ABSTRACT
As learning is usually defined solely in terms of cognitive activity taking place in a classroom under specific instruction, and the outcome of learning continues to mark its presence as a basic technical, measurable objective of formal schooling, so the edusemiotic approach problematises the very concept of learning. A century ago John Dewey expanded the boundaries of this concept by breaking open the doors of the formal classroom and letting in practical, real-life experiences. Dewey defined learning from experience in terms of making “a backward and forward connection between what we do to things and what we enjoy or suffer from things in consequence. Under such conditions, doing becomes a trying; an experiment with the world to find out what it is like; the undergoing becomes instruction – discovery of the connection of things” (Dewey, 1916/1924: 164). This creative spirit is well aligned with edusemiotics as a philosophy that focuses on connections and relations. It posits human subjectivity – itself a sign – as constituted anew within sign dynamics via such learning experiences embedded in real-life situations and events which are subject to interpretation and meaning-making.
