Vygotskian Perspectives on Literacy Research: Constructing Meaning through Collaborative Inquiry

by Edited by Carol D. Lee , Peter Smagorinsky

• ISBN13: 9780521630955
• ISBN10: 0521630959
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-11-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The authors in this collection use Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theory of human development to frame their analyses of schooling, with particular emphasis on the ways in which literacy practices are mediated by social interaction and cultural artifacts. This volume extends Vygotsky’s cultural-historical theoretical framework to embrace nuances of learning and development that are influenced by culture as instantiated through the experiences of race, ethnicity, and language variation. Rather than seeking to provide definitive answers to social questions using Vygotsky’s core principles, the authors wrestle with educational problems through the mediation of Vygotsky’s theory. In doing so, they both sharpen their focus on the problems and speak back to Vygotsky, helping to extend the foundation of his work to address modern problems. This collection serves as a form of collaborative inquiry that itself will stimulate further consideration of these topics.

Table of Contents

In Memoriam	page ix
Contributors	xi
Introduction: Constructing Meaning through Collaborative Inquiry	1	(18)
Carol D. Lee
Peter Smagorinsky
Part I Paradoxes in Vygotsky's Account of Development
Vygotsky's Two Minds on the Nature of Meaning	19	(12)
James V. Wertsch
Creativity and Collaboration in Knowledge Construction	31	(20)
Vera P. John-Steiner
Teresa M. Meehan
Part II Studies of Collaborative Inquiry
Dialogic Inquiry in Education: Building on the Legacy of Vygotsky	51	(35)
Gordon Wells
Consequential Progressions: Exploring Collective- Individual Development in a Bilingual Classroom	86	(41)
Le Ann G. Putney,
Judith Green,
Carol Dixon,
Richard Duran,
Beth Yeager
Linking Writing and Community Development through the Children's Forum	127	(23)
Anne Haas Dyson
Synchronic and Diachronic Dimensions of Social Practice: An Emerging Methodology for Cultural-Historical Perspectives on Literacy Learning	150	(15)
Kris D. Gutierrez
Lynda D. Stone
Idiocultural Diversity in Small Groups: The Role of the Relational Framework in Collaborative Learning	165	(26)
Peter Smagorinsky
Cindy O'Donnell-Allen
Signifying in the Zone of Proximal Development	191	(35)
Carol D. Lee
Teachers' Developing Philosophies on Literacy and Their Use in Urban Schools: A Vygotskian Perspective on Internal Activity and Teacher Change	226	(30)
Arnetha F. Ball
Inspired by Vygotsky: Ethnographic Experiments in Education	256	(13)
Luis C. Moll
Author Index	269	(5)
Subject Index	274