Theoretical Framework - Situated Cognition & Implications for Teaching


Theoretical Framework

Model of Contextual Teaching

Shared experiences in authentic contexts. This model of instruction can begin at any point around the circle. A convenient place to begin our explanation of the model is with the experience. This is the same assumption made by John Dewey in the late 19th Century: Experience, learning and reflection are all connected. Learners often engage in learning experiences purposely set in authentic environments. Learning and teaching is most effective when it is experience-based. Therefore genuine contexts should be employed when it is practical to do so. However, financial, institutional, 텍스트 상자: ethical and sensible reasons can make it impossible to provide instruction in the context of actual work. However, our belief is to promote the idea that contexts should be authentic whenever possible. Or: The realer the better! It is important that the teacher should also have the same experience as do their students. It would be less useful for the teacher to say to the learner: “Go out and have an experience and then come back and tell me about it.” The power of this element of the model is in the mutual encounter with an experience. In this way the teacher has a common repertoire with the student that they can both explore in subsequent instruction. This approach allows for teachers to arrange for learners to have specific experiences germane to the purpose of the lesson. Our basic assumption is consistent with Wenger’s model for Communities of Practice (1998). We believe that learning is essentially social in nature. It is the complex patterns of interplay between the student and significant actors (teachers, students, and their families) that are crucial to the authenticity of the learning environment. In fact these rich social dynamics are very difficult to replicate in a simulation or in an abstract classroom. But they are critical to making learning seem more real, important and even urgent.