Search

In a context where multiple partnerships are developing in the field of education (Marx and Reverdy, 2020), we analyzed the activity of a collective of actors with different statuses (primary school teacher, volunteer and swimming instructor) in the context of teaching swimming skills. By following the course-of-action research program (Theureau, 2004, 2006, 2015) and linking it to the theory of inquiry (Dewey, 1938), we were able to determine how the experience of these actors was transformed over the course of collective activity. In this way, we were able to show that all the actors were continually moving beyond institutional prescriptions. This constancy, supported by a range of processes, led to an enrichment of knowledge within the collective. These elements open up new avenues on two levels. On the one hand, given a large corpus of data, they allow us to consider the theoretical and methodological contributions of this research as an effective means of gaining dynamic access to the consensual activity of actors over a long period of time. From a technological perspective, they also help to clarify the mechanisms of experiential reciprocity at play within a partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to test the fruitfulness of bringing together two research programmes, Course of Action (PRCA) and Distributed Cognition (PRCD), for the study of human-animal interactions. This development of the PRCA towards an "augmented PRCA" aims to raise new research questions, linked to the integration of animal activities and human-animal interactions in the field of practice analysis. This article makes an empirical contribution to the development of this program by analyzing human-horse communication, in particular the interactions between Cadre Noir écuyers and sauteur horses. To study interspecies interactions, we use several theoretical concepts from these two research programs: cultural practice, mutual appropriationaction, and another concept already explored in previous work, namely sensorimotor empathy. We argue that the cultural practice of airs above the ground, shared by the écuyer and the sauteur, is both a condition and a result of sensorimotor empathy, which develops through a process of mutual appropriation-action. This study confirms the relevance of an "augmented" PRCA to account for animal activities and interspecies interactions, and contributes to a better understanding of the latter. It opens up prospects for new empirical studies to be carried out that highlight the development of mutual sensorimotor empathy within other shared cultural practices between humans and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SMACH (Multi-Agent Simulation of Human Activity and Consumption in the Home) is a simulation platform that is part of EDF’s research and development framework. It aims to use simulation to anticipate and reduce energy consumption at different levels of analysis (housing, neighborhood, city, country). The aim of this article is to characterize a “course-of-action” technological research program by referring to several years of SMACH research work. We mainly focus on the importance of the organic relationship between technology and human activity and we show the evolution of this organic relationship as we follow the different stages that characterize this technological research program. This article can be seen as a basis for generalizing and specifying the effective criteria for validating a technological research program and as a contribution to a reflection on design in ergonomics.

SMACH (Multi-Agent Simulation of Human Activity and Consumption in the Home) is a simulation platform that is part of EDF's research and development framework. It aims to use simulation to anticipate and reduce energy consumption at different levels of analysis (housing, neighborhood, city, country). The aim of this article is to characterize a “course-of-action” technological research program by referring to several years of SMACH research work. We mainly focus on the importance of the organic relationship between technology and human activity and we show the evolution of this organic relationship as we follow the different stages that characterize this technological research program. This article can be seen as a basis for generalizing and specifying the effective criteria for validating a technological research program and as a contribution to a reflection on design in ergonomics.

Since the 1950s, failures in the development of anthropocentric technologies have suggested that general design principles open the way for socio-technical projects. However, the latter do not sufficiently integrate the social, subjective and technical aspects underlying every kind of industrial project. This article shows how the “course of action” theory, which is part of the “activity” field of ergonomics, supports this integration. This is achieved by demonstrating how the concepts and methods of the course of action theory, used to design new work situations when automating small hydroelectric power plants (SHPPs), leads to a broader empirical praxeology for addressing H-H (training) and H-M (automation) interfaces, or H-H-M systems. Theoretically, this article contributes to the technological pole of the Course of Action Research Programme, while in practical terms it warns Industry 4.0 professionals not to repeat the old myth (and expression) of the “unmanned factory”.

SMACH (Multi-Agent Simulation of Human Activity and Consumption in the Home) is a simulation platform that is part of EDF's research and development framework. It aims to use simulation to anticipate and reduce energy consumption at different levels of analysis (housing, neighborhood, city, country). The aim of this article is to characterize a "course-of-action" technological research program by referring to several years of SMACH research work. We mainly focus on the importance of the organic relationship between technology and human activity and we show the evolution of this organic relationship as we follow the different stages that characterize this technological research program. This article can be seen as a basis for generalizing and specifying the effective criteria for validating a technological research program and as a contribution to a reflection on design in ergonomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1950s, failures in the development of anthropocentric technologies have suggested that general design principles open the way for socio-technical projects. However, the latter do not sufficiently integrate the social, subjective and technical aspects underlying every kind of industrial project. This article shows how the "course of action" theory, which is part of the "activity" field of ergonomics, supports this integration. This is achieved by demonstrating how the concepts and methods of the course of action theory, used to design new work situations when automating small hydroelectric power plants (SHPPs), leads to a broader empirical praxeology for addressing H-H (training) and H-M (automation) interfaces, or H-H-M systems. Theoretically, this article contributes to the technological pole of the Course of Action Research Programme, while in practical terms it warns Industry 4.0 professionals not to repeat the old myth (and expression) of the "unmanned factory". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “course of action” empirical and technological research program was developed in the field of ergonomics during the 1980s and 1990s. It was then extended to other fields of research and action beyond the boundaries of ergonomics. This contribution proposes an archeology of knowledge with the aim of gaining an understanding not only of the "course of action" research program (and its concreteness), but also of the notions/concepts/methods/models that it proposes for both analysis and design. By rapidly scanning both the history and the conceptual universe of the “course of action” research program, this article aims (1) to point out the main empirical and technological contributions of this program and the potential it still holds (for work/activity analysis and for design), and (2) to help to make sense of certain concepts and analytical notions by mentioning the context of their emergence and evolutions.

The “course of action” empirical and technological research program was developed in the field of ergonomics during the 1980s and 1990s. It was then extended to other fields of research and action beyond the boundaries of ergonomics. This contribution proposes an archeology of knowledge with the aim of gaining an understanding not only of the "course of action" research program (and its concreteness), but also of the notions/concepts/methods/models that it proposes for both analysis and design. By rapidly scanning both the history and the conceptual universe of the “course of action” research program, this article aims (1) to point out the main empirical and technological contributions of this program and the potential it still holds (for work/activity analysis and for design), and (2) to help to make sense of certain concepts and analytical notions by mentioning the context of their emergence and evolutions.

The aim of this article, based on a study conducted with a class of 26 students engaged in an annual “Arctic Kayak” project, is twofold. The first is to present the dynamics of joint construction, going back and forth between observation analysis and theoretical concept research. The second is to introduce two new concepts that might benefit the course-of-action research program. The first concept, “story of experience”, helps design and conduct observation research aiming to collect and analyze the experience of large groups of actors over a relatively long period of time. Stories of experience offer a condensed description of students’ individual experiences during the kayak classes, providing material that allows multiple angles of analysis. The second concept is that of “action field”, which is a subset of the “course-of-experience” theoretical object. For an actor and a given unit of time, this corresponds to all elements of its environment to which it attributes characteristics. Analysis of the students’ action fields allowed us to identify evolutions and transformations which are typical of the students’ perceptual judgments during classes. These results clarify the hypothesis of the three processes (in-situation, in-corporation, in-culturation) of appropriation proposed by Theureau (2011).

Since the 18th century, architects and museum managers have used natural and artificial lighting to light artworks and exhibits. Today, practitioners such as museographers, scenographers and lighting designers use it as a tool to build atmospheres and to guide the visitor’s gaze. Beyond merely highlighting artwork, lighting defines what is shown, and indicates the object of discussion. The potential of lighting – as a mediating device that directly affects the visitor’s sensitive and cognitive experience – remains to be shown and explained. It was from this standpoint that we studied visitor experience in the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, which presents a dynamic lighting installation conceived as an immersive scenography. We found that this installation plays an important role in the process of constructing sense and visitor experience. It helps to create an atmosphere of well-being, evoking the colors of natural environments, lighting or darkening the exhibits to attract or reduce attention, and acts as a catalyst for interpersonal and contemplative experiences. These results encourage us to explore the potential of lighting as a mediating device.

The ‘distributed cognition’ research program, initiated by Edwin Hutchins, has contributed to the development of the ‘course of action’ research program from 1987 to the present day. Edwin Hutchins having recently recognized the close relationship between his latest research, developed in terms of embodied and distributed cognition, and his research on the enaction paradigm, of which this ‘course of action’ research program is a part, the question now arises of the definition of an “augmented ‘course of action’ research program”. In relation to this enaction paradigm, such a program should go into greater depth and provide a new synthesis of the ‘distributed cognition’ research program’s past contributions to the ‘course of action’ research program and integrate its new contributions. This in-depth analysis, synthesis and renewal of the contributions to the ‘course of action’ research program are facilitated by the mutual contribution and addition of different theoretical and methodological results obtained by the two research programs over recent decades. In this paper we will present our personal view of the answer to this question.

The ‘distributed cognition’ research program, initiated by Edwin Hutchins, has contributed to the development of the ‘course of action’ research program from 1987 to the present day. Edwin Hutchins having recently recognized the close relationship between his latest research, developed in terms of embodied and distributed cognition, and that on the enaction paradigm, of which this ‘course of action’ research program is a part, the question now arises of the definition of an “augmented ‘course of action’ research program”. In relation to this enaction paradigm, such a program should go into greater depth and provide a new synthesis of the ‘distributed cognition’ research program’s past contributions to the ‘course of action’ research program and integrate its new contributions. This in-depth analysis, synthesis and renewal of the contributions to the ‘course of action’ research program are facilitated by the mutual contribution and addition of different theoretical and methodological results obtained by the two research programs over recent decades. In this paper we will present our personal view of the answer to this question.

Technological innovations contribute to developments in the technical culture of sports. The current field of competitive sailing provides an opportunity to study the development of a technical culture linked to the spread of an innovation in equipment – that of “hydrofoils”, which allow sailboats to “fly” over the water. The objectives of this study were to investigate: (i) the nature and structure of the knowledge of “pioneering” hydrofoil sailors, in relation to the question of flight stability management and control, and (ii) the development of a technical culture specific to hydrofoil sailing. We conducted “experience sharing” interviews with 12 participants recognized for their involvement in the practice or teaching of hydrofoil sailing. The analysis consisted in identifying typical experiences related to flight stability recognition and control, and in the categorization and inter-linking of explanatory elements on flight stability states, from the point of view of the participants’ knowledge. These two sides of the analysis helped to apprehend the emergence of a shared culture within the group of participants. Our results suggest the development of a technical culture of hydrofoil sailing that integrates to a greater extent the emotional dimension of this practice, and highlight the crew's incorporation into a boat that presents the characteristics of an autonomous system.

With future autonomous vehicles, drivers will have to regularly take over the control of a vehicle moving in traffic. This will mean not only taking over the driving but also reconstructing a suitable awareness of the situation (Situation Awareness - SA) that enables him/her to anticipate traffic evolution.Out of 15 participants in a study on the time needed to take over control, two were selected for an autoconfrontation interview. A detailed qualitative analysis of the driver’s take over process was carried out, after they had been deeply engaged in a life-on-board task. The notion of engagement, from the Course of Action theory, shows how reengagement in driving is dynamically built. The case studies suggest that with time pressure, a novice driver is likely to be first oriented towards the immediacy of the environment, leading him to focus on the trajectory of the vehicle. Construction of situation awareness (SA) only takes place afterwards.This short instant of radical change in activity offers an ideal opportunity to observe this dynamic aspect of engagement. The articulation of Situated Cognition notions draws a picture of the reengagement process. The resulting typology of reengagement processes offers design principles.

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With future autonomous vehicles, drivers will have to regularly take over the control of a vehicle moving in traffic. This will mean not only taking over the driving but also reconstructing a suitable awareness of the situation (Situation Awareness - SA) that enables him/her to anticipate traffic evolution. Out of 15 participants in a study on the time needed to take over control, two were selected for an autoconfrontation interview. A detailed qualitative analysis of the driver's take over process was carried out, after they had been deeply engaged in a life-on-board task. The notion of engagement, from the Course of Action theory, shows how reengagement in driving is dynamically built. The case studies suggest that with time pressure, a novice driver is likely to be first oriented towards the immediacy of the environment, leading him to focus on the trajectory of the vehicle. Construction of situation awareness (SA) only takes place afterwards. This short instant of radical change in activity offers an ideal opportunity to observe this dynamic aspect of engagement. The articulation of Situated Cognition notions draws a picture of the reengagement process. The resulting typology of reengagement processes offers design principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on collaborative pedagogical formats which are not widely used yet in secondary education. They are intended to be an alternative to class dialogues and seatwork, the two older and more widely spread educational formats. This study was conducted within the framework of situated cognitive anthropology. The results obtained show how the activity of three experienced teachers who have changed their teaching practices towards collaborative pedagogical formats (in history/geography, French and mathematics) tends to restructure in terms of: time and space organization; communication support and artifact utilization; and interaction modes among pupils as well as between the class and the teacher. Furthermore, this study reveals significant communication and relationship concerns on the teachers’ side, and a support approach rather than a teaching approach, which distance these teachers from the traditional school culture. In a French educational context where successive reforms lead to failures both in terms of improving student outcomes and well-being at school, understanding the reasons for these teachers’ actions and identifying the conditions that enabled them to make effective transformations of their class practices would appear to be very useful for nurturing initial training and continuing education.

This study focuses on collaborative pedagogical formats which are not widely used yet in secondary education. They are intended to be an alternative to class dialogues and seatwork, the two older and more widely spread educational formats. This study was conducted within the framework of situated cognitive anthropology. The results obtained show how the activity of three experienced teachers who have changed their teaching practices towards collaborative pedagogical formats (in history/geography, French and mathematics) tends to restructure in terms of: time and space organization; communication support and artifact utilization; and interaction modes among pupils as well as between the class and the teacher. Furthermore, this study reveals significant communication and relationship concerns on the teachers' side, and a support approach rather than a teaching approach, which distance these teachers from the traditional school culture. In a French educational context where successive reforms lead to failures both in terms of improving student outcomes and well-being at school, understanding the reasons for these teachers' actions and identifying the conditions that enabled them to make effective transformations of their class practices would appear to be very useful for nurturing initial training and continuing education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SMACH (Multi-Agent Human Activity Simulation) is a social simulation platform that is part of EDF’s Research and Development framework aimed at developing simulation to anticipate and reduce energy consumption in homes. In this paper, we develop the idea that simulation requires the integration of a structural relationship into human activity, as residential energy consumption is largely the result of daily life dynamics. To this end, we show that the realism of the simulation realism is created by combining two levels of human activity modeling. The first level consists in framing the design with three epistemological hypotheses of the enaction and the Course of Action (individual, collective activity and coupling with the environment). The second level of modeling consists in applying these hypotheses based on our empirical knowledge of activity in real households. For each of these hypotheses, we explain the proximity and differences between the knowledge derived from empirical analysis and the dynamics created in the simulation. The SMACH platform is currently used by business experts who rely on human activity diagrams or energy consumption curves to carry out studies on the future use of electricity.

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In a context of changes to the economic environment and structural changes in companies which must now consider their performance in terms of their cross-functional processes, it is essential to understand the grounds of an organization’s efficiency when coping with its customers’ demands. One of these grounds is a cross-functional cooperation between actors involved in the same process, within the framework of a new kind of collective activity: cross-functional and transactional collective activity (Motté & Haradji, 2010 ; Poret, 2015). This collective activity requires actors who are involved in the same process to cooperate by crossing the organization’s boundaries. From an understanding of the different methods of coordination which form the basis of cooperation between actors of the same cross-functional process, this research highlights the existence of instruments enabling said actors to cross the organization’s classic boundaries in order to cooperate (Cooperative Transitional Instruments (Poret, ibid)) and proposes a criterion for the design of IT and organizational systems in order to durably root transversality and implement the Power to Act Together at the heart of organizations.

With regard to transformations of the economic environment and structural changes in companies which now conceptualize their performance on the basis of their cross-functional processes, it is essential to understand the efficiency levers that organisations employ to cope with customer requests. One of these levers is cross-functional cooperation between actors who are members of the same process, based on a new kind of collective activity : cross-functional and transactional collective activity (Motté & Haradji, 2010 ; Poret, 2015). This collective activity involves actors who are members of a same process cooperating by crossing over the organisation’s various boundaries. Taking an understanding of the modes of coordination which form the basis for cooperation between members of the same cross-functional process, this research highlights the existence of instruments (Cooperative Transitional Instruments (Poret, ibid)) that allow these actors to cross the organisation’s typical boundaries in order to cooperate, and proposes a criteria for the IT and organisational system in order to durably anchor cross-functionality and enable the Power to Act Together at the heart of organisations.

This study aimed to analyze the collective activity of students engaged in cooperative situations in Physical Education (PE) to take account of how they lived and enjoyed their experience of cooperation. We used the notion of collective meaningful story to describe and to characterize the phenomena underlying the cooperation between students. Three students and their teacher were volunteers to participate in this study. Their activity was studied in situ during a circus unit of seven lessons. This study was carried out in accordance with the assumptions of the “Course of action” scientific program (Theureau, 2006). The results show, in the first part, typical categories of collective meaningful stories and the characteristics relating to the temporal arrangement of stories in the units. We identified three characteristics: (a) the diversity of temporal spans, (b) the continuous or discontinuous nature of collective meaningful story development, and (c) patterns of collective meaningful stories. The third part presents a case study which reports on the dynamic of collective meaningful story development during the unit. These results contribute to the understanding of cooperation and provide input for the design of original cooperative learning structures.

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Activités is the property of ARPACT and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents an analysis of the activity of teachers involved in the transmission of agricultural technical knowledge. The particularity of this study is that it describes, from the theoretical and methodological framework of the course of action, the in situ activity of teachers involved in college farms. The results highlight not only the invariants of the teachers’ work but also the specificities of agricultural technical education due to the highly conflicting nature of these training situations at the intersection of school and workplace. Stable and regular organizations of activity were identified in and between the teachers’ courses of action. These results suggest avenues for more in-depth investigation in relation to the professionalization of teachers’ training.

This paper presents the narrative activity of two polar explorers. We have adopted a unit of diachronic analysis that encompasses the collection procedure during the journey, as well as the drafting of the story afterwards. With this in mind, we focus on two theoretical frameworks : the instrumental approach and the course of action. We suggest using the concept of "transitional instrument" to identify what is occurring within these discontinuous narrative activities. During the journey, the narrators work with various instruments (e.g. photographs, notes) as a way of distancing themselves from the experience. At this stage they create their own transitional instruments. After the journey, the narrators are once again immersed in the travel experience through a display of the items collected, such as sketches, notes and maps. They compose the story by assembling the transitional instruments. We will conclude with a discussion of how diachronicity contributes to a better understanding of creative activities and the related tools.

The paper presents achievements and a design that illustrates a device for the professional training of teachers, considered as an empirical, changing and scientific construction, closely articulated with an ergonomic analysis of activity. In this article, we begin by characterizing the contribution of concepts of cognitive ergonomics in an analysis of the teacher activity and of the relations of cognitive ergonomics to teacher training. Secondly, we present our methodology for the design of devices which are « indexed on activity ». Its construction is based on a course of action approach targeting professional didactics in an enactive epistemology. Thirdly, we outline our methodology for the artifact design and training device indexed on targeted social practices. To illustrate this, we outline a training situation with the artifact which was used and we present an analysis of the activity of actors who were involved in this new professional training device.

The aim of our study was to analyze the construction of a collective activity. We focused on interpersonal coordination process within a basket-ball team during a match. We characterized the way how basketball players took mutually into account their respective activities. In order to consider in the same time both units of analysis, the individual one and the collective one, this study referred to the framework of the course of action theory (Theureau, 2006). Results allowed us to specify the relational network between players, the various coordination modes between two players and the different forms of team coordination. These results are discussed with regard to the nature of interactions within the team, and with regard to the notion of a collective action plan: they highlighted that some collective activity construction modalities are based on local overlapping coordination. These results thus question the status of a collective plan (as a scheme shared by all the players).

This article presents an original program that combines research and This article presents an original program that combines research and training development. Between 1997 and 2002, several studies of the activity of expert table tennis players during matches were carried out within the framework of course-of-action theory (Theureau, 1992, 2004). These studies had been formally agreed on by coaches, athletes and researchers and responded to both sports needs and scientific interests. Matches were videotaped during international meetings and followed by self-confrontation interviews during which the players described and commented on their activity as they viewed the tapes. A grounded theory of players’ activity resulted from the data collected and the ensuing theoretical issues that were raised. This theory focuses on the three modes of players’ involvement identified in the studies: exploration, execution and deception. The findings on table tennis players’ activity led to questions about some of the usual practices of coaches and pointed to a new direction for training proposals.

The article presents a study that analyzes teacher's activity which is involved in imparting technical knowledge of agriculture. It describes the in situ activity of teachers those who are involved in college farms. It states that this study might provide in-depth analysis of the need for professionalizing teachers' training.

The aim of this article is to test the fruitfulness of bringing together two research programmes, Course of Action (PRCA) and Distributed Cognition (PRCD), for the study of human-animal interactions. This development of the PRCA towards an “augmented PRCA” aims to raise new research questions, linked to the integration of animal activities and human-animal interactions in the field of practice analysis. This article makes an empirical contribution to the development of this program by analyzing human-horse communication, in particular the interactions between Cadre Noir écuyers and sauteur horses. To study interspecies interactions, we use several theoretical concepts from these two research programs: cultural practice, mutual appropriation-action, and another concept already explored in previous work, namely sensorimotor empathy. We argue that the cultural practice of airs above the ground, shared by the écuyer and the sauteur, is both a condition and a result of sensorimotor empathy, which develops through a process of mutual appropriation-action. This study confirms the relevance of an “augmented” PRCA to account for animal activities and interspecies interactions, and contributes to a better understanding of the latter. It opens up prospects for new empirical studies to be carried out that highlight the development of mutual sensorimotor empathy within other shared cultural practices between humans and animals.

In a context where multiple partnerships are developing in the field of education (Marx and Reverdy, 2020), we analyzed the activity of a collective of actors with different statuses (primary school teacher, volunteer and swimming instructor) in the context of teaching swimming skills. By following the course-of-action research program (Theureau, 2004, 2006, 2015) and linking it to the theory of inquiry (Dewey, 1938), we were able to determine how the experience of these actors was transformed over the course of collective activity. In this way, we were able to show that all the actors were continually moving beyond institutional prescriptions. This constancy, supported by a range of processes, led to an enrichment of knowledge within the collective. These elements open up new avenues on two levels. On the one hand, given a large corpus of data, they allow us to consider the theoretical and methodological contributions of this research as an effective means of gaining dynamic access to the consensual activity of actors over a long period of time. From a technological perspective, they also help to clarify the mechanisms of experiential reciprocity at play within a partnership.