Argues for a new theoretical perspective on representations that is centered around the notion of inscriptions, graphical representations recorded in and available through some medium. The social practices of inscription users are receiving research attention. Implications for classroom learning-environments are discussed. (SLD)

Reviews existing literature on gestures and teaching in anthropology, linguistics, psychology, and education and, in the context of several concrete analyses of gesture use, articulates some focal questions relevant to educational research on knowing, learning, and teaching. (SLD)

The authors describe an evolving theoretical framework that has been called one of the best kept secrets of academia: cultural-historical activity theory, the result of proposals Lev Vygotsky first articulated but that his students and followers substantially developed to constitute much expanded forms in its second and third generations. Besides…