Abstract
Students and teachers inevitably enter classrooms with differing expectations and
experiences; those differences provide opportunities for both conflict and growth. This article
examines this phenomenon in an undergraduate teacher education course on reading
instruction at the middle-school level, presents case studies of students’ improvisations in the
face of this tension, and makes implications for teachers and for teacher education regarding
these types of conflicts. Students in the course were middle-school education majors and
speech pathology majors; the educational backgrounds and identities of these students
presented lack of fit with each other and, for some, with the inquiry-based nature of the course
pedagogy. Using Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain’s (1998) concept of figured worlds,
our case studies present one speech pathology major – Kathryn – and one middle school major
– Allie – both of whom were successful in improvising their own ways through the conflict
between their backgrounds and the differing requirements and content of the reading
education course. We also provide implications for teachers and teacher educators who face
similar disjoints between their own figured worlds and those experienced in classrooms.