ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 views the Year of Isaiah through a situated lens to consider, broadly and deeply, interactions between personal (e.g., histories, interests, abilities, identities) and contextual (e.g., classroom, school, community) factors linked to the case. In addition, the Spirals of Inquiry framework for professional learning is used to support systematic, yet flexible, analysis of the problems the teacher and her students, including Isaiah, experienced that year. Together, these perspectives provide a thorough understanding of the context from multiple perspectives. A general description of the classroom, school, and community is provided before the focus turns to three critical incidents that prompted changes in the classroom context and improved the situation for Isaiah, Ms. Wright, and the other students.
