Activity Theory sees learning is a multi-layered phenomenon based around the way we use language. Language is not just for communiction it has an activity focus. The principles on which the theory is based are simple and can provide valuable insights. It adopts a holistic view of activity, crossing the boundaries between process, structure and people change issues. It follows the thinking of Lev Vygotsky that meaning is created by action and interaction - that knowing is about doing but arequires language to give it meaning..

Greogory Bateson about Learning 1, 2 and 3. Activity Theory focuses on Learning 3.

LEARNING 1 - conditioning, reinforced by automatic reactions - like a stimulus and response mechanism
LEARNING 2 - rules, that apply in a given context - like a culture that expects you to conform to certain behaviours, like bending the rules, cheating, etc.
LEARNING 3 - expansion, where you can see yourself, or a situation, in a bigger context - enabling you to think 'outside the box' and deal with dilemmas where both sides can be true at the same time. You can explore possibilities and create new knowledge.

Learning 1 and 2 are going on all the time, whereas Learning 3 is a rare event. It involves what might be seen as deep questioning and deviant behaviour. When people think differently from the group, others tend to think they are weird, but they should be valued for the insights they can bring. Such people are the strategists identified by Rooke & Torbert. See Developmental Transformations

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Activity Theory views the individual and their context as one system - say a learning system where the learning is not just about the individual. It would also be about the connections with other individuals and the resources they use.

The theory addresses the inside-out and outside-in dimensions of change in just one action. See my Dynamic Change Model. For example, people deliberately create a context through an activity that they generate to achieve a personal goal. That goal is of their own intention or motivation. It does not come from outside, but is externalised by their actions and the engagement of things and other people in specific settings. This is explained further in Action Logics

The motivation to change can then be be seen as both the stimulus and the vehicle of change. If someone has a personal desire to change something it influences their choices because they are goal directed. The energy for change is stronger because it is inner directed. If on the other hand the goal is being imposed from the outside, people must find actions that are meaningful to them personally to enable the externally imposed goal to be meaningful.

Effective learning and performance is therefore about activators or tools that enable people to link the subject (person or group) and the object (sense of purpose or meaning). This enables them to deliver the energy needed to secure a shared outcome.

More on the Philosophical background of Activity Theory

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Professor Yrjo Engestrom offers an 'Activity System' that identifies the major elements

An activity is undertaken by a human agent (subject) who is motivated towards a solution to a problem or purpose (object), and mediated by tools (artifacts) in collaboration with others (community). The structure of the activity is constrained by cultural factors including conventions (rules) and social strata (division of labour) within the context.

Activities are composed of goal-directed or conscious
actions that must be undertaken to to fulfil a purpose or object.
Activities are 'object-orientated' in that they can be
observed or measured.
Activities can only be understood in their context.
The inside elements cannot be separated from outside
realities. When people work together their activities need
to be externalised in order to be co-ordinated.
Activities are mediated by tools that can both change
behaviour and mental functioning. and also evaluate it's impact.
Activities can create a complex adaptive systems
that are capable of evolving and self-organising. One action
can affect many others. There may be common rules being
applied or common data being used.

More on the Basic Concepts and Application of Activity Theory

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