Conceptual resourcefulness and actionable concepts: Concepts revisited

Abstract

This chapter and Chap. 18 explore two areas of resourcefulness that are implicated in professional work. In this chapter we focus on conceptual resourcefulness. We start with an important but neglected distinction between concepts in the mind and concepts in discourse. The two are often conflated. Distinguishing between abstract, contextual and situated concepts allows us to clarify the nature of connections between conceptual knowledge and situated action and to argue that actionable concepts play an important role in professional work. We call the ability to make use of appropriate concepts in the flux and flow of demanding professional work conceptual resourcefulness. We show how this functions, through an example drawn from our studies of preservice teachers planning a lesson.