ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will consolidate what is currently known about the process of interthinking, drawing on the ideas and research findings we have discussed in previous chapters. Essentially, we aim to provide a sociocultural account of the process, of the kind we outlined in Chapter 1, which acknowledges the relationship between individual thinking and collective thinking, the cultural and social contexts in which people think collectively and the prime role that language plays in linking human minds. In the first part of the chapter, we will use the findings of educational research on classroom talk and psychological studies of the development of children’s thinking and communication skills to discuss how people learn to interthink and how individual thinking is related to collective thinking. Using the concepts we have discussed, we then offer an explanation of how and why collective thinking can be successful among people of any age, and relate that explanation to the various domains of activity we have discussed in the previous chapters.
