Week 9: Situated Cognition

Kevin Hansen's picture

This learning method is probably the closest to how I ran my classroom.  I figured that if I was going to teach my students anything about web development, it better be applicable and usable in the real world.  For this to happen, my classroom needed to imitate as much as possible the real world.

Learning

Anyway, learning is still, at least for me, the obtaining of knowledge and skills previously not obtained.  In light of situated cognition, and I agree with this, knowledge must be built within a context that makes sense.  Learning sentence structure, for example, makes no sense to me if it isn't within a context that warrants the understanding of it.  Learning it, for the sake of learning it, just won't create any kind of long-term retention.  Even if there is some fluke long-term retention, the ability to apply that knowledge to any practical situation may be quite another story.

Instructor's Role

The instructor's job should be to  create an environment in which learning happens in authentic situations that can  be related to and are similar to what will really be experienced in the real world.  This is  especially true in career-track subjects such as programming, cabinetry, photography, and others like these.

Groups:
Submitted by Kevin Hansen on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 9:48pm
~-~Pam~-~'s picture

I'm with you Kevin. I think

Submitted by ~-~Pam~-~ (not verified) on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 2:55pm.
I'm with you Kevin. I think that real world application is the best way to maximize retention. I remember having to write the dictionary definition for vocabulary words when I was in elementary school. It was more an exercise in handwriting than it was in vocabulary. All those words I wrote meant nothing to me. I was just trying to get them on the paper. I also think that situated cognition is more important in some subjects than it is in others, and web design would definitely be one of the ones that it is more important in.
Brian B.'s picture

Yeah, I remember memorizing

Submitted by Brian B. (not verified) on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 8:43pm.
Yeah, I remember memorizing the multiplication table and the 50 states and the capitals. That was excruciatingly painful and I really did not see the point. I actually was pretty much a nerd in most respects, but memorizing stuff with no clear application drove me crazy. The states where I remembered the capital of the state for a while was really only those states where I had been. So I remembered that the capital of Illinois was springfield, and that the capital of wisconsin was madison, and so forth, but I kept getting vermont and new hampshire confused, and to be frank I really did not know where Utah was. I knew the general direction and if you gave me a blank map of the US, I could label it, but I didn't really know much of anything about it and if someone asked me where it was I would say, oh out west.
Kevin Hansen's picture

ditto

Submitted by Kevin Hansen on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 7:17pm.
Frankly, I am surprised that I ever finished school at all.  I was one of those students that would not study for tests because I figured if my brain wouldn't hold on to it it wasn't worth knowing.
--
Kevin Hansen
 
James Wilson's picture

Bruner

Submitted by James Wilson on Tue, 07/14/2009 - 12:14pm.

Great question!  I am the same way. I learn what I need to so as to make progression or reach a goal. I think in general most students are the same way.  I like the idea of teaching the necessary stuff and leaving out the fluff.
I think motivating students to experiment and want to learn is half the battle.  All students learn at a different pace so realizing they will understand at different times is important to be a successful teacher.  Good observations.

Disclaimer

Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual authors or commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, or Utah State University.