Using Microgenetic Designs to Study Change Processes

Abstract

The process of change represents a main, central issue for the study of development. Basic and applied researchers in developmental science have aimed their research work at answering several key questions related to the problem of change. How does change occur? What mechanisms produce change? What conditions are likely to promote the emergence of change in development? Another related question concerns the stability versus instability of new behavioral patterns that emerge as a consequence of an intervention. What are the relationships between variability and stability in developmental processes? Does the emergence of new behavioral patterns tend to suppress the old patterns or to coexist with them? Nevertheless, observing and understanding how change occurs has been recognized to be a quite difficult and challenging task (Miller & Coyle, 1999;Siegler & Crowley, 1991). This is despite recent advances in both theoretical perspectives and methods focused on change processes that have brought considerable progress in the research field (see "Microgenetic designs as promising tools," below). Part of the challenge is due to the complexity of conceptualizing change processes. It is our contention, however, that the main problem appears to come from the difficulty of devising and implementing appropriate methods for studying change while it is occurring (Fogel, 1990;Kuhn, 1995;Siegler, 1995), instead of comparing pre-and post-change behavioral patterns.In this chapter, we aim to illustrate a research design, referred to as microgenetic designs, specifically devised for documenting change processes in development. First, we discuss the limitations of traditional research designs to capture ongoing processes of change. We then present microgenetic designs through an illustration of their key characteristics. This is followed by a review of the theoretical foundations of microgenetic designs as well as some of the historical and current observational and experimental

Ética e estética na produção de sentidos no começo da vida: considerações sobre a simultaneidade do passado e futuro no presente

“…The option for microgenetic analysis of data gathered was considered appropriate and necessary to present information about the dynamic nature and dialogical dimension of the processes being investigated (LAVELLI, et al, 2002;SCORSI;LYRA, 2012). 20 For reference, see footnote 1.…”

Relacionalidad y construcción cultural en la educación temprana: diálogo entre pares menores de 18 meses

“…Este enfoque se utiliza para para estudiar procesos de cambio en el desarrollo humano, mientras éstos ocurren, en lugar de investigar hitos o productos observables después de determinado cambio (LAVELLI et al, 2008). Con este propósito se busca una alta densidad de observaciones en un período relativamente corto (semanas, meses), preferentemente durante etapas del desarrollo donde ocurren rápidas transformaciones (LAVELLI et al, 2008).…”

“…Este enfoque se utiliza para para estudiar procesos de cambio en el desarrollo humano, mientras éstos ocurren, en lugar de investigar hitos o productos observables después de determinado cambio (LAVELLI et al, 2008). Con este propósito se busca una alta densidad de observaciones en un período relativamente corto (semanas, meses), preferentemente durante etapas del desarrollo donde ocurren rápidas transformaciones (LAVELLI et al, 2008). Esta estrategia se ha utilizado ampliamente para estudiar los procesos relacionales de primeros años vida desde una perspectiva histórica, en concordancia con el enfoque de RedSig (AMORIM; ROSSETTI-FERREIRA, 2008b;LAVELLI et al, 2008).…”

“…Con este propósito se busca una alta densidad de observaciones en un período relativamente corto (semanas, meses), preferentemente durante etapas del desarrollo donde ocurren rápidas transformaciones (LAVELLI et al, 2008). Esta estrategia se ha utilizado ampliamente para estudiar los procesos relacionales de primeros años vida desde una perspectiva histórica, en concordancia con el enfoque de RedSig (AMORIM; ROSSETTI-FERREIRA, 2008b;LAVELLI et al, 2008). En este caso, se realizó un mapeo de interacciones, aplicado a las primeras cinco sesiones, que permitió construir categorías emergentes.…”

The role of gestures in making connections between space and shape aspects and their verbal representations in the early years: findings from a case study

“…Guided by our research questions and theoretical framework, we conducted a microgenetic analysis (Siegler 1995) of the child's descriptions of her constructions during the activity. This means that we carried out an intensive analysis of the observed behavior of the child (Lavelli et al 2005), who had incomplete knowledge of space and shape concepts involved in the geometrical activity. It is our contention that this microgenetic approach can shed some light on the processes the child goes through while thinking of, and communicating space and shape concepts, in the complex problem-solving situation included in the activity: describing the spatial arrangement of constructions made of various threedimensional shapes so that a conversation partner who cannot see it can create the same construction.…”