Situated Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship

Overall, these models contain many of the elements necessary for students to become well-rounded. although we know that there's no perfect model/theory that can work for all students and all content areas. However, Situated cognition and Cognitive Apprenticeship are great models that can be used in most, if not all learning environments. For example, I had a hard time learning in some of my math courses because I often felt as if I didn't need those classes to become an entrepreneur. Students of all ages still think in this manner and having the real-world application will help the students realize the importance of any given subject/topic.

Some students require more time and assistance than others. Some students remember information by listening to a lecture while others may retain more information from watching a video. These students that prefer to watch videos over hearing the traditional lecture are more likely to be "hands-on" learners. the situated learning theory can be applied to many subject areas. Also, this theory can apply to all age groups. The Cognitive Apprenticeship model needs to promote collaboration so that real-world work situations are examined. Lastly, students might have trouble applying the scaffolds designed by the teacher.

Technology can propel both of these ideas. Educational simulations are available for free on many web sites.

PBL

The Problem-based Learning model emphasizes pre-existing knowledge. Overall, most of aspects of this model can be beneficial to students and instructors that can use it at the right time. There are situations were PBL might not fit. Those situations do vary, based on the content area being studied. My initial concerns about PBL came from the type of students that are involved in the groups. This concern poses as a barrier because it can harm the groups overall performance. Other barriers include, learning levels between group and students not being familiar with their roles. These barriers can become non-existent if the instructor chooses the groups and is able to facilitate/guide the groups in the right direction. Students will be able to reap the benefits of learning and enhancing their collaborative skills and have the opportunity to undertake different roles.

This model will be great to use in future courses. Certain topics require more group collaboration than others. The best feature of PBL is that students can gain a better understanding of the content and group collaboration can enhance the students learning experience.

As some of the articles mentioned, sites like Skype and Elluminate will be great tools to help this model be successfully delivered online. Google Docs and Google Chat are also good tools to use. Google chat allows groups to chat for free and integrates Google Docs. Groups can use the internet to obtain information for their groups and share the information via Google Docs; where group members can then edit the information.

Cooperative Learning: Good or Bad

The cooperative learning model has potential for all grade levels. This model is also appropriate for work communities. After reading about the different strategies that this model can involve, it was easy for me to be a fan. The only part of the model that rubbed me the wrong way was found in the competitive goals. Grading on a curve does not represent the class as well as it should. As an undergrad, my sociology course was graded on a curve, which helped, but didn't help the students retain more information. Also, I am not a fan of the "sink or swim idea." Some initial barriers to the use of cooperative learning are types of content areas and class differences. By content areas, I simply mean that PE courses might not thrive with this approach. In some schools, students are still separated based on their intelligence level. Although this is not a good thing to do, classes that have students with lower learning abilities may not understand some of the concepts from activities or reach a unanimous consensus about a given topic. Those who overcome these barriers will help promote face to face interaction and enhance social skills.

This model would be great for the second graders that I work with. The Jigsaw strategy is a good strategy to help introduce this model. Students can get into groups and discuss given topics after individually completing different tasks. Science, Technology, and Mathematics (STEM) schools thrive off of group collaboration. This strategy helps students prepare for job-like situations.

Social network sites may be a great tool that can be used to support this model. Sites like twitter and blogger are great for commenting about specific topics. VoiceThread is another great tool where students can post audio and video comments on a specific persons personal thread.

Guided Design Process

The Guided Design Process model is very interesting. My initial response to this model was positive. Although this model was tested in high school and college settings, I feel that is would be a good fit for middle/junior high school. Some content areas need support from these types of models early on. The barriers may happen in school settings where the instructor may not have the resources to properly implement the style of instruction. Also, the size of the groups may be a problem if some members are not participating. If these problems can be managed correctly, students and instructors will have a positive learning experience where both sides are teaching and learning from each other.


As a current volunteer, I work with second graders at a STEM school. This model wouldn't fit for them but it can be adjusted in a way that the students will learn decision-making skills. For example, the class could be split in half and the students would have a problem presented to them. Each group can come up with a solution and once they complete the solution they then can come together as a class and and compare their answers. This will give the students a competitive feeling and the instructor would not have to ask leading questions. All the instructor will have to do is provide feedback. Once I finally become a teacher, I will use a theory that is similar to the Guided Design Process model.

This model can be enhanced by many web-based tools. Chat rooms and sites like Second Life would be great for collaboration outside of the class or if they are part of a distance ed. program.