Adaptation: The language of classroom learning

In this article, we propose a theory for understanding the processes of adaptation in classroom learning and interaction. Adaptation processes are the emergent, improvisational, and recursive relationships between tensions and how they subsequently reorder learning activities. Through the analysis of a representative example of classroom interaction, we illustrate that shifts and tensions in the course of ongoing learning activity (adaptations) lead to the creation of new knowledge and the actualization of curricula. This theoretical framework arises from research conducted as part of a 3-year longitudinal study of third and fourth grade science elementary school classrooms.