Crossing divides: The legacy of Graham Nuthall

Graham Nuthall's work cuts across methodological and conceptual divides that have worked against the development of a theory of learning and teaching that is at once predictive and practical. The micro-genetic approach to research on learning in classrooms that he developed with Adrienne Alton-Lee successfully transcends the unhelpful dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative methods. Crossing the borders between the individual focus of cognitive psychology and the central role of social activity of sociocultural theory, he has suggested a synthesis that is both grounded in social context and predictive of individual learning. His theoretical contribution can become still more useful by extending it to the larger realities of students’ lives outside of the classroom by relating it to dynamic notions of culture and identity.