ABSTRACT

An expansive cycle is a developmental process that involves both the internalization of a given culture of practice and the creation of novel artifacts and patterns of interaction. The new activity structure does not emerge out of the blue. It requires reflective analysis of the existing activity structure - participants must learn to know and understand what they want to transcend. And the creation of a new activity system requires

the reflective appropriation of advanced models and tools that offer ways out of the internal contradictions. However, these forms of internalization are not enough for the emergence of a new structure. As the cycle advances, the actual design and implementation of a new model for the activity gain momentum: Externalization begins to dominate.... The expansive cycle of an activity system begins with almost exclusive emphasis on internalization, on socializing and training novices to become competent members of the activity as it is routinely carried out. Creative externalization occurs first in the form of discrete individual violations and innovations. As the disruptions and contradictions in the activity become more demanding, internalization increasingly takes the form of critical self-reflection - and externalization, the search for novel solutions, increases. Externalization reaches its peak when a new model for the activity is designed and implemented. As the new model stabilizes itself, internalization of its inherent ways and means again becomes the dominant form of learning and development. (Engestrom, 1987 quoted from Cole and Engestrom, 1993)

Nespor sees this kind of interactional theory as the first step towards social analysis.