Situated cognition as an epistemological framework for professional learning communities¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The paper adopts the situated cognition model, which portrays "mental activity as dependent on the situation or context in which it occurs," contrasting it with cognitive individualism. It identifies three perspectives — embodiment, embedding, and extension — and uses this framework to argue that professional knowledge is enacted in teachers' practices rather than confined to individual minds, giving PLCs a context-sensitive account of co-created knowledge.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Implementation of PLCs must take into account how teachers enact teaching practices in context-bounded school environments

Constraints¶

• The framework is offered as a conceptual, not empirically tested, account of professional learning in schools

Target Learners¶

• teachers in school-based professional learning communities

Target Learning Objectives¶

• professional learning about teaching practice
• teacher agency in school settings

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Constructivism as a theory of knowledge and learning with individualistic, social, and combined branches
• Zone of Proximal Development: the gap between independent and assisted problem solving
• Cultural-Historical Activity Theory

Examples¶

• Design professional learning communities around situated teacher agency and practice, not attitude change

Key Sources¶

• Riveros, A., Newton, P., & Burgess, D. (2012). A Situated Account of Teacher Agency and Learning: Critical Reflections on Professional Learning Communities. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(1). https://journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje