An academic symposium themed “Nudging Educational Transformation with Cultural-historical Activity Theory (CHAT): Future-oriented Transdisciplinary Dialogues” was held at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) from Feb 20 to 22.

The event brought together leading scholars and experts from various fields, including linguistics, education and psychology, to explore the applications of CHAT. 

An academic symposium themed “Nudging Educational Transformation with CHAT: Future-oriented Transdisciplinary Dialogues” is held at BFSU from Feb 20 to 22. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn] 

In his opening remarks, Liu Xinlu, a member of the standing committee of the CPC BFSU committee and vice-president of the university, emphasized the significance of CHAT in educational transformation. He said the theory, rooted in Marxist philosophy, has had a profound impact on global education. 

During the keynote session, Yang Luxin, a professor at BFSU, focused on a university-school partnership teacher development program and discussed how teachers’ conceptual development affects their teaching assessment literacy. Professor Zhang Lian emphasized that teachers’ knowledge development should be grounded in sociocultural practices such as lectures and research courses. 

Other speakers included Yrjö Engeström from the University of Helsinki; Katsuhiro Yamazumi from Kansai University; Hong Jianzhong from Central China Normal University; Annalisa Sannino from Tampere University; Qin Lili from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies; and Wei Ge from Capital Normal University. 

The symposium featured two seminars: one on teacher agency in change laboratories and another on teachers’ development from a CHAT perspective, as well as group discussions covering topics such as cultural mediation, curriculum development and subject development. These activities provided experts with opportunities to foster their theoretical and practical innovations. 

Interactive workshops were also part of the symposium. Professor Engeström led a session themed “Possibilities and Challenges of Change Laboratory Interventions in School Settings”, where participants shared experiences and discussed establishing new change laboratories. Professor Sannino's workshop focused on the applications of TADS, with the aim of promoting teacher agency.

Participants of the symposium pose for a group photo. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]