Blog #9 - What is learning?

Rhonda Adams's picture

Usually I post how my learning definition has changed, and rarely talk about the learning theory of the week.  Well, this week I am discussing the theory of the week because it impacted my learning so much. 

Our theory this week was Situated Cognition.  I read the name and said "what?"  Sounds stuffy.  When I read the week's reading by Brown I was still lost.  All those big words, all the names, my head started to spin.  So then I went on a quest.  I explopred the web for the learning theory.  As i explored I began to realize that the theory of the week was what I had just done.  Trial and error.  Finding the answer through experiences.  In further reflection it became obvious that in my opinion, situated cognition is simply an extension of the Big 6 style of instruction.  I may be way off, but it helped me get through this week. 

 

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Submitted by Rhonda Adams on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 8:06am
Carlee Christensen's picture

Agreed

Submitted by Carlee Christensen on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 12:22pm.

Rhonda, I am glad I read your blog post this week.  It has helped me too understand this weeks theory.  I was a little lost in the readings as well, sometimes I think I need a book called Learning Theories for Dummies!  I think most of real life learning is through situated cognition, we don't know unless we fail.  I am terrible at backing up trailers etc.  One day I was helping my husband on the farm, and he asked me to back up the four wheeler with a long trailer behind.  It was definitely a trial and error experience!  But you know, now I can kind of back up a trailer!

Brian B.'s picture

I had a ford crown victoria

Submitted by Brian B. (not verified) on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 9:05pm.
I had a ford crown victoria station wagon (one of those huge station wagons they used to have that you can fit whole sheets of drywall in) and had to back my family's boat down the boat launch ramp. That was a challenge. Now according to situated cognition I should have learned as an apprentice of an expert, like a semi truck driver. As it turned out I learned through trial and erro but it would have been oh so nice to have been an apprentice.
Angela Sauro's picture

Learning

Submitted by Angela Sauro on Tue, 07/14/2009 - 9:08pm.

I wish I had read your post right away.  I had some trouble at first trying to figure out exactly what this theory was.  I also looked around on the internet but it still wasn't jumping out at me.  I then went back to the article and realized that at the example at the beginning about learning words through ordinary converstation was the part I was looking for all along to make me understand  this theory.  Once I read that for the 3rd time, I realized that it was kind of like a just go for it and learn as you go.  I thought of it as a hands on kind of learning. 

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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.