Igor Arievitch joined the Department of Education at CSI as full professor in 2001. Prior to that, for a number of years he was doing research and teaching at the universities of Moscow (Russia), Leiden (The Netherlands), and Bern (Switzerland).
Dr. Arievitch is a developmental and educational psychologist working within the framework of the cultural-historical activity theory. His studies focus on the role of learning in students’ cognitive development. In his works he argues that the regularities of cognitive development can be discovered not in the brain processes but in children’s gradual mastery of culturally evolved cognitive tools within socially shared learning activities. Accordingly, at the core of Dr. Arievitch's educational philosophy is the belief that teaching and learning -- when properly structured and equipped with advanced cognitive tools for students’ problem solving -- can affect and even generate students’ cognitive development. This leads to the critical role of the teacher as someone whose mission is not to “stuff” students’ heads with new information but to help them develop their minds. Dr. Arievitch therefore advances Developmental Teaching and Learning as a vision for education. He outlines his psychological and educational views in his recent (2017) book Beyond the Brain: An Agentive Activity Perspective on Mind, Development, and Learning. Dr. Arievitch also published a number of other theoretical works on these issues and delivered several invited key-note addresses at international congresses.
Degrees
Ph.D. Moscow State University, Developmental and Educational Psychology
Selected Publications:
Arievitch, I. M. (2017). Beyond the brain: An agentive activity perspective on mind, development, and learning. Rotterdam/Boston: Sense Publishers.
Arievitch, I. M. & Stetsenko, A. (2014). The “magic of signs”: Developmental trajectory of cultural mediation. In A. Yasnitsky, R. van der Veer, & M. Ferrari (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Cultural-Historical Psychology (pp. 217-244). New York/London: Cambridge University Press.
Arievitch, I. M. (2008). Exploring the links between external and internal activity from the cultural-historical perspective. In B. van Oers et al. (Eds.), The Transformation of learning: Advances in cultural-historical activity theory (pp. 38-58). Cambridge University Press.
Arievitch, I. M. (2007). An activity theory perspective on educational technology and learning. In D. Kritt & L. T. Winegar (Eds.), Educational technology: Critical perspectives and possible futures (pp. 49-72). Lanham, MD/New York: Lexington Books.
Arievitch, I. M. & Haenen, J. P. P. (2005). Connecting sociocultural theory and educational practice. Educational Psychologist, 40 (3), 155-165.
