This paper presents and discusses the life and intellectual production of Marilyn Cochran-Smith, as well as the major theoretical constructs developed by her in collaboration with Susan Lytle, such as communities of inquiry, teacher research, inquiry as stance and teacher learning for social justice. It also lists some Brazilian authors and studies that have attempted to use Cochran-Smith's concepts and to establish dialogues based on the ideas developed by her and Lytle. Some contributions made by the authors to these studies are emphasized, particularly in relation to teacher research and to the learning and development in teacher inquiry communities. Finally, to increase the debate about these ideas, and get her current opinion about the teacher's research and the Obama administration's education policies, the full text of the interview conducted by the authors with Cochran-Smith is presented. The interview took place in December 2012, at Boston College.2165505524