The Theory of Logic of Events – A Tool for Understanding Students’ Behaviour: An Example of a Philosophical Approach to a Pedagogical Problem

DOI: 10.5176/2382-5677_PYTT13.38

Authors: Inga-Britt Skogh

Abstract:

Learning is an activity. What students do in learning situations impacts their ability to learn. It is therefore essential that teachers learn to interpret and understand their students' behaviour. This paper proposes teachers’ use of an analytical tool developed within the field of philosophy, Georg Henrik von Wright’s conceptual model of the logic of events that has been adapted to the context of education. The model is based on the individual's (here, the pupil’s) intentions and the situation (the historical context) in which the event (here, learning situation) takes place. Von Wright argues that there is a logical connection between intention and action. The systematic structure of the model brings attention to aspects of pedagogical significance that might otherwise remain undiscovered and unexploited. Logic of events interpretations of students’ actions can thus be said to increase awareness of the pupil as an individual and of the pupil as part of a greater context – of the complexity that surrounds every teaching situation.

Keywords: component, logic of event, pupils’ actions, learning, school, teachers