Situated Cognition & Communities of Practice

Situated Cognition takes its name from the idea that learning takes place as learners interact with one another and the world around them. That is, learning is a product of the activity or situation in which learning is developed and applied. Jean Lave who is one of the pioneers of this theory and coined the phrase “situated cognition” described this process as, the “nexus of relations between the mind at work and the world in which it works” (Lave, 1988, p.1). From a situated cognition point of view it’s impossible to separate what’s being learned from the learner, and the context in which learning takes place.

 

Maybe the simplest summation of Situated Cognition is “learning in doing” or “in the moment” rather than when we are removed from the moment or situation, like in a classroom where traditionally learning is designed to take place in our head.

 

Communities of Practice is an extension of Situated Cognition. In essence, we think and learn within the context of the different communities in which we are members. This theory is originally the work of Etienne Wenger. The theory describes how people gain opportunities to learn within communities. As a new member of a community an individual’s contributions are initially at the periphery of the socially created community. Members make their way to full-fledged community membership through meaningful contributions and demonstrating their competence to the community. Individuals also forge their identity within the community through their participation and contributions.

 

Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in Practice: Mind, mathematics, and culture in everyday life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.