ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how activities and assignments in a graduate-level course can function holistically as material tools mediating a beginning teacher through a trio of dynamics. It focuses on how the activities and assignments functioned as structured mediational spaces and how Patrick took them up at-a-distance, and thus illustrates the evolution of his professional development. The course syllabus described in the chapter was a graduate-level course that examined "different theoretical approaches to the concept of genre and how it has informed approaches to second language teaching", focusing on both written and spoken genres. The chapter explains that the teacher educator's mediational intent behind assigning the narrative inquiry was connected to this definition. It highlights the value of obuchenie as portraying the actions and intentions of teaching and learning, the interconnection between the teacher educator and the teacher. The chapter shows how Patrick identified and developed his identity-in-activity through the activities/assignments of his formal learning context.
