ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that working to reform teaching, or what can be thought of as teaching against the grain, is not a generic skill that can be learned at the university and then "applied" at the school. Teaching against the grain is embedded in the culture and history of teaching at individual schools and in the biographies of teachers and their collaborative efforts to alter curricula, raise questions about common practices, and resist inappropriate decisions. The chapter analyzes two approaches to preparing preservice teachers to teach against the grain, critical dissonance and collaborative resonance. It also argues that programs built on the collaborative resonance of university and school have the potential to provide student teachers with unusually rich learning opportunities. The chapter analyses four urban schools in the Philadelphia area where student teachers work and talk with experienced teachers who are working against the grain.
