O tear da criatividade: cognição social, mediação e agência na prática pedagógica de PLM em movimento

Abstract

The work investigates creativity in the Portuguese as a Mother Tongue classroom in order to understand its relationship with social cognition, mediation, and agency, and, therefore, advance knowledge in the area. To do so, it draws on ethnographic-inspired analysis techniques (DENZIN; LINCOLN, 2006) to qualitatively case study a class of the 7th graders in a Brazilian municipal public school. Based on “indisciplinary” (MOITA-LOPES, 1998; 2006) and critical (PENNYCOOK, 1998; 2006) applied linguistics, the study seeks to analyze if and how creativity emerges in the interaction between teacher and learners in different pedagogical practices. In order to achieve the intended objectives, different data generation tools are used: participant observation, field diary, sociocultural questionnaire, semi-structured interviews within a focus group perspective, and the recording and transcription of classes. To analyze data, the study draws on concepts such as subjectivity (LEONTIEV, 1978), intersubjectivity (TOMASELLO et al, 1993; TOMASELLO, 2014), joint attention (TOMASELLO, 2003a; 2003b; 2014), frame (GOFFMAN, 2012; BATESON, 2013), and positioning (HARRÉ; VAN LANGENHOVE, 1999) in an attempt to understand how the participants act discursively and why they do so. The analyses indicate that creativity emerges in interaction according to the teacher's attitude in the participation structure (PHILIPS, 1972; SCHULTZ et al, 1982). In addition, its emergency depends on the choice of themes as they relate to the participants’ emotional, cognitive, and attitudinal engagement as well as to their dialogic construction of knowledge. Consequently, creativity emerges as an effect of discursive actions. In this sense, creativity is understood as an affordance (KRESS; VAN LEEUWEN, 2001; SAWYER, 2016) of language classroom interactions previously considered unthinkable and agency (WEDIN, 2019) is the engine of this phenomenon.