SAFILT Underpinning Learning Theories: Situated Learning (Jean Lave)

Overview:

Essentially, the concept of situated learning is to do with the process of learning itself rather than any particular educational form, such as methods of teaching or (in particular) apprenticeship models. So to take medicine as an example, it is the interaction that the learner has with what is required to be learned rather than the methods and materials for learning themselves which create the environment for learning.

Lave suggests that learning as it normally occurs is a function of the activity, context and culture in which it occurs (i.e., it is situated in these domains). This contrasts with much classroom learning activity involving knowledge which is abstract and out of context. Social interaction is a critical component of situated learning -- learners become involved in a "community of practice" which embodies certain beliefs, values and behaviors to be shared and acquired. As the novice moves from the periphery of this community to its centre, they become more active and engaged within the culture and hence assume the role of expert. These ideas are what Lave & Wenger (1998) call the process of "legitimate peripheral participation" – moving from being an observer on the outside, to an expert at the centre.

There is a substantial field of the social sciences that has explored the concept of human knowing through participation rather than as passive receivers of knowledge. Theories of social practice emphasise the interdependency between a person and their world – the symbolism, activities, cognition, learning, and knowing. Our world is therefore one which is socially constituted, with objective forms and systems at one side, and subjective and intersubjective understandings of them at the other. Together they form the mutual way the world is experienced.

When we begin to relate this to participation, it is always based on situated negotiation and re-negotiation of meaning in the world. Observations on what we see and hear can often impact upon our personal historical understanding of the world (previous exposure to particular thoughts and feelings) and can alter the way we perceive or understand – a transformation in knowing.

A further development of this for Lave and Wenger (1998) is the change in the concept of ‘Master’ in learning. They argue that as learning changes from a ‘Master – Apprentice’ form to one of peripheral participation, the ‘Master’ is less an individual, and more that mastery is provided by the organization and the community of practice. Rather than be sourced with knowledge and skill at points at which they are judged to ‘be ready for it’ under an apprenticeship scheme, learners are absorbed into the community through which they learn to ‘walk the walk’, ‘talk the talk’, and conduct their lives in ways which enable them to become full practitioners.

Other researchers have further developed the theory of situated learning. Brown, Collins & Duguid (1989) emphasize the idea of cognitive apprenticeship: "Cognitive apprenticeship supports learning in a domain by enabling students to acquire, develop and use cognitive tools in authentic domain activity. (Simulated learning in medical education is a good example of this, for instance applying the use of algorithms or protocols for emergency medications as cognitive aids in debriefing scenarios). Learning both outside and inside the classroom develops through social interaction, collaboration, and the social construction of knowledge. Brown et al. also emphasize the need for a new epistemology for learning -- one that emphasizes active perception over concepts and representation. So rather than be satisfied with accepting a concept or representation as it is, the learner must seek to understand what this means in relation to their own understanding of it and share this with others.

Situated learning has its roots in the work of Vygotsky (social learning).

Principles:

1. Knowledge needs to be presented in an authentic context, i.e., learning is contextualized rather than in abstraction.
2. Learning requires social interaction and collaboration.

References and further reading:
Lave, J. (1982). A comparative approach to educational forms and learning processes. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 13(2): 181-187
Lave, Jean (1988). Cognition in practice: mind, mathematics and culture in everyday life. New York: Cambridge University Press
Brown, J.S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1998). Situated Learning: Legitimate Periperal Participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Relevant Web Sites:
For more about Lave and situated learning, see
http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm
Photograph: Press photograph of Jean Lave. Source: http://www.au.dk/en/news/archive/2008/120908b