Situated Cognition and Cognitive Apprenticeship

As highlighted by Brown et al. (1989), a number of traditional teaching and training practices act under the assumption that conceptual knowledge is independent of the situations in which it is learned and used. These practices assume that the activity and context in which learning takes place are ancillary to learning and distinct to what is learned.

On the other hand, situated cognition is a theory which emphasizes that people’s knowledge is constructed within and linked to the activity, context, and culture in which it was learned. As a theoretical approach to human learning, situated cognition supports the notion that learning takes place when an individual is doing something. By this theory, the activity and situations are no longer ancillary, but integral to cognition and learning.

As a lifelong learner and educator, these ideas strongly resonate with me. I experience and regard learning as something that is social and not isolated, as people learn while interacting with each other through shared activities and through language, as they discuss, share knowledge, and problem-solve during these tasks.

One such teaching and learning approach that embodies the principles of situated cognition is cognitive apprenticeship, which “embeds learning in activity and makes intentional use of the social and physical context” (Brown et al., 1989, p. 32).

Collins et al. (1991) identify three practices for teachers and instructional design practitioners to translate the model of traditional apprenticeship to cognitive apprenticeship. They include:

• “identify the processes of the task and make them visible to students;
• situate abstract tasks in authentic contexts, so that students understand the relevance of the work; and
• vary the diversity of situations and articulate the common aspects so that students can transfer what they learn” (p. 3).

The authors describe three success models of teaching in the foundational domains of reading, writing, and mathematics, illustrating how these models embody cognitive apprenticeship.

Considering the practices and models of cognitive apprenticeship, how have/might you, as an instructional designer, apply the ideas of cognitive apprenticeship in your context?

References:

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning.Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.

Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Holum, A. (1991). Cognitive apprenticeship: Making thinking visible. American Educator.