One of the weightiest problems with which the philosophy of
education has to cope is the method of keeping a proper balance
between the...incidental and the intentional, modes of education.
When the acquiring of information and of a technical intellectual
skill do not influence the formation of a social disposition,
ordinary vital experience fails to gain in meaning. (Dewey,
1916, Democracy in Education)
Rooted in Deweyan pragmatism,
Situated Learning, first proposed by Lave (1990) is an evolving
theory that emphasizes the relationship between student and environment,
proposing that learning is inexorably mediated by the influence
of culture; the communities of practice in which a learner lives
influence to a significant degree the content of instruction and
the motivation of the learner.
Situated Learning is closely related to Anchored
Instruction, an earlier pedagogical model developed by
John Bransford in the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt
University that proposes the use of "anchors" or realistic
contexts to encourage students to solve complex problems or case
studies. Anchored Instruction has since provided an oft-quoted
theoretical framework for technology-rich instructional environments.
It is interesting to note that hardcore situativity theorists
criticize Anchored Instruction
for the highly contrived nature
of the contexts provided (for example, the movie scenes depicted
in The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury), and argue that
a better model is an authentic
context, one in which learning is directly related to a real environmental
need. Consider the Problem-Based-Learning
model as an example. Learners are motivated not because the the
targeted knowledge is necessary to solve the given problem, but
rather because the problem itself is immediately relevant to their
context, to their environment.
But not every environment provides a feasible
authentic context in which students may engage in directly authentic
learning tasks. Do financial analysts use their own monies to
practice investing? Must NASA wait until astronauts are orbiting
before initial training? Of course not. Thomas Sticht's (1976)
Functional Context theory bridges
nicely the idealistic shortcomings of authentic learning environments
by proposing that instructors need to develop learning environments
that closely approximate real-world tasks to ensure adequate transfer
and performance.
Cognitive apprenticeship is a popular
but resource intensive instructional model derived from Situated
Learning theory. Consider the role that field internships play
in a variety of professional fields as examples--student teaching,
medical residencies, assistant coaching...etc.
References
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1990).
Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press.
Sticht, T.G. (1976). Comprehending
reading at work. In M. Just & P. Carpenter (eds.), Cognitive
Processes in Comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
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