In this commentary, theoretical principles pertaining to the role of epistemic cognition in teaching and professional development, synthesized from the content of this special issue on reflection and reflexivity, are proffered. These theoretical notions are then followed with a critical analysis of specific challenges encountered in enacting these…

The received view of mathematical practice is that mathematicians gain certainty in mathematical assertions by deductive evidence rather than empirical or authoritarian evidence. This assumption has influenced mathematics instruction where students are expected to justify assertions with deductive arguments rather than by checking the assertion…

Over the past decades research on learning has become more diverse and complex. The concern expressed by Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds (2009/this issue) is that this diversity of theoretical perspectives has resulted in a fragmentation that is destructive to the field. Although it is important to engage in explicit discussions of how learning…

This article presents a commentary on Stellan Ohlsson's (2009) theory of conceptual change by resubsumption and competitive evaluation of cognitive utility. We note two features of Ohlsson's theory that we think are particularly strong. We then argue that Ohlsson's theory explains one route to conceptual change but that there are many other routes…