Theory Name: Cognitive Apprenticeship
Authors (Last, First): Collins, Allan; Brown, John S.; Newman, Susan
E.
Associate Learning Theory:
Cognitive-social learning: Cognitive apprenticeship focuses on “learning-through-guided-experience
on cognitive and metacognitive skills and processes” (Collins,
Brown, & Newman, 1989, p. 457), instead of the physically concrete
craft or trade that is the focus of traditional apprenticeships.
Model Description:
The model is aimed primarily at teaching the problem-solving processes
that experts use to handle complex tasks. Cognitive apprenticeship
focuses on cognitive and metacognitive skills and processes. The framework
for designing learning environment describes four dimensions: context,
methods, sequence, and sociology.
Specification of Theory
(a) Goals and preconditions
The method is aimed primarily at teaching the problem-solving processes
that experts use to handle complex tasks. Cognitive apprenticeships are
intended to enable apprentices to learn strategies and skills in the
context of their application to realistic problems, within a culture
focused on and defined by expert practice
(b) Principles
1) Cognitive apprenticeship encourages reflection on differences between
novices and expert performance
2) Cognitive apprenticeship encourages the development of self-monitoring
and correction skills required for the problem solver to alternate among
different cognitive activities
2) Sequencing: Tasks are sequenced to reflect the changing demands of
learning: increasing complexity, increasing diversity, and global before
local skills
3) Sociology: With exploiting cooperation and the culture of expert practice,
cognitive apprenticeship extends situated learning to diverse settings
so that students learn how to apply their skills in varied context with
intrinsic motivation.
(c) Condition of learning
The appropriate target knowledge for an ideal learning environment is
to include four categories of expert knowledge: domain knowledge, heuristic
strategies, control strategies, and learning strategies. The learning
setting focuses on the four content categories with situated cooperative
problem solving.
(d) Required media
Expert, peers, instructor, or apprenticeship-based computer system
(e) Role of facilitator
The facilitator’s role involves modeling, coaching, and scaffolding
to help students acquire an integrated set of cognitive and metacognitive
skills through processes of observation, and of guided and supported
practice.
(f) Instructional strategies
1) Modeling that involves an expert’s carrying out a task so that
student observe and build a conceptual model of the processes required
to accomplish the task
2) Coaching that consists of observing student’s performance and
offering hints, scaffolding, feedback, modeling, reminders, and new tasks
3) Scaffolding provided by the teacher to help the student carry out
a task
4) Articulation that gets students to articulate their knowledge, reasoning,
or problem-solving processes in a domain
5) Reflection that enables students to compare their own problem-solving
processes with those an expert, peer, and an internal cognitive model
of expertise.
6) Exploration as a method of teaching sets general goals for students
and that encourages students to focus on particular subgoals of interest
to them.
(g) Assessment method
Performance-based assessment
Formative Research & Application
(a) Tested context: K-12 (Bereiter, & Scardamalia, 1987; Chiu, Chou, & Liu,
2002); Higher Ed.(Schoenfeld, 1985)
(b) Research method: Quantitative (Chiu, Chou, & Liu, 2002);
(c) Research description: Bereiter, & Scardamalia, (1987) developed “procedural
facilitation of writing” that relies on elements of cognitive apprenticeship.
The procedural facilitations are designed to help elementary school students
evaluate, diagnose, and decide on revisions for their compositions. Results
showed that each type of support was effective, independent of the other
support. And when all the facilitations were combined, with modeling
and co-investigation, they resulted in superior revisions for nearly
every student and a tenfold increase in the frequency of idea-level revisions,
without any decrease in stylistic revisions.
Chiu, Chou, and Liu (2002) conducted an experimental study focusing
on the process of constructing mental models in a cognitive apprenticeship
context. 10th-grade students who lacked knowledge of the nature of chemical
equilibrium, were randomly assigned in a control group (non-CA group)
and a treatment group (CA group). The researchers developed hands-on
activities to contain the main features of cognitive apprenticeship,
such as modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and
exploration. The result showed that the CA group gained better understanding
of chemical equilibrium.
Schoenfeld (1985) develops a method for teaching maghematical problem
solving to college student in cognitive apprenticeship context. The teaching
employs the elements of modeling, coaching, scaffolding, and fading in
a variety of activities.
(d) Resources
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of written
composition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chiu, M-H., Chou, C-C., & Liu, C-J. (2002). Dynamic processes of
conceptual change: Analysis of constructing mental models of chemical
equilibrium. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(8), 688-712.
Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. (1989). Cognitive apprenticeship:
Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In Resnick
L. B. (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction: essays in honor of Robert
Glaser (pp. 453-494). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Schoenfeld, A. H. (1985). Mathematical problem solving. NY: Academic
Press.
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