My intellectual commitments derive from Jean Lave, Courtney Cazden, Fred Erickson, Kris Gutierrez–social practice theory. Linguists such as James Crashen come to the same conclusion from a different angle. Teachers who actually use an alternate definition of learning in their classrooms see students thrive as learners. That makes the scholarly work worthwhile.
How then do we move teachers away from assumptions about learning that create inequality toward an inclusive education for all? I think Rosebery & Warren’s research is a key. They work with small groups of teachers over years to facilitate their understanding of what students are actually doing when they talk about science.
Through the social practice theory lens, teaching is a social practice based on common assumptions of what learning is. My experience is that people don’t like to examine their cultural assumptions, and that the work requires patience and persistence. I’m working on how teachers construct identities, that is, their ideas of what it means to be a teacher, and what sorts of activities support identity change.