting Xu, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies