In A. A. diSessa, M. Levin & N. J. S. Brown (Eds.), Knowing and learning in interaction: A synthetic agenda for the learning sciences (pp. 212-235). New York, NY: Routledge.
How do students transition from moving to knowing? Building on constructs from dynamical systems theory, sociocultural theory, ecological psychology, cultural anthropology, studies of motor-skill acquisition, and somatic awareness practices, we develop the notion of an “instrumented field of promoted action.” We apply this notion as a lens on tutor–student micro-processes in technologically enabled embodied-interaction learning environments. Therein, students first shift smoothly into environmentally coupled motor-action coordinations and then shift abruptly as they appropriate symbolic artifacts that recast their actions as signified in disciplinary semiotic systems. We exemplify our thesis with selected excerpts from our videography of Grade 4-6 volunteers.