This document provides an overview of social approaches to learning, including situated cognition, distributed cognition, and activity theory. It was prepared by Team #4 - Douglas Connery, Brian Farrell, Sheri Johnson, and Dennis Pratt - for an ETEC 512 course on social approaches to learning. The document defines key terms, describes the three main perspectives, and discusses challenges and comparisons between the approaches.

1. ETEC 512:
Social
Approaches
to Learning
PREPARED BY:
TEAM #4: DOUGLAS CONNERY, BRIAN FARRELL,
SHERI JOHNSON, DENNIS PRATT

2. Welcome
Welcome to our team’s presentation of Social
Approaches to Learning. We hope the
information, activities and discussion
questions will help you further evaluate the
different approaches presented.
We look forward to reading your responses
online!

3. Social Defined
 The interaction of living things with other living
things, whether the interaction is voluntary or
involuntary.

4. Social Approaches to Learning
 Learning happens in a specific context or social
activity.
 Learning happens through the interaction of
individuals, artifacts, tools and the environment.
 Three Main Perspectives
•Situated Cognition
•Distributed Cognition
•Activity Theory

5. Perspective#1: Situated Cognition
 Much of what we learn is specific to the context
or situation in which we learn it.
 We are social beings, knowledge is a matter of
competence, knowing is a matter of
participating, and meaning.
 Learning is a work in progress.

6. Situated Cognition ~ Culture
 Learning begins in the culture we are in.
 The process of enculturation.
We pick up jargon
Imitate behaviour
Act in accordance to cultural norms
 Knowledge accumulates through the generations
of a society

7. Situated Cognition ~ Tools
 Knowledge is thought of as a tool.
 We develop a better understanding of a concept
when we use the tool as opposed to just
acquiring it.
 For example, we learn how to use a hammer by
building a shed not by just purchasing the
hammer at Home Depot.
 How we use our “hammer” is a reflection of our
culture.

8. Challenges
 Authentic vs. School Activity
 This theory suggests that we learn better
through authentic activities yet most of what we
do in school is inauthentic.
 For example, we teach a student how to do a
math formula, not necessarily how to apply it to
real, authentic situations that would make it
more meaningful.

9. Communities of Practice
 Falls under Situated Cognition
 A voluntary group who have a common interest
in a body of knowledge who are motivated by
the need and want to share problems,
experiences etc.

10. Perspective #2: Distributed
Cognition
 Cognition is better understood as a distributed
phenomenon that at an individual level.
 Cognitive processes are not limited to the minds
of individual people, instead, they involve many
people, tools and artifacts.
 Cognition is an event situated in a complex
sociocultural world.

11. Distributed Cognition
~ Collective Problem Solving ~
 The cognitive properties of a group are different
than that of the individuals within.
 Knowledge can be variable and redundant.
 Members take on multiple roles.
 Must work with ineffective strategies and
misconceptions.
 Together, provide collaborative work skills. (pool
resources)
 Intersubjectivity- common sense between
people.

12. Distributed Cognition - Challenges
 Paradox of the commons.
 Individual rationality and group rationality
diverge.

13. Perspective #3: Activity Theory
 Activity is a collection of roles and
responsibilities taken on by different people.
Each role and responsibility is only meaningful
in the broader context.
 Individual and social levels are interlinked.
 Artifacts carry a particular culture and history.

14. Activity Theory
 Basic Unit = Activity
 Three Levels of Activity
1. Activity towards a motive (why)
2. Action towards a goal (what)
3. Operation based on specific conditions (how)
Activities: satisfy a need
Actions: embody the activities

15. Activity Theory ~ Main Principles
 Object Orientedness
People live in a reality that is objective
 Internalization/Externalization
Distinction between internal and external activities,
Internalization: External activities become internal activities.
 Mediation
Activity is influenced by the tools used.
 Principle of Development
Research combines active participation and monitoring developmental changes.
 Utility of Consciousness & Activity
Mind emerges & exists as a component of human interaction with the environment.
 Hierarchical structure of activity
Activity, action, operation, motive, goal, conditions

16. Activity Theory
~ Hierarchical Structure ~
Figure 1. Model of Activity Theory shows the relationship between the
subject or individual, the object and the community, as well as how rules,
tools, and the division of labour are used in the transformation of the object
into the desired outcome. (diagram from Kuutti, 1995).

17. Activity Theory ~ Challenges
 Focus on tools and individual operations may
detract from big picture ideas
 Assumes we are all rational actors
 Too much structure can impact impulse and
creativity
 Focus on the system versus the individual

18. Comparisons
 Situated Cognition, Distributed Cognition, and
Activity Theory all place emphasis on the group
 Situated Cognition emphasizes a sense of place
 Distributed Cognition emphasizes global effects
 Activity Theory focuses on specific tasks

19. Resources
 Brown, Collins, & Duguid (1989). Situated Cognition and the culture of learning. Educational
Researcher, 18, 32-42. Retrieved July 25, 2006 from: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-189X
%28198901%2F02%2918%3A1%3C32%3ASCATCO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2
 Driscoll. M.P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (pp. 153-182; Ch. 5 – Situated
Cognition). Toronto, ON: Pearson.
 Farrell, B. (Photographer). (2006-2009). Photostream [online images]. Retrieved November 1
from: http://www.flickr.com/brianfarrell
 Kuutti, K. (1995). Activity Theory as a potential framework for human-computer interaction
research. in B. Nardi (Ed.), Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and Human Computer
Interaction (pp. 17-44). MIT Press.
 Nardi, B. A. (1995) Studying Context: A comparison of activity theory, situated action models,
and distrubuted cognition. In B. A. Nardi (Ed.) Context and Consciousness: Activity Theory and
Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 35-52). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Available online at:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/~corps/phaseii/nardi-ch4.pd.
 Rogers, Y. (1997). A Brief Introduction to Distributed Cognition. Available online at: http://
www.slis.indiana.edu/faculty/yrogers/papers/dcog/dcog-brief-intro.pdf
 Spasser, M. A. (1999). Informing information science: The case for activity theory. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science, 50, 1136-1138.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(1999)50:12<1136::AID-ASI17>3.0.CO;2-0

20. THANK YOU FOR VIEWING:
ETEC 512:
Social
Approaches
to Learning
PREPARED BY:
TEAM #4: DOUGLAS CONNERY, BRIAN FARRELL,
SHERI JOHNSON, DENNIS PRATT