L. S. Vygotsky, the psychologist and teacher from Byelorussia who became a central figure in Soviet psychological and educational circles in the 1920s and 1930s, has become a frequent citation in 21st-century scholarship. He is most-often invoked to support some form of instructional scaffolding, based on his idea of the zone of proximal…

In this article, we look closely at the way power circulates through school routines with ordinary texts in everyday moments. We address texts that support different types of achievement and how critical literacy helps us redefine achievement and examine what we're doing with texts and students in classrooms. We interrogate the notion of…

Low-income male students of color are among the populations experiencing the least amount of success in the current arrangements of school, described by some as part of the "the boy crisis" in education. This article draws on a year long ethnographic study of a single-sex, all-male classroom in a public middle school. It explores their experiences…

In this paper, the author looks at how she attempted to teach her students--preservice teachers--to engage in dialogic conversation about gay and lesbian identity using children's literature with gay and lesbian characters as a jumping off point. Through her analysis, the author has identified two requirements for dialogic conversation among…

What features of the physical environment in video game arcades lead kids to be so engaged? How can analysis of arcade space inform language arts teachers' decisions about designing classroom environments? This article presents an analysis of physical space in video game arcades and participants' positions therein to suggest how language arts…

Teachers and preservice teachers offered initial assumptions about children and families from backgrounds different from their own, "Letting them speak Spanish in school will hinder their ability to learn English and also hold back the other children" and "His house will be messy and dirty." Through experiences in the children's homes and…

This paper describes diverse language learners' use of dialogue journaling in an elementary school setting. The author, a teacher researcher, conducted a qualitative research study with eight participants, ranging from fourth to sixth grade; all were learners adding English to their language repertoire. Through an in-depth analysis of student…

The research reported in this article invites educators to rethink their assumptions about students and families. Using data from a qualitative, longitudinal teacher-research study, the author presents seven lessons that she has learned from the families of her students and challenges other teachers to seek ways to learn about the families they…

Narrated by a "researcher"-teacher, drawing from an interactional ethnographic and sociolinguistics perspective, he re-examines his previous teaching practices as a teacher-researcher in order to build a conceptual model for communities-based learning. This article reveals the discursive ways that linguistically and culturally diverse second and…

This article investigates the attitudes and feelings of United States public school teachers about those they often see as "others"--people unlike themselves. What does research tell us might be the consequences of teachers' attitudes and feelings towards students and their families? What can we learn about diversifying the teacher pool from…

In this article, the author reflects on his daughter's experiences at home and at school as she moves into a new culture and language. This article reflects on how he and his wife and the teachers helped their daughter, Yisha with her English acquisition. Within the year, Yisha became fluent in English and finished all her courses with straight…

This article examines the lives of four multilingual students, their classmates, and teacher as they use a range of semiotic systems to learn from, with, and about each other and their surrounding social worlds. Research reveals how literacy practices not only built on students' resources but also invited critique and change. (Contains 5 figures.)

The cultural resources of migrant children may be excluded or devalued in the regular school curriculum, which is shown taking into consideration the interactions of a teacher with his student, Carmen. The migrant students took interest in their educational development, which in turn resulted in improving their performance and making them…

The way in which the culture of ethnography has been developed in classrooms that encourages teachers and students to question, doubt, reflect, revise and remain open to new possibilities, is discussed. Through the documentation of interactions and talks between teachers and students, a critical examination of the teachers and capabilities and…

Discusses how a group of lunchtime gamers mentored their teacher to help her understand and appreciate the art form of anime. Considers how students create a space within the school building and school day to pursue personal literacy practices. Notes that these students were able to take school-based strategies and retool them to fit out-of-school…