Situated learning

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Definition

Meaningful learning will only take place if it is embedded in the social and physical context within which it will be used. (Brown et al 1989) according to Oliver (2000).

Learning methods that are embedded in authentic situations are not merely useful; they are essential. (Brown et al 1989).

Situated learning occurs when students work on authentic tasks that take place in real-world setting (Winn, 1993).

Learning in real contexts

A longer quote from Notari (2003:16)

Situated cognition, a new paradigm of learning, emphasizes apprenticeship, coaching, collaboration, multiple practice, articulation of learning skills, stories, and technology (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989). "Community of practice," a concept emerging from situated cognition, emphasizes sharing and doing, construct meaning in a social unit (Roschelle, 1995). Situated learning occurs when students work on authentic tasks that take place in real-world setting (Winn, 1993). However, the very difference between the metacognition approach to learning and the situated belief of learning is that situated learning is usually unintentional rather than purposeful. These ideas are what Lave & Wenger (1991) call the process of "legitimate peripheral participation."

For Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) knowledge is a set of tools that need a context in order to be used and made explicit. The way in which knowledge will be used to solve a problem will be determined by the culture and the environment that encompasses an activity. "Thus in a significant way, learning is, we believe, a process of enculturation."(1989. p.3)

The concept of cognitive apprenticeship is central to situated learning.

Situated learning applied to instructional design

A longer quote from Notari (2003:16)

As Lave (1991) states that learning is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs, which contrasts with most classroom learning which is abstract and out of context (see also chapter about 'Activity theory' further more in this paper). Education can apply the two basic principles of situated cognition into classroom practice:

1. present in an authentic context,
2. encourage social interaction and collaboration.

It is believed that rich contexts can reflect students' interpretation of the real world and improve the knowledge being transferred to them in different situations. Collaboration can lead to the articulation of strategies that can then be discussed, which in turn can enhance the process of generalizing that is grounded in students' situated understanding.

Here is a longer quote from Brown et al. (1989, on-line version):

Figure 3 shows how, in the terms of cognitive apprenticeship, we can represent the progress of the students from embedded activity to general principles of the culture. In this sequence, apprenticeship and coaching in a domain begin by providing modeling in situ and scaffolding for students to get started in an authentic activity. As the students gain more self-confidence and control, they move into a more autonomous phase of collaborative learning, where they begin to participate consciously in the culture. The social network within the culture helps them develop its language and the belief systems and promotes the process of enculturation. Collaboration also leads to articulation of strategies, which can then be discussed and reflected on. This, in turn, fosters generalizing, grounded in the students' situated understanding. From here, students can use their fledgling conceptual knowledge in activity, seeing that activity in a new light, which in turn leads to the further development of the conceptual knowledge.

Figure 3: Students' Progress from Embedded Activity to Generality.

 	          Apprenticeship   Collaboration 	Reflection 	 
 WORLD/ACTIVITY 				                      GENERALITY
 	          Coaching 	   Multiple practice    Articulation

Design implications for learning environments

Building upon research and theories that computer-enhanced learning environments and microworlds can effectively bring the real-world environment into the classroom, Herrington and Oliver (1995) propose a model of instruction based on situated learning to be used in the design of learning environments. They suggest that the learning environment should:

Provide authentic context

Context should reflect the way the knowledge will be used in real-life including the complexity of the real-world situation, providing purpose and the possibility for extended exploration.The

Provide authentic activities

Activities should be ill-defined demanding that learners 'find' and 'solve' problems inherent in the situation and determine how they will accomplish the task.

Provide access to expert performances and the modelling of processes

Observation of expert performances allow for the accumulation of narratives and strategies that use the social environment as a resource. Video clips of experts at a task, for example, can be a rich resource.

Provide multiple roles and perspectives

Providing the learner with multiple opportunities to engage in an activity from differing perspectives will reveal different aspects of the situation.

Support collaborative construction of knowledge

Activities should encourage collaborative searches for suggestions and solutions to promote critical thinking.

Provide coaching and scaffolding at critical times

The learning environment should be available to intercept and offer hints and strategies when learners are unable to progress in the task.

Promote reflection to enable abstractions to be formed

The environment presentation of problems should require that the learner take the entire environment or situation into consideration when problem solving. In contrast to Mastery learning, a linear path through the content that is presented in isolated component is discouraged.

Promote articulation to enable tacit knowledge to be made explicit

Lave and Wenger (in Herrington and Oliver, 1995) Articulation of the vocabulary and the stories of a culture of practice that is an integral part of the situation presented within the learning environment, deepens a learner's understanding of a topic.

Provide for integrated assessment of learning within the tasks.

Assessment and feedback on a learner's progress and during tasks should be offered without resorting to tests.

Situated learning is also tied to the approach of Anchored instruction which "refers to instruction in which the material to be learned is presented in the context of an authentic event that serves to anchor or situate the material and, further, allows it to be examined from multiple perspectives. (Barab 2000:5)

Examples

See also some of the references !

• Deconstructing the Classroom: Situated learning on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Integrating distributed learning in work situations: A case study by Kristian Folkman

References

• Asan, A. (2003) School experience course with multimedia in teacher education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 19 (1), 21-34. doi: 10.1046/j.0266-4909.2002.02602.x Blackwell link

• Barab,S.A. K. E. Hay & T.M. Duffy (2000), Grounded Constructions and How Technology Can Help, CRLT Technical Report No. 12-00, The Center for Research on Learning and Technologyn, Indiana University.

• Brown, J.S., Collins, A. and Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-41. http://www.sociallifeofinformation.com/Situated_Learning.htm

• Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in Practice: Mind, mathematics, and culture in everyday life. Cambridge,UK: Cambridge University Press.< P> Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1990). Situated Learning: Legitimate Periperal Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

• Lave, J. and E. Wenger (1991), Situated learning. Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge University Press.

• Michele Notari (2003), Scripting Strategies In Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environments, Mémoire présenté pour l'obtention du DES STAF, TECFA FAPSE, Université de Genève. [1].

• Oliver, R. & J. Herrington (1995), Critical Characteristics of Situated Learning: Implications for the Instructional Design of Multimedia, Edith Cowan University, http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne95/smtu/papers/herrington.pdf, accessed April 20, 2006.

• Oliver, R. & J. Herrington (2000), Using Situated Learning as Design Strategy for Web-Based Learning, in B. Abbey, Instructional and Cognitive Impacts of Web-Based Education, 178-191.

• Winn, W. (1993). A constructivist critique of the assumptions of instructional design. In T. M. Duffy, J. Lowyck, & D. H. Jonassen (Eds.), Designing environments for constructive learning (pp. 189-212). Berlin: Springer-Verlag