SKEP Cognitive apprenticeship

From WikEd

Sometimes the learning process is so complicated that it defies questions, explanations, scripts or programs. The only reasonable pedagogy in such occasions is to have the learners watch it being done, and then try it themselves under the guidance of an expert. The notion of a cognitive apprentice is a throwback to the earlier times when there were apprentices in the various trades, such as blacksmithing, silversmithing and diamond cutting. This section will unpack how some theorists see that process unfolding in the modern classroom. Does cultural variability affect these models?

Contents 1 What is Cognitive Apprenticeship? 2 The History of Cognitive Apprenticeship 3 The Process 3.1 Modeling 3.2 Coaching 3.3 Scaffolding 3.4 Articulation 3.5 Reflection 3.6 Exploration 4 Models of Cognitive Apprenticeship 4.1 Teaching Reading 4.2 Teaching Writing 5 Does Cognitive Apprenticeship Work in the Classroom? 5.1 Social Development 5.2 Motivation 5.3 Management 5.4 Resulted Learning 6 Final Discussion 7 Life experiences, testimonies and stories related to this chapter, "signed" by contributor 8 Works Cited

What is Cognitive Apprenticeship?

Progressive educational reformers, such as John Dewey, have worked toward making education more relevant for today’s students by making it more like learning outside of school. One theory to come out of the movement is cognitive apprenticeship. Cognitive apprenticeship borrows ideas from traditional apprenticeships and applies them to cognition and learning in a classroom setting. The idea central to a traditional apprenticeship is that novices learn by watching experts at work, slowly taking on more and more responsibility until they are capable of taking over the work themselves. Cognitive apprenticeship works much the same way, except instead of working with a tangible, physical task, “cognitive apprenticeship is a model of instruction that works to make thinking visible�? (Brown). The expert, or teacher, models the process of a skill, such as completing a mathematical problem or reading with comprehension strategies, for students, who work to help each other learn how to complete the process independently.

Cognitive apprenticeship allows students to develop at different rates from one another, as they naturally do, and to use their skills to mentor other learners. This unique aspect of cognitive apprenticeship is what makes it both appealing and frightening for educators. Cognitive apprenticeship has benefits in creating natural learning situations, as opposed to traditional classroom learning. These moments of situated learning can, however, be difficult to create due to constraints on curricular materials and time. Cognitive apprenticeship is not ideal for all classroom learning, but aspects of it can be used to make the classroom more relevant to students and to help students understand processes involved in learning. While cognitive apprenticeship itself may not work for every teacher in every classroom, the theoretical origins may also have some merit for educators trying to increase student motivation and achievement.

The History of Cognitive Apprenticeship

The progressive movement in education began in the late 1800s as people began to take a “more careful look at the political and social effects of vast concentrations of corporate power and private wealth�? (“A Brief Overview of Progressive Education�?). In an attempt to provide equal footing for the lower classes and to encourage the idea that everyone can and should be a part of a democracy, John Dewey and other progressivists looked to the educational system to solve some of their problems. “He emphasized the social aspects of learning and viewed schools as places where students could practice democracy and have opportunities to work together to identify and solve problems�? (Bizar 57). Progressive education also advocated student centered learning and tried to make education in school as meaningful as learning outside of school. Progressive educators realized that students responded more positively when they were active participants in their education, rather than passive recipients of information. The progressive education movement recognized “the importance of starting with students’ interests and letting student learn to do instead of making them listen�? (Cleary 66). When the students were able to take some ownership in their education, they were more motivated to learn and retained information better than in traditional classrooms.

This idea of allowing students to take control of their learning also incorporates aspects of the constructivist learning theory. According to the constructivist learning theory, the student needs to do much of the exploratory work of learning on his or her own. “This theory states that learning is an active process of creating meaning from different experiences. In other words, students will learn best by trying to make sense of something on their own with the teacher as a guide to help them along the way�? (“Teaching with the Constructivist Learning Theory�?). The constructivist learning theory and cognitive apprenticeship both also make use of Lev Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development. “Cognitive apprenticeships are representative of Vygotskian ‘zones of proximal development’ in which student tasks are slightly more difficult than students can manage independently, requiring the aid of their peers and instructor to succeed�? (“Cognitive Apprenticeship�?). Cognitive apprenticeship, ideally, should be scaffolded in such a way that students are able to make use of their zone of proximal development in order to accomplish a new task or learn a new skill. Scaffolding is one of the most important features of cognitive apprenticeship.

The Process

Modeling

In a traditional apprenticeship, novices spend a considerable amount of time watching experts at work. Cognitive apprenticeship is no different. In the beginning stages, the teacher or expert models the activity the students need to learn. The teacher explicitly outlines the steps that an expert goes through in order to accomplish the task. In the classroom, many of these steps are not visible, since they are the thought processes involved in solving a problem or reading a book. “In cognitive domains, this requires the externalization of usually internal processes and activities�? (Brown). The teacher must verbalize his or her thinking to make these cognitive processes clear for the students.

Coaching

After modeling how an experts attacks a problem or process, the teacher takes on the role of coach, encouraging and assisting the students as they try to complete tasks on their own. “Learners observe demonstrations by the master practitioner and try out the trade with feedback and close supervision�? (Bizar 130). As students grow more competent, they may also act as coaches and provide feedback for other students who have trouble along the way. Cognitive apprenticeship assumes that students will work together to solve problems. The teacher should still help as needed and push students to think deeper or to approach problems in new ways, but the students must be given the opportunity to do the work collaboratively and individually.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding can take a number of forms in cognitive apprenticeship. The teacher may provide tangible devices, such as cue cards or explicit explanation of cognitive processes. They may also set up a problem in such a way that the students are not required to do detailed work that they may not yet be ready for. The task may focus on the big picture until students are ready to tackle the details. “A requisite to such scaffolding is accurate diagnosis of the student's current skill level or difficulty and the availability of an intermediate step at the appropriate level of difficulty in carrying out the target activity�? (Brown). If the task calls for group work, the teacher may provide a structure or specific roles for the students to follow as they work together. Scaffolding also requires careful consideration on the part of the teacher about what aspects the students will be able to accomplish on their own and what they may need help with.

Articulation

“Articulation involves any method of getting students to articulate their knowledge, reasoning, or problem-solving processes�? (Brown). Since cognitive apprenticeship focuses on cognition and metacognition in learning, it is difficult for students to express the processes they use. Because of this, it is necessary to promote articulation throughout the task. “A teacher’s job is to open the student’s eyes to new ways of thinking about his situation, to help the student articulate the situation and generate ways of moving forward�? (Cleary 71). The teacher may question students about the process they have used, ask them to work cooperatively on a problem, or invite students to present their process or findings to other students. When students verbalize or write down their thought process, they are able to understand it more clearly.

Reflection

All experts reflect on their process, progress, and product in order to develop new ideas and to improve on the old ones. Reflection is one of the most important aspects of learning that is frequently ignored in traditional educational systems. In the classroom, “reflection involves enabling students to compare their own problem-solving processes with those of an expert, another student, and ultimately, an internal cognitive model of expertise�? (Brown). When students reflect critically on their work, they discover how they can make improvements in the future without being punished as they are just learning a new skill. Students need to understand that reflection is improvement and that learning is a continuous process not bounded by unit tests.

Exploration

Exploration “involves pushing students into a mode of problem solving on their own�? (Conway). Through exploration, students are given the responsibility not only of performing tasks on their own, but also of developing tasks on their own. In a science class, a student may create a scientific question that interests them and their own experiment to discover the answer to their question. This increases motivation, adds to the students’ feeling of ownership in the classroom, and allows them to focus on a topic that appeals to them. In the course of their exploration, they should be encouraged to make use of the resources around them, including other students and the teacher. Eventually, cognitive apprenticeship should create a classroom of self-motivated experts, helping each other in their educational endeavors.

Models of Cognitive Apprenticeship

Teaching Reading

Cognitive apprenticeship lends itself well to teaching processes, such as reading and writing. Many students, especially those in middle school and high school, know how to read; however, their comprehension skills are lacking because they do not understand that reading is a process. “Proficient readers know what and when they are comprehending and what they are not comprehending… They can identify when and why the meaning of the text is unclear to them and can use a variety of strategies to solve comprehension problems or deepen their understanding of a text�? (Keene 22). There are many students, though, who are unable to do this. Reciprocal teaching is one particularly useful way to use cognitive apprenticeship to improve reading comprehension. In reciprocal teaching, the “teacher and students take turns as discussion leaders, although the teacher provides comments, feedback, and hints as needed�? (Mayer 440). When focusing on comprehension, discussion encompasses all aspects of reading, from activating prior knowledge to questioning during reading, to reproducing or retelling a story (Keene 22).

In the beginning stages, a teacher will read for the students, stopping periodically to demonstrate the cognitive processes that good readers use. “The basic method centers on modeling and coaching students in four strategic skills: formulating questions based on the text, summarizing the text, making predictions about what will come next, and clarifying difficulties with the text�? (Brown). Students will begin to understand that experts do not see reading as a passive activity, but instead engage in the text, the purpose of it, the writer’s skill, and even the book’s applications to the world around them. “Under the new conception, students recognize that reading requires constructive activities… as well as evaluative ones�? (Brown). After watching experts at work, students will be armed with strategies that will help them gain meaning and critical knowledge from a variety of texts.

Teaching Writing

Beginning writers often use a process known as a “knowledge-telling�? strategy when they compose stories or essays. They begin with a topic and “write the first idea that occurs to them, then the next idea, and so on until they cannot think of any more ideas�? (Mayer). Expert writers, on the other hand, plan, write, evaluate, revise, and revise again, making use of a “knowledge transforming�? strategy (Mayer). Expert writers in fact spend more time planning, thinking, and organizing than actually writing. Although novice student writers are generally competent readers, “students are unable to make use of potential models of good writing acquired through reading because they have no understanding of how the authors produced such text�? (Brown). Teachers need to model the process of good writing to show students that considering a topic for a period of time, thinking about alternative ideas or arguments, and extensive revision are all part of writing.

Throughout modeling writing strategies and coaching students in using them, students must be encouraged to articulate their thought process. This may be accomplished through group work or demonstrating the process on an individual basis for the rest of the class. Some teachers choose to use scaffolding such as cue cards to aid students as they become independent writers. “The cue cards act to internalize not only the basic processes involved in planning but also to help students to keep track of the higher-order intentions�? (Brown). Eventually students learn which types of cue cards they need and therefore how they may fix a writing dilemma. Overall, through modeling, students will realize that writing is not a linear or seamless process for novices or experts. Students should expect to run into problems, but they should also be armed with strategies to overcome their difficulties.

Does Cognitive Apprenticeship Work in the Classroom?

Social Development

Ideally, cognitive apprenticeship should create a community of practice in the classroom in which, “participants actively communicate about and engage in the skills involved in expertise�? (Brown). As students work together, they have more opportunities to articulate and reflect on their knowledge and practice out loud; they also see the cognitive process as they discuss different possibilities. Most researchers agree that social interaction aids in the learning process; “Shrum and Glisan (2000) also point out that learning is not only a cognitive process, but it is also a social process. Therefore instruction and learning should be situated in the discursive interactions between experts and novices�? (Baenen). This constant interaction, however, can also allow more frequent opportunities to copy or cheat or for groups to rely heavily on just a few students to do most of the work.

Cultural differences may also be a blessing or a curse as students work together. Students need to understand diversity and how to work with one another, but cognitive apprenticeship depends on students to talk through their cognitive processes. Studies have found that Western thinkers are better at verbal tasks, while “Asians and Asian Americans are generally found to outperform European Americans on spatial tasks�? (Nisbett 216). These cultural differences could make learning easier for some groups than others. They could also balance and enrich the process, though, as different types of thinking may be needed to complete a task or assignment.

Motivation

There are some things that all students need to know, but it is “impossibly boring for a student to learn basics when these basics are divorced from the context of something the student really wants to do�? (Cleary 5). Cognitive apprenticeship strives to make learning more real, relevant, and meaningful for students by contextualizing learning and presenting students with real problems to solve. “Because learning of these cognitive skills is contextualized students see the need and purpose for learning, which in turn may also increase motivation�? (Baenen). When students are able to work in a comfortable learning community and they can understand a process and how it can be useful to them, they will naturally be more interested in and excited about their learning. Cognitive apprenticeship is appealing because it is active and focuses on the students’ needs as they learn and understand how to learn.

Cognitive apprenticeship may also have negative effects on motivation. Students may feel that they are getting lost in these louder, more active classrooms. If they do not understand what to do, they may not feel they have enough support from the teacher, who is beyond explicit instruction and has moved on to observing student work. “Students are often insecure about their abilities, especially if they have difficulties with the problems. Seeing other students struggle alleviates some of this insecurity�? (Brown). At the same time, however, seeing other students succeed may only make unsuccessful students feel worse about their own achievement.

Management

When looking at new theories in education, teachers must look at whether the new strategy may actually be implemented in a real classroom. In a few ways, cognitive apprenticeship actually makes a classroom run more smoothly. Because the subject matter is contextualized, relevant, and hands-on, students tend to be more motivated. Genuine interest goes a long way in the classroom. Studies show that cognitive apprenticeship can definitely be inefficient in the short term, though most also say that “in the long run the expertise is handed over to the students�? (Baenen). However, many teachers either do not have, or are not allowed the freedom to use, the time the would need to put into such a program. “Teachers are often bogged down in standardized measures of achievement, bureaucratically prescribed curricula, and knowledge dispensation through lecture, with a complete absence of student choice�? (Bizar 170). Cognitive apprenticeship’s focus on the process rather than the product of learning may affect how it is used in districts that stress standardized testing.

Another problem lies in class sizes. In order to truly monitor and coach students through cognitive processes, classes need to be smaller than they are in most public schools currently. Some reformers, such as Roger C. Schank and Chip Cleary, authors of Engines for Education, have advocated using technology to replace the teacher’s role or to aid the teacher in creating simulated and authentic examples. Studies indicate that students are motivated to use these programs because with the programs, students have a distinct goal and a genuine desire to reach that goal. Since this example would require using a computer program that each student could use individually, or in a small group, and the program includes expert feedback and hints, this would in fact alleviate some of the personnel issues in using cognitive apprenticeship. However, the cost in using this technology may be prohibitive for most school districts.

Resulted Learning

Cognitive apprenticeship relies heavily on conceptualizing knowledge and the students’ opportunity to do something with their knowledge, rather than just showing it off on tests. Knowledge that is useful tends to be easier remembered. “Facts that are taught in isolation can be recalled only in isolation, good for Trivial Pusuit and little else�? (Cleary 62). Admittedly, the average public school does a wonderful job of teaching students facts; however, “too little attention is paid to the reasoning and strategies that experts employ when they acquire knowledge or put it to work to solve complex or real-life tasks�? (Brown). The complexity of gaining knowledge is the very thing that cognitive apprenticeship teaches. Cognitive apprenticeship recognizes the generally messy nature of learning. “In situated cognition, problem solving activities should not be "neat" and pre-defined, but rather, complex with students required to discover relevant procedures�? (“Apprenticeship�?). Since students learn by doing work themselves, they are more likely to be able to transfer their knowledge when they encounter new tasks. “The goal is to help students generalize the skill, to learn when the skill is or is not applicable, and to transfer the skill independently when faced with novel situations�? (Brown).

Of course students’ ability to work with a problem in the first place is not completely divorced from the facts and figures they normally learn in school. “Strategic knowledge depends on their knowledge of facts, concepts, and procedures�? (Brown). The success of teaching the process depends on the students’ knowledge of the facts and basic concepts involved. This rote knowledge is not easily taught through cognitive apprenticeship. “Cognitive apprenticeship is not a relevant model for all aspects of teaching… Cognitive apprenticeship is a useful instructional paradigm when a teacher needs to teach a fairly complex task to students�? (Brown). Within that task though, students will likely need basic skills. If they have not fully grasped various other ideas, they will be looking at a combination of ideas that they do not understand, which will make it very difficult for them to see the big picture of the process. A lesson using cognitive apprenticeship has the potential to leave a student even more confused and less confident than when he or she began.

Final Discussion

Does cognitive apprenticeship work in the classroom? Absolutely… sometimes. Cognitive apprenticeship is best suited to teach a fairly complex process to students, but teachers need to be sure to scaffold the lesson so that students will be able to focus on the process, not on details that they are unsure of. Cognitive apprenticeship may work well, however, to review some of those details. It also helps students to contextualize and put together the little classroom activities that they work on day to day. Most teachers will be able to use some of the theoretical basis of cognitive apprenticeship. They should make learning relevant for students, and they need to help students understand the process of learning and give them strategies to do problem solving on their own.

Teachers can also manage a few compromises with cognitive apprenticeship. With the knowledge that students learn better by doing than just listening, teachers can recommend and encourage internship programs that fit students’ interests. They can also use conferencing to coach students one on one or in small groups. Meeting with students in this type of setting, without emphasizing a final grade yet, helps students to realize that learning is a process and that they should seek help and discuss their process along the way. In the end, teaching is not about finding one method that works and sticking to it through thick and thin. Education is constantly evolving, and teachers need to pick and choose through new methods every day to find what works for them, in their building, and with the ideas that they are teaching. In an effective classroom, students will learn in a number of different ways. Cognitive apprenticeship may be one of them, but it will not be the only one.

Life experiences, testimonies and stories related to this chapter, "signed" by contributor

Works Cited

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