Dorothy (The Open University, UK) Faulkner & Karen (The Open University, UK) Littleton 
Learning Relationships in the Classroom [PDF ebook] 

This reader explores the nature of interactions between children and their teachers in the classroom. It emphasises the importance of such relationships for children”s learning and for educational practice.
Part 1 looks at different cultural conceptions of the teacher-learner relationship, and how this relates to schooling, cognitive development and the aquisition of knowledge.
Part 2 takes a closer look at the role of language and dialogue in interactions between adults and children in classrooms.
Part 3 describes research by developmental psychologists on peer interaction and collaborative learning, and discusses how it has advanced our understanding of how children learn from each other.
Part 4 considers the implications of classroom-based collaborative learning initiatives and the potential for creating ”communities of enquiry” which change how we think about knowledge acquisition.