ABSTRACT
The chapter uses the concept of shared activity to make concrete Vygotsky’s idea of the social origin of higher mental functions. The chapter begins with a discussion of the interactions during shared activity and how shared activity promotes learning, which makes it yet another tactic for scaffolding. The chapter then focuses on self-regulation, its origins in other-regulation, and the ways teachers can scaffold self-regulation by engaging children in strategically planned shared activities. The next sections continue examining the roles of teachers and peers in shared activity, offering more suggestions on how to plan and set up shared activities in an early childhood classroom, how to support children in shared activities, and how to combine shared activity with other scaffolding tactics. The chapter ends with a description of a special kind of shared activity where children’s interactions with peers and adults take place in a digital environment.
