27 mediation, internalization, and the ZPD applied in teacher development, in the
Indonesian contexts. I will review affordances of teacher self-evaluation instruments, internalization and mediation, and the ZPD in the next subsections.
2.3.2 Affordances of teacher self-evaluation instruments
As mentioned in the previous section, the participants of this study utilized four mediational tools of teacher self-reflection questions, lesson video recording, student
feedback, and collegial dialogue. This process was underpinned by the theory of affordance of James J. Gibson who stated that:
What [an environment feature] affords the observer is determined by its material substance and its shape, size, rigidity, motion, etc. What it meant and what it is,
are not separated, as we have been led to believe. And the observer who perceives the substance and the surface of anything has thereby perceived what
it affords 1979, p. 440.
That is to say the affordances of a tool depend on what is perceived by an individual. An individual does not perceive the properties of tools but what they afford. For
example, humans use a pencil to write. However, they do not perceive its properties such as at least one of pencil’s ends must be friable and dark Osiurak, Jarry, Gall,
2010. Further, Gibson 1979 suggests that affordance only occurs when an object is
imbued with meaning by an agent who can use it for some purpose. Therefore, four mediational tools including teacher self-reflection questions, lesson video recording,
student feedback, and collegial dialogue in this study were chosen because of the affordances they provide to help teachers improve their instructional practice as
summarized in Table 2 below.
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Tools Properties
Affordances
Self-reflection question
- is written on paper - is a short, one to two page
form - contains a series of brief
evaluation criteria of teacher’s teaching
performance. Teacher uses it as a guide to
reflect on hisher particular lesson heshe has just taught
to compile information on the strong and weak points of the
lesson.
Lesson video recording
- contains audio and video of a class meeting
- captures teacher behaviours and mannerisms tone of
voice, body language, facial expressions, and movement
throughout the classroom
- can be viewed anytime. Teacher uses it to view
hisher instructional practice to obtain a critical
perspective on hisher own teaching and become more
conscious of classroom issues.
Student feedback - is written on paper
- is a short, one to two page form
- contains specific questions about teachers’ performance
- invites students’ perception and view of teaching
behaviour. Teacher uses it to have more
objective evaluation that, in turn, provides himher with
more comprehensive views of hisher performance.
Collegial dialogue - involves a small-group interaction
- contains interactions that are planned or spontaneous
- involves other teachers’ opinion, experience, and
insight about teaching. Teacher uses it as an
opportunity to learn from others by gaining someone
else’s experience and insight, and seek potentially better
ideas in order to improve their instructional practice.
Table 2: Properties and affordances of four mediational tools
Table 2 above shows that each mediational tool used by research participants has its own properties and affordances to help them assess their performance. The use of
combined mediational tools above helps teachers to have more comprehensive insights into their instructional practice. The next subsection of this chapter describes other
interrelated concepts in sociocultural theory, mediation and internalization.
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2.3.3 Mediation and internalization
