What are your initial reactions to this theory/model? What are barriers to its use? What benefits might be expected for those who overcome the barriers?
When I heard the word “apprenticeship” I immediately thought of older students learning specific work skills- such as masonry or web design. After watching the lecture and reading the articles, however, I was surprised to realize how broad these two theories are. Out of all the models we learned about, these two- Situated Cognition and Cognitive Apprenticeships actually seem the closest to the type of teaching I do in fourth grade every day.
The main barrier I see with this method is the amount of teacher planning and constant involvement (the “coaching” element) that is required. For these methods to be effective, the instructor must spend a great deal of time preparing for teaching (deciding what levels students are at and where they need to be going, gathering appropriate materials, etc.) and must be available at all times to be modeling and guiding students. Even though this causes a constant time struggle to fit it all in, I think this is what excellent elementary school teachers have been doing forever. Students really benefit from careful planning, appropriate modeling, and directed guidance.
Would you attempt to use this theory/model with the students you are currently teaching or hope to teach in the future? Why or why not? Could elements of the theory/model be modified so that it would work with your current/future students?
As I mentioned, we use these two models daily in elementary settings. So much of reading and writing instruction is a cognitive apprenticeship, although I never have thought of it as that before. I am constantly modeling how my students should read, write, and the types of questions they should ask themselves and others as part of their learning experience. I meet with my students in small guided reading groups to allow discussion among students about what they are reading so they get to practice those skills. The guided reading groups are also a scaffolding method as well, because students are reading text at a slightly higher reading level than they could on their own. I, the teacher, act as the coach to help them through this more difficult text, and hopefully, by the end of the year, I will have “faded” to the point that that will be their new independent reading level.
Our math program was definitely created using the Situated Cognition theory. It is completely based around word problems that reflect real world situations and has students solve problems according to those parameters. More emphasis is placed on the process of solving the problem and than the actual answer itself. Students are often asked to find situations in their own lives that go along with the math skills we are working on in class.
Since we're taking learning theories/models that were not necessarily created with the Web in mind and turning them into Web modules, what Web-based tools or resources could be leveraged to carry out this learning theory/model online?
It seems like it would be a little more difficult to replicate these two theories online than some of our previous methods. An instructor could use YouTube, TeacherTube, or another video sharing site to post videos of skills and situations being modeled. Subscription programs like SuccessMaker or Prescriptive Learning might provide the “coaching” piece that a teacher would in face-to-face instruction.
Rachel, Do some content areas work better for using this model/theory than others? Since you teach all core content areas, I figured you would be a great person to ask.
ReplyDeleteSince you provided the math examples, do you find that your students do better on standardized tests than other fourth graders around the county or state? I bet the kids enjoy the connections they are able to make as to the usefullness of learning such math skills. You are building strong foundations for these kids! Love it!!
It's good to hear that you are using these theories in you class. I agree with you that planning and constant involvement is a major barrier and I would adjust this aspect by planning the assignments with the students.
ReplyDeleteThe coaching element would indeed be a struggle and something I though about immediately as well. My only opportunity for coaching on the level called for in the apprenticeship model is through small groups in reading and writing, and these are always a struggle to work in time wise, especially in writing. The modeling aspect of this approach though is something I think every good teacher does and the think-aloud especially is something I've worked on in the past few years, probably to the point where it annoys students.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you made a good point about the online aspect. This approach seem more like a long game approach and access to "experts" online would be very limited for what I can envision, though maybe I'm not looking hard enough. I also mentioned the access to models in my own post and though the web played an important role from that end. There are lot of great videos of author's talking about their craft and I can see it applying to other subject areas as well.