Time and again in this century the impulse to improve public schools has fallen short of reformist hopes. One reason for limited progress has been the absence of a basis for understanding and correcting teaching and schooling. Although the ideas of Vygotsky are having a profound influence on education, they are not alone sufficient to construct a fully satisfying theory of education. The achievements of social, cognitive, and behavioral science – achievements that have detailed the processes of learning in social interactions – must be brought into conjunction with the neo-Vygotskian understanding now being created. Such a union of neo-Vygotskian and behavioral/cognitive scientific principles can accelerate the impact of research on the practice of teaching and schooling and radically increase the explanatory power of neo-Vygotskian theory (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988).

Constructing a theory of education

For over 100 years, there has been ample evidence that recitation, not teaching, is the predominant experience of American school children. Sitting silently, students read assigned texts, complete “ditto” sheets, and take tests. On those rare occasions when they are encouraged to speak, teachers control the topic and participation. Connected discourse occurs so rarely that observation detects barely a trace (e.g., Durkin, 1978–1979; Goodlad, 1984). Even in more effective classrooms, teachers do little that meets any acceptable image of serious interactive teaching.