Standards for Pedagogy: Research, Theory and Practice

The dominant form of pedagogy in classrooms of America, Japan, and other industrialized countries continues to be whole-class instruction. The pervasive assumption is that knowledge is transmitted to students through direct instruction with occasional individual assistance. Students are seen as individuals, and the success or otherwise of learning as predominantly reflecting their individual attributes and talents. In contrast, the cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) of learning and development takes the view that knowledge emerges through social and cultural activity during community participation. To the focus on individual attributes, this perspective adds an emphasis on the ways students' attributes play out in interaction and activity with others (Boaler, 1999; Tharp & Gallimore, 1988, Wells, 2000). This view of knowledge development demands a quite different script, a different pattern of classroom activity settings, a different vision.