Distributive Cognition
The paper, “What
Does Distributed Cognition Tell Us about Student Learning of Science?” is a multi-layer analysis of
Distributive Cognition research by (Hollan et al. 1999; Hutchins
1995). Distributive Cognition is acutely relevant
for today’s education theory because of our collaborative society. Even though
we have a global collaborative knowledge base (the Internet) that transcends
and bypasses the academic system, most academic theory is not social by nature.
The collaborative learning theories of Distributive Cognition have strong
relevance in both collaborative web learning and classroom Project Based Learning.
What is ironic about this contemporary theory is it establishes the importance
of experiential learning theory (that is social) as set forth by Dewey (1916),
Lendmen (1927) and Knowles(1980) years ago.
From this paper, Lave
(1988) is quoted about Distributive Cognitions theory:
There is a reason to
suspect that what we call cognition is in fact a complex social phenomenon. The
point is not so much that arrangements of knowledge in the head correspond in a
complicated way to the social world outside the head, but that they are socially
organized in such a fashion as to be indivisible. “Cognition” observed
in everyday practice is distributed—stretched over, not divided among—mind,
body, activity and culturally organized settings, which include other actors
(Lave 1988, p. 1).
This paper provides
Distributive Cognition empirical evidence in science classes in a way that demonstrates
that learning is a social process. Learning as a group is and more multi-dimensional
and contextual than the student-textbook methods. We cannot learn to ride
bikes, play baseball or be a physician from books and testing. This research
demonstrates how immersion with other people merges cognitive learning in the
full context of the human experience, thereby making learning relevant.
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: The
MacMillan Company.
Hollan, J., Hutchins, E.,
& Kirsh, D. (1999). Distributed
cognition: a new foundation for human-computer interaction research. TOCHI
Special Issue on Human-Computer Interaction in the New Millennium, 7,174–196
Hutchins, E. (1995).
Cognition in the wild. Cambridge: MIT.
Knowles, M. S. (1970). The modern
practice of adult education; andragogy versus pedagogy,. New York:
Association Press.
Lindeman, E. (1926) The
Meaning of Adult Education, New Republic, inc. in New York
2,11,2014 Retrieved
Xu, Lihua; Clarke, David. (1999) What Does Distributed Cognition Tell
Us about Student Learning of Science?
Research in Science Education. May2012, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p491-510. 20p
Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in practice: Mind, mathematics,
and culture in everyday life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological
processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
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