The object of learning - before, during and after a learning situation

The aim of this study is to describe in what ways the objectof learning changes shape during its way from the intended(planned), enacted (offered) and lived (discerned) object oflearning. The study is based on variation theory, andlearning study is used as a model. A total of three preschoolteachers, 39 children aged 4-5 years and three researchersparticipated in the study. Three interventions were carriedout in three different groups of children (A, B and C) bythree preschool teachers. The data consist of videodocumentedmeetings with the preschool teachers andresearchers, interviews with the children in the form of pre-,post- and delayed post-tests and video-documentedinterventions (3). The results show (a) how the teachers’focus on aspects concerning the object of learning andaspects not concerning the object of learning affectslearning possibilities. The results also show (b) adiscrepancy between the children’s possibilities to learn andwhat the preschool teachers intend to offer them to learn.Finally, the results show (c) how the preschool teachers’understanding of children’s learning sometime make themuse other words than the appropriate ones to make theintervention funnier or more interesting.