Learning K-8

learned in classrooms?1 These questions will be addressed from a sociocultural perspective, which means that the unit of analysis (both theoretically and methodologically) should include both the individual and the social world (Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1985). Thus, the proposed connections between causes and outcomes must include contextual as well as psychological factors (Rogoff, 1998). Sociocultural theory provides many conceptual tools for studying the processes of learning science in educational settings. In addition, methodological tools from sociolinguistics have been incorporated that facilitate analysis of complex educational environments with multiple causal influences o