situated cognition
Context-bound mental processes
Situated cognition is the theory that thinking cannot be separated from the context in which it occurs—that knowledge is bound to the physical environment, social setting, and activity producing it.
Rather than treating the mind as an abstract processor, this view holds that learning happens through participation in authentic contexts: Apprentices develop expertise through situated cognition, not classroom instruction.
The concept challenges traditional education by suggesting that knowledge acquired in one setting may not transfer readily to another.
- collaborative learningShared knowledge-building among peers
- apprenticeshipLearning trade through employment
- scaffoldingTemporary exterior work platform
- learning by doingAcquiring skills through practice
- hands-on learningEducation via direct participation
affordances · enculturation · active learning · in situ · social context · legitimate · real-world application · artifacts · peripheral · distributed · embedded · constructivism · tacit · real-world · group dynamics · meaning · practice · tools
- learning theoriesconstructivism, self-directed learning, social learning, collaborative learning, inquiry-based
- cognitive scienceworking memory, attention, information processing, learning theory, reasoning
- constructivismPiaget, Jean Piaget, scaffolding, schema, equilibration
- embodimentembodiment, proprioception, kinesthesia, corporeal, corporeality
- HeideggerDasein, being-in-the-world, authenticity, inauthenticity, care