Situated Learning

where you are is part ofwhat you know

andhow you learn

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Theories of learning

1. behavioural – tutor controls presentation of new knowledge and tests frequently with lots of feedback

2. cognitive – learner builds up active experience and creates models of knowledge

3. situated – knowledge is acquired in context where it is meaningful

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Situated knowledge

context is part of meaning and knowledge language and vocabulary – jargon, slang supported knowledge – recognizing faces in

unfamiliar settings

implication transfer between school and real world is a

factor in effectiveness of formal learning

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Jean Lave – supermarket math http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_7_99.html

Can ‘decontextualized’ school learning of math transfer to other situations?Not very well

Does ‘on the job’ learning transfer better?Not much better

BUT in context, people solve problems quite well.

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Jean Lave – supermarket math math problems in context: examples

coconut seller: 1 coconut 35: 10 as 3 + 3 + 3 + 1 for 350

revising a recipe: ¾ of 2/3 by measuring 2/3 and dividing it in four

supermarket: 16% of purchases involved a calculation unit pricing is generally ignored BUT people compare ratios or price/quantity

differentials

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Jean Lave – supermarket math

the stats: 98% correct calculations in supermarket 59% correct on ‘test’ of math skills

correlated to formal ed and time since grad 93% correct on simulation of

supermarket not correlated

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Jean Lave – supermarket math

implications: knowledge is contextual learning should be ‘in context’

real problems simulations (how close is good enough?) games?

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

A small digression…’situated computing’

intelligent agent theory: from single program to multiple communicating programs to many simple entities: ‘emergence’

from absolute to relative representation – note how sprites are represented

from planning to reaction; batch to event-driven programming; agents in environment

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Situated Action

introduced to HCI by Lucy Suchman (1987) inspired by ethnomethodology.

Purposeful actions are considered as situated, i.e., "taken in the context of particular, concrete circumstances" (Suchman, 1987, viii). Action is regarded as emergent, contingent, improvisatory.

"Every course of action depends in essential ways upon its material and social circumstances." (Suchman, 1987, 50) "The organisation of situated action is an emergent property of moment-by-moment interactions between actors and between actors and the environments of their action." (Suchman, 1987, 178)

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Situated action vs cognitive action

Plans are mere representations of actions, either imagined projections or retrospective reconstructions (accounts). Plans are like maps: abstractions of potential actions and routes

vs. Actions are driven by plans.

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Suchman at PARC

Studied users working with a new complex but intelligent copy machine with an expert system.

Showed the system could not work communication between user and

machine too constrained leads to misinterpretaion of actions,

unmatched understandings, impasse(see handout from Suchman)

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Suchman’s analysis

THE USERS THE MACHINE

not available to the machine

available to the machine

available to the user

design rationale

goals

plans

hypotheses

reactions

interpretations

inputs

to

machine

displays

actions

algorithm

for

goal

task

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Analysis of HCI based on Suchman’s model

Interpret an interaction as a four-stage control cycle:

1. determine current state2. set next goal3. decide action to implement goal

- - ACTION - - 4. interpret results of action

For each stage, locate the decision on Suchman’s analysis chart

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Interaction analysis – example:command line interpreterTHE USERS THE MACHINE

not available to the machine

available to the machine

available to the user

design rationale

1. determine current state

2. set next goal 3. decide

action to implement goal (enter command)A C T I O N – execute command

4. interpret results of action (effect of

command execution)

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Interaction analysis – example:behaviourist tutor

THE USERS THE MACHINEnot available to

the machine available to the machine

available to the user

design rationale

1. determine current state (student’s

current knowledge)2. set next goal

(new knowledge)3. decide action to implement

goal (ask question)

A C T I O N – pose question, user enters response

4. interpret results of action (right or

wrong)

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Implications of situated learning theory - constructivism

legitimate peripheral participation apprenticeship – trades, grad school, samba schools department jobs cooperative education collaborative learning anchored instruction (simulated environments as real

as possible) case studies, simulations, games

legitimate expertise (e.g. computer geeks, jeep mechanics)

COSC 4126 Situated Learning

Papert – a synthesis?

Cognitivist – worked with Piaget mental models metacognition

but constructivist

stages, potential could be influenced by experience - gears