Constituting "Missing Objects" in Learning Conversations

This interactive session is organized to explore how talk-in-interaction constitutes "missing objects" for learning in different institutional contexts. We start by observing that learning is necessarily concerned with contexts beyond what is materially present and for a variety of reasons. The objects in a domain under study may be too expensive or risky to provide, the circumstances of learning and teaching may be "sequestered" in ways that reflect entrenched academic divisions of labor, and the domain of practice itself may involve learning to participate in the interactional work of constituting technical objects that are not available to the untrained "eye." Comparative study of what is missing in learning conversations has been a neglected topic in the learning sciences. As a result, we know little about how missing objects are constituted, used, transformed, and maintained in interaction. In order to address these issues in this session, we pair six illustrations in three papers to produce contrasts around these questions: (1) How do missing objects structure learners' access to participating in the disciplinary practices? (2) When do missing objects disrupt stable practices in ways that provide an opportunity for learning? (3) How do missing objects index knowledgeable practice for learners in activity?