Public rhetoric pedagogy can benefit from an ecological perspective that sees change as advocated not through a single document but through multiple mundane and monumental texts. This article summarizes various approaches to rhetorical ecology, offers an ecological read of the Montgomery bus boycotts, and concludes with pedagogical insights on a…

In the process of working through evaluation of efforts to transform undergraduate laboratory experiences at our institution, we developed a protocol for observing laboratory learning environments that could be used in varying institutional contexts. We began using the Instructional Practices Inventory and found many strengths in this protocol but…

This article draws on a small-scale case study of English pre- and in-service Further Education (FE) trainee teachers from a northern university. It explores their understanding of notions of well-being and health. In particular, it examines trainees' orientation to care as well as their constructions of learners. It analyses two contradictory but…

This article seeks to apply the informal learning theory of guided participation to the formal primary L2 classroom. Utilising the concept of guided participation, in which the process of learning is defined as a collaborative interaction between expert and novice leading to a transformation of participation in community activity, the author…

This paper presents the results of a research study on preservice English teachers' understandings of the interconnection of literacy and technology in relation to their teaching practices. The study was conducted in an English education program among preservice teachers enrolled in a year-long internship. The data analyzed consisted of interview…

This article provides a deeper understanding of how young bilinguals constructed meaning with expository texts in an inquiry-based setting over an academic year. An examination of classroom transcripts and analysis revealed how "Viewing" became the most frequently used literacy practice and a cultural tool in the construction of meaning…

"Pragmatics & Language Learning. Volume 13" examines the organization of second language and multilingual speakers' talk and pragmatic knowledge across a range of naturalistic and experimental activities. Based on data collected among ESL and EFL learners from a variety of backgrounds, the contributions explore the nexus of pragmatic…

This article explores the issue of identity as revealed by the discourse of two trainee teachers' microteaching classes which formed part of their vocational Masters programme in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Transcripts are used to explore possible modifications in ESL trainees'…

In this paper we report on the process of argument construction in whole class discussions and how this was used by participants as a tool for joint meaning-making. The study draws on Vygotsky's view of learning as the active construction of knowledge and on theories of argumentation. Most previous research in South African science classrooms has…

Models and modeling are considered integral parts of scientific literacy, reflecting educators' efforts to introduce and engage students in authentic scientific inquiry through Modeling-based Learning (MbL) approaches in science. Over the years research has developed a considerable amount of knowledge concerning MbL. Our purpose in this paper was…

If assignments are to present clear arguments that a reader may follow without confusion or rereading, learners need to master a range of thematic options and employ them in proportions appropriate to the target genre. This paper builds upon recent theoretical work on a) genre differences in terms of thematisation between two British newspapers,…

We report on a study that used observations, conversations, and formal interviews to explore literacy instruction in 24 lower-primary classrooms in coastal Kenya. Specifically, we report the ways literacy instruction is delivered and how that delivery aligns with practices understood to promote reading acquisition. We find (1) prioritization of…

This paper critically examines the discursive (mis) representation of "race" and racism in the formal curriculum. Combining qualitative data derived from interviews with 35 young people who were enrolled in a Dublin-based, ethnically diverse secondary school, with a critical discursive analysis of 20 textbooks, the paper explores…

As academic interest in Chinese complementary schools has grown, insufficient attention has been paid to the role and experiences of teachers working in these schools. This paper has drawn from accounts of Chinese complementary schoolteachers in London, together with the author's personal experiences of working as a teacher in one such school. The…

We use the theory of communities of practice and the concept of accountable disciplinary knowledge to describe how a learning community develops in the context of an upper-division physics laboratory course. The change in accountable disciplinary knowledge motivates students' enculturation into a community of practice. The enculturation process is…