ABSTRACT
In this symposium four researchers offer interconnected perspectives on diversity in learning. Each conducts learning and teaching research with different audiences, in different learning settings, different disciplines, and, sometimes, different language. All four, however, share related theoretical perspectives, common videographic data collection and analysis methods for studying the nature of learning, and an emphasis on analyzing dialogic and gestural communication. They all work, too, with populations that are typically excluded from advancement in academic pursuits, Their research settings span elementary and middle school classrooms, after school settings, and museums. Their common goal is to move beyond mere description of learning in varied contexts, towards abstracting features common to all four research agendas, in order to discuss how these common features impact academic access for diverse populations.
