ABSTRACT
In the early chapters of this book, we described a sociocultural theoretical perspective on teaching, learning and development and explained why we thought it provided a useful basis for understanding the functions of dialogue in the classroom. In the later chapters, we have shown how this perspective has been used in classroom research. An alternative name for sociocultural theory is ‘socio-historical’ theory, because (compared with other approaches to learning and development) it emphasizes that the development of human knowledge, collectively and individually, has a historical dimension. In this chapter, we will pursue this theme by looking at how time is used as a resource in dialogue, as teachers and learners talk and work together.
