Hall, S. (1997). Representation, meaning, and language. In S. Hall (Ed.), Representation. Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, pp. 15–

Annotated Bibliography
In his chapter on Representation, meaning and language, Hall discusses three approaches to representation: reflective, intentional, and constructionist. Though the chapter focuses on the constructionist approach, the reflective approach is defined as one where words simply convey meaning already existing in the object or world. This is discarded since, words can also represent things that do not exist, or exist in different states, such as a sheep and a drawing of a sheep. The Intentional approach is explained as being very relativistic, meaning that everyone creates their own meaning and that it is specific to the person. The author makes the argument that this is not an accurate approach because then everyone could speak in their own made up language and expect to be understood.
The constructionist approach is more of a living organic one. The meanings and the words, signs and language evolves through time along with social norms. In this approach, things themselves don't have an inherent word or meaning associated, we ascribe those meanings to different things. The key is that the things can be differentiated, for example different colors or even types of snow. By being able to identify differences between things, we can assign a value however mutable and use that as its meaning.
The linguist Sassure contributed significantly to representation and linguistics. Sassure broke language or "signs" down into two elements, the actual word or photo etc and the concept of the object in your mind. He calls these the signifier and the signified.
My Thoughts
In terms of interaction design, the idea and definition of representation is important because often the only way a designer communicates with a student or end user is through representation and language. It is important to keep in mind that these students might be part of a culture that is different than the designer's which could impact the understanding and ability for students to learn, or for proper communication of material to take place.