1. Im 19 and spending a year hear in
America and loving my time at KU
and I love traveling to new places and
trying new things. I’m a technology
freak and love to know what is newest
and greatest on the market
My American friends sometimes call
me an over achiever but I really just
try to do my work and do the best that
I can. I understand written English just
fine but sometimes spoken slang can
get me a little confused.
“There are so many Chinese students
here that there is always someone
that I can turn to if I have a problem
but when I have to seek out infor-
mation I prefer speaking to the one
person in the ISSS office that speaks
Chinese.”
Chen Xi
My biggest trouble here is the food.
I don’t feel there are many healthy
things to eat and what I do eat tends
to make me sick. Feeling sick all the
time is starting to affect my grades.
-China
“I’m not sure where to get information
on healthy food and getting around
town.”

2. Chen Xi’s Experience
Based on Leotyev’s Anatomy of Activity
Unit Description Object
Activity Chen Xi knows that she needs
Insurance Coverage
Chen Xi wants to stay within
her language group.
Chen Xi continues with the mo-
tive of the following experience
Travel (Affordable trips) She tries to get information goals. Over time Chen Xi has
Immigration Status from her group and also from the following motives but they
Financial Aid the Chinese speaking advisor are second nature and she
Social activities with other at the ISSS office. isn’t always conscious of them.
international students Her social motive is to stay Meet New People
and Knowledge of public within her comfort zone of Have Fun
transportation communication. Always reach
to succeed as a KU student. an advisor
Answer all questions
via web or smartphone
Academic confidence
Professional Feel
Action Chen Xi seeks completed pa-
perwork. International students
Chen Xi realizes there is a
deadline for her paperwork and
The goal of the activity is to
turn in the paperwork (stay in
must meet deadlines in order she needs to get the paper- status) even though her motive
to stay in ‘status.’ (Visa com- work turned in. She isn’t sure of the activity is to go to school
pleted, enrolled as students where to go or what to do. to have fun and meet new
etc.) people.
Operation Chen Xi is technologically
oriented so she is not aware
Chen Xi is searching for an-
swers: She tries her friends
Chen Xi has always been suc-
cessful in getting questions
that it may be easier to access and they don’t know so then answered at the ISSS so she
information from her phone on she tries the ISSS office as now walks straight to the office
the go. She is not aware of all they had provided information without searching for informa-
the information that she needs when she first arrived at KU. tion on her own.
to stay legal and get around.

3. KU
Second Generation
Tool
Activity Theory
Learning by Expanding: An
ISSS
activity-theoretical approach
Tools: Documen- to developmental research
tation of previous ac- (1987), Perspectives on
tions for reference, com- Activity Theory (1999)
puters, advisors, supportive
staff, telephones, web pages, pens, Yrjo Engestrom et al.
paper, office space...
Subject Objective
Subject: Internation-
al student from China
Chen Xi. Objective: Positive-
ly experience college life
in a different culture.
Community: The univer- Successfully complete courses
sity of Kansas with all of it’s within a different culture
traditions and the mixture
of cultures people bring
Division of Labor: the explicit
Rules: Immigration from different backgrounds. and implicit organization of the community
DL
Status, Insurance involved in the activity.
Explicit: ISSS Implicit: All other depart-
Coverage and Enrollment.
Rules Comm- ments at KU. Ex. Enrollment, Housing,
Bursor, Dining, etc.
unity

4. Outcome: Combine
information from
various sources in
one common easily
accessible place. That
fits into the schema of
Chen Xi’s technologi-
cally driven life.
Smartphone
App/Web page