Introduction

There are always multiple perspectives on what occurs in learning contexts-at the very least there are the perspectives of the students, the teacher, and the content/or context. Research typically overlooks the complexity of classroom life that is rife with conflict, intersectionality, and competing goals-in other words a sound recognition of the human experience. This book positions teachers’ transformational experiences as central to understanding and using research in educational psychology. It centers around three cases of transformational experiences of teaching and learning. Following each case are three analyses from educational psychologists representing relevant perspectives in the field (e.g., cognition, motivation, assessment, identity development, peer relations) and focused on a specific “actor”: the student, teacher, or context. The goal of this book is to make visible the complex and personal realities of classroom life while offering an analysis informed by theory and empirical research to help explain the transformational experiences described.