Cognitive Apprenticeship

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Cognitive Apprenticeship(John Seely Brown)

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Definition :

is a theory of the process where a master of a skill

teaches that skill to an apprentice.

This theory holds that masters of a skill often fail to take into account the implicit processes involved in carrying out complex skills when they are teaching novices.

To combat these tendencies, cognitive apprenticeships “…are designed, among other things, to bring these tacit processes into the open, where students can observe, enact, and practice them with help from the teacher…”


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprentice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive


This model is supported by Albert Bandura's (1997) theory of modeling, which posits that in order for modelling to be successful, the learner must be attentive, must have access to and retain the information presented, must be motivated to learn, and must be able to accurately reproduce the desired skill.

Part of the effectiveness of the

cognitive apprenticeship model

comes from learning in context and

is based on theories of

situated cognition.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bandura

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bandura

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situated_cognition


In cognitive apprenticeships, the activity being taught is modeled in real-world situations.

In the cognitive stage, learners develop

declarative understanding of the skill.

In the associative stage, mistakes and

misinterpretations learned in the cognitive stage

are detected and eliminated while associations

between the critical elements involved in the skill

are strengthened.

Finally, in the autonomous stage, the learner’s

skill becomes honed and perfected until it is

executed at an expert level.




Teaching Methods

Collins, Brown, and Newman developed six teaching methods rooted

in cognitive apprenticeship theory and claim these methods help

students attain cognitive and metacognitive strategies for "using,

managing, and discovering knowledge".



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_M._Collins

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Seely_Brown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognition


The first three (modeling, coaching, scaffolding) are at the

core of cognitive apprenticeship and help with cognitive

and metacognitive development.

The next two (articulation and reflection) are designed to

help novices with awareness of problem-solving

strategies and execution similar to that of an expert.

The final step (exploration) intends to guide the novice

towards independence and the ability to solve and identify

problems within the domain on their own.



1.Modeling

Modeling in cognitive apprenticeship means showing how a process unfolds and giving reasons why it happens that way (Collins, 1991). There are two kinds of modeling that can be used in education:

• Modeling of expert performance. This includes making the problem-solving process of experts explicit to students.

• Modeling of processes in the world. This includes making invisible parts of a process visible (e.g., photosynthesis processes).



These two kinds of modeling can be interwoven, especially when the problem includes the invisible parts of the process. In applying these two types of modeling in educational settings, two strategies are available to teachers:

• Modeling on the outset. Apprenticeships normally start with modeling and explaining the process that students are to use.

• Modeling after students' attempt at a task. Another strategy is to present the problem to the students first, let them think through the process, and then provide modeling of experts' processes.



The major responsibilities of the teacher during the modeling stage of cognitive apprenticeship are structuring situations of expert practice and demonstrating the expert's thinking process in a manner that does not overwhelm students (Rogoff, 1990).

The goal of this stage is to build mental models of experts' cognitive processes so that students can eventually work on their own.

Because it involves a process that cannot be directly observed and experienced, cognitive modeling requires more sophisticated planning to apply in classrooms

than does modeling of physical performance.



A key component of cognitive apprenticeship is that students

learn the cognitive processes in realistic contexts so that they may

process their thoughts accordingly in actual situations.

In the teaching of reading comprehension, teachers might use an

authentic newspaper and go through the process of reading and

comprehending an article.

Thus, students understand and build a conceptual model of the

comprehension process and its conditions for application in

conditions similar to real life situations (Collins, Brown, & Newman,

1989).



2. Coaching & Scaffolding

Coaching and scaffolding are two critical components of the cognitive apprenticeship model.

o These elements are addressed together because they share many characteristics.

o Although coaching does not enjoy the familiarity of its cousin scaffolding in the research literature, some researchers call it "the thread running through the entire apprenticeship experience" (Collins, Brown, & Holum, 1991).



Coaching may be seen as a broader term than scaffolding, however. In fact, scaffolding can be considered only one form of coaching. At this point a closer examination of coaching is in order.

Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) provide many examples of coaching, which they call "the process of overseeing the student's learning."

The goal of coaching can be simply summarized as the learner accomplishes the learning goal.



• The process of ensuring this goal may begin with helping learners choose their tasks (admittedly, not always an option), and may end with providing feedback to learners on their completed products.

• In between these steps, many other coaching strategies may be employed, including providing hints and scaffolding, evaluating how learners actually go about the process of learning, diagnosing problems, offering verbal and nonverbal encouragement, structuring lessons in ways that facilitate learning, and working with learners to overcome weaknesses.

• So, it can be said that coaching is the process of doing whatever it takes to assist learners in their learning, from start until finish. It is now instructive to turn to one of the components of coaching--scaffolding.



Of the six characteristics of the cognitive apprenticeship model, scaffolding is perhaps the best known and most discussed in the literature.

First, two definitions offered by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

• A temporary or movable platform for workers (as bricklayers, painters, or miners) to stand or sit on when working at a height above the floor or ground

• A supporting framework.



3. Articulation & Reflection

Articulation and Reflection are two more hallmarks of cognitive apprenticeship practices. These components are discussed together as they often go hand-in-hand in practice.

Articulation is defined as "the act of giving utterance or expression" (Merriam Webster's, 2001). In terms of cognitive apprenticeship, articulation is described by McLellan as consisting of two aspects: separating component knowledge and skills to learn them more effectively and, more common verbalizing or demonstrating knowledge and thinking processes in order to expose and clarify them.



Through articulation, the learners make their learning explicit through language so that community members have a basis of interaction to refine and expand understanding.

Articulation can be interwoven in a learning experience through a variety of strategies including discussion, demonstration, presentation, and the exchange of written or other learner-produced artifacts.



Merriam Webster's (2001) defines reflection as "consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose."

Reflection has been identified as one of the most important, yet neglected, aspects of learning and instruction. The founders of the Foxfire Project (1992), an innovative educational program for high school students, assert "...some conscious thoughtful time to stand apart from the work itself - is an essential activity that must take place at key points throughout the work.

It is the activity that evokes insights and nurtures revisions in our plans. It is also the activity we are least accustomed to doing, and, therefore, the activity we will have to be the most rigorous in including, and for which we will have to help students develop skills."



In the cognitive apprenticeship model of teaching and learning, reflection is yet another cornerstone activity.

The goal of reflection is that students have guided opportunities to look back and analyze their individual and group performance and artifacts with an eye toward understanding and improvement. Like other components of cognitive apprenticeship, reflection can be encouraged in students in a variety of ways.

For example, a mentor can pose experientially-based questions, or ask students to construct their own questions, throughout the learning experience --questions that consider content (e.g. who or what?) while emphasizing process (e.g. how and why?).



4. Exploration

Exploration in cognitive apprenticeship is pushing students to try out their hypotheses, methods, and strategies with processes similar to those that experts use to solve problems (Collins, 1991). Students are usually engaged in two kinds of exploration:



• Exploration of the world. Students explore and even play with facts, problems, phenomena, and properties of our world in a less structured learning environment (Rose, 1995).

• Exploration of problem solving processes. When novel problems that require adjustment of pre-existing cognitive processes are presented to the students, the learners try different problem-solving processes.



The responsibilities of the teacher to foster students' explorations include gradual fading of support, encouraging students' autonomy, and transferring responsibility to students (Rogoff, 1990).

The goal of the students is to actually use their mental models of experts' cognitive processes on their own or as a group to find and solve problems, set achievable goals, test hypotheses, and make their own discoveries (Collins, 1991).

Through exploration, learners are encouraged to carry out expert problem-solving processes on their own. Exploration also promotes learner autonomy in defining or formulating the problems to be solved (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989).



• Learners become independent of the teacher and begin to apply what experts do regarding forming and testing hypotheses, formulating rules, and gathering information. Once they are in problem-solving mode, students are forced to make discoveries on their own.

• By doing so, they experience what it is like to be a scientist, historian, or mathematician because they are thinking and performing like these professionals.



• It is the teacher's responsibility to find general tasks that students will find interesting. The goals should be broad enough so that students or student groups can find their own achievable goals.

• Goals for exploration should take into account thinking and the learning process. Goals that only require rote memorization or simple physical practice should not be considered.

• Solving problems that require inductive reasoning and resolving situations that are puzzling encourage student involvement (Shunk, 2000).



Thus far, it is evident that the two classrooms differ drastically in the extent to which elements of the cognitive apprenticeship model are present in class activities; it is to be expected that a similar disparity would exist in the use of exploration.




Example of Cognitive

Apprenticeship in the Real World




CoVis is an integrated learning environment of visualization and communication tools. The visualization tools model the processes of non-visible weather

phenomena. Students learning in the CoVis environment engage in open-ended scientific investigations and explorations that resemble the authentic practices of scientists. The communication tools provide channels for both synchronous and

asynchronous collaboration with other students and mentors. The mentors provide coaching/scaffolding of the science practice. The software systems of the CoVis

environment include an asynchronous networking system, the Collaboratory Notebook. It provides the mechanism for recording activities, sorting artifacts, and sharing the working process with others. Through this mechanism, students reflect

and articulate their scientific inquiry processes and the knowledge they gain through the processes.


Date post:	13-Nov-2014
Category:	Education
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Cognitive Apprenticeship

Education