On reading recipes and racing forms"-The literacy practices and perceptions of vocational educators "On reading recipes and racing forms"-The literacy practices and perceptions of vocational educatorsThis study shows that literacy practices in vocational classrooms mirror the best documented strategies of teaching reading in the content areas.

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This article discusses situated cognition research and its impact on literacy studies concepts and instruction. It provides a brief historical comparison of cognitive psychology and situated cognition and emphasizes the importance of understanding the complex relationships that exist between learners, the settings in which they engage in cognitive activities, and the reconceptualization of time and its usage. Two classroom strategies derived from the work of Jean Lave and Sylvia Scribner are discussed in depth, as are the lives of students who benefited from these approaches. The author emphasizes the need for cognitive activities that begin in the classroom to continue after the class has ended and encourages educators and researchers to further examine the nature of adaptive thinking and working intelligence. Instead of teacher training courses placing emphasis on teachers' mastery of “closure” of the 40‐minute lesson, courses should encourage teachers to allow their students to engage in problem‐solving opportunities that will persist after instruction has ended. Finally, the article asserts that processes of deriving meaning from reading and writing require components of positive affect in order to be successful and that further studies are needed to explore the nature of adaptive thinking and working intelligence.

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Purpose There is more to culturally responsive teaching than selecting multicultural texts and designing inclusive lesson. This paper aims to support teachers in becoming more culturally responsive by guiding them in how to recognize and respond to microaggressions in their daily interactions with students, colleagues, and parents. Design/methodology/approach Microaggressions have been defined as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color”. Findings When classroom interactions contain microaggressions, students are damaged in both seen and unseen ways. Interactions between teachers, students and parents afford powerful occasions to analyze classroom communication and provide windows into the nature of student–student, student–teacher and teacher–parent relationships. Practical implications Regardless of where, when, why or how they occur, these interactions provide brief opportunities for culturally responsive teachers to demonstrate that they respect their students’ home and community cultures, accept who their students are and honor the education that they receive both inside and outside of school. Social implications Becoming more adept at recognizing and addressing microaggressions is one way that teachers can become more culturally responsive. For students, being able to identify and respond more effectively to microaggressions creates greater opportunities for all students to think critically and engage in social action. Originality/value This paper presents an original viewpoint on identifying and reducing microaggressions in classrooms and school communities.