ABSTRACT
The realm of teaching has been shattered by new theories of development that stress the active role of learners in their interactions with their teachers. Socio-cultural theories refer to these interactions as kinds of guided participation (Rogo, 1990). And the term didactics that refers to perennial techniques teachers use in dierent domains has denitely bad press nowadays (especially in Anglo-Saxon countries). The legacy of Comenius seems less relevant to a world in which the becoming of the learner does not consist only of conforming to the values of an immutable society and of acquiring the canons of scientic or professional elds. Rather the learner is expected to explore ideas, social relationships or identity. Researchers in identity development put conformity at a stage behind the ultimate stage of exploration. In this context, the role of the teacher is particularly complicated because communication between teacher and learners traditionally involves power relations-the domination of the teacher over his/her pupils (Cazden, 2001).
