ABSTRACT
In this chapter we examine the core activity of schools-learning and teaching. In the first section of the chapter, we argue that learning should be considered within the frame of partnerships and relationships, rather than examined as the achievement of individuals disconnected from their social and cultural contexts. Our view is based on contemporary theories that emphasise the centrality of processes of communication and language in student learning. In looking back at our own history of teaching, we note the continuity from the 1970s through to the present of certain key ideas regarding learning-notions such as the importance of student talk, small group interaction, learning how to learn, and developing inquiry strategies and skills. However, we also note that the dominant learning theories of the early 1970s underpinned classroom reforms that were short-lived. We argue that attention to the complementary and active roles of teachers and students in learning partnerships will produce reforms that are more effective in transforming classrooms. The product of our own partnership is summarised in the second section of the chapter. Working with ideas derived from a sociocultural model of learning (Renshaw, 1995), and from a model of classroom interaction called ‘collective argumentation’ (R.A.J. Brown, 1994), we draw out the central roles that teachers need to play in order to build effective learning partnerships with students. These roles include providing space in the classroom for the voice of students, supporting students to communicate their ideas in their own words and forms of representation, providing social scaffolds to engage children in exploratory talk about key concepts, challenging students to move towards more abstract and general representations, and providing the conditions where students can enact values that sustain a collaborative classroom community.
