Designed as formative action research, this study investigates the semester-long development of writing pedagogy of four interns in an advanced methods literacy course. Through the lenses of Activity Theory, scaffolding, and reflection for learning, the study asks: 1) How do interns navigate internship experiences in the content of their course work and internship contexts with regard to text, context, and politics as they develop pedagogy for writing? and 2) How do I, as a literacy teacher educator/researcher, scaffold pedagogical development in writing instruction while acknowledging the various and varied textual, contextual and political experiences of four interns in my course? Qualitative analysis of intern assignments, reflections on teaching, and conversations about our work in the advanced literacy methods course resulted in six themes as important for teacher educators as they work with interns learning to teach writing: 1) Texts facilitate curricular modification; 2) Texts facilitate the emergence of interns as writing teachers; 3) Attention to context and its proximal resources can support the discovery and use of instructional tools; 4) Attention to context and its distal resources can support the discovery and use of intern/mentor relationships; 5) Translating scripted curriculum is difficult; and 6) Retro-fitting scripted curriculum to meet the needs and interests of students can be a confusing process. Findings suggest that designing opportunities for responsive teaching is important during the development of writing pedagogy. Implications for teacher educators, professional development, and policymakers are listed.
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