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1. Cognitive
Apprenticeship
(John Seely Brown)
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2. Definition :
 is a theory of the process where a master of a skill
teaches that skill to an apprentice.
This theory holds that masters of a skill often fail
to take into account the implicit processes involved
in carrying out complex skills when they are
teaching novices.
To combat these tendencies, cognitive
apprenticeships “…are designed, among other things, to
bring these tacit processes into the open, where students
can observe, enact, and practice them with help from the
teacher…” Free Powerpoint Templates
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3.  This model is supported by Albert Bandura's
(1997) theory of modeling, which posits that in
order for modelling to be successful, the
learner must be attentive, must have access to
and retain the information presented, must be
motivated to learn, and must be able to
accurately reproduce the desired skill.
 Part of the effectiveness of the
cognitive apprenticeship model
comes from learning in context and
is based on theories of situated
cognition.
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4. In cognitive apprenticeships, the activity being
taught is modeled in real-world situations.
 In the cognitive stage, learners develop
declarative understanding of the skill.
 In the associative stage, mistakes and
misinterpretations learned in the cognitive stage
are detected and eliminated while associations
between the critical elements involved in the skill
are strengthened.
 Finally, in the autonomous stage, the learner’s
skill becomes honed and perfected until it is
executed at an expert level.
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5. Teaching Methods
 Collins, Brown, and Newman developed six teaching methods
rooted in cognitive apprenticeship theory and claim these methods
help students attain cognitive and metacognitive strategies for
"using, managing, and discovering knowledge".
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6.  The first three (modeling, coaching, scaffolding) are at the
core of cognitive apprenticeship and help with cognitive
and metacognitive development.
 The next two (articulation and reflection) are designed to
help novices with awareness of problem-solving
strategies and execution similar to that of an expert.
 The final step (exploration) intends to guide the novice
towards independence and the ability to solve and identify
problems within the domain on their own.
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7. 1. Modeling
 Modeling in cognitive apprenticeship means
showing how a process unfolds and giving reasons
why it happens that way (Collins, 1991). There are
two kinds of modeling that can be used in
education:
• Modeling of expert performance. This includes
making the problem-solving process of experts
explicit to students.
• Modeling of processes in the world. This includes
making invisible parts of a process visible (e.g.,
photosynthesis processes).
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8.  These two kinds of modeling can be
interwoven, especially when the problem
includes the invisible parts of the process. In
applying these two types of modeling in
educational settings, two strategies are
available to teachers:
• Modeling on the outset. Apprenticeships
normally start with modeling and explaining the
process that students are to use.
• Modeling after students' attempt at a task.
Another strategy is to present the problem to the
students first, let them think through the
process, and then provide modeling of experts'
processes.
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9.  The major responsibilities of the teacher during the modeling stage of
cognitive apprenticeship are structuring situations of expert practice
and demonstrating the expert's thinking process in a manner that
does not overwhelm students (Rogoff, 1990).
 The goal of this stage is to build mental
models of experts' cognitive processes so that
students can eventually work on their own.
 Because it involves a process that cannot be
directly observed and experienced, cognitive
modeling requires more sophisticated planning to apply in classrooms
than does modeling of physical performance.
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10.  A key component of cognitive apprenticeship is that students
learn the cognitive processes in realistic contexts so that they may
process their thoughts accordingly in actual situations.
In the teaching of reading comprehension, teachers might use
an authentic newspaper and go through the process of reading and
comprehending an article.
Thus, students understand and build a conceptual model of the
comprehension process and its conditions for application in
conditions similar to real life situations (Collins, Brown, & Newman,
1989).
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11. 2. Coaching & Scaffolding
 Coaching and scaffolding are two critical components
of the cognitive apprenticeship model.
o These elements are addressed together because they
share many characteristics.
o Although coaching does not enjoy the familiarity of its
cousin scaffolding in the research literature, some
researchers call it "the thread running through the
entire apprenticeship experience" (Collins, Brown, &
Holum, 1991).
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12.  Coaching may be seen as a broader term than
scaffolding, however. In fact, scaffolding can be
considered only one form of coaching. At this point a
closer examination of coaching is in order.
 Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) provide many
examples of coaching, which they call "the process of
overseeing the student's learning."
 The goal of coaching can be simply summarized as
the learner accomplishes the learning goal.
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13. • The process of ensuring this goal may begin with helping
learners choose their tasks (admittedly, not always an
option), and may end with providing feedback to learners on their
completed products.
• In between these steps, many other coaching strategies may be
employed, including providing hints and scaffolding, evaluating
how learners actually go about the process of
learning, diagnosing problems, offering verbal and nonverbal
encouragement, structuring lessons in ways that facilitate
learning, and working with learners to overcome weaknesses.
• So, it can be said that coaching is the process of doing whatever
it takes to assist learners in their learning, from start until finish. It
is now instructive to turn to one of the components of coaching--
scaffolding.
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14.  Of the six characteristics of the cognitive
apprenticeship model, scaffolding is perhaps
the best known and most discussed in the
literature.
 First, two definitions offered by the Merriam-
Webster Online Dictionary:
• A temporary or movable platform for workers
(as bricklayers, painters, or miners) to stand
or sit on when working at a height above the
floor or ground
• A supporting framework.
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15. 3. Articulation & Reflection
 Articulation and Reflection are two more hallmarks of cognitive
apprenticeship practices. These components are discussed together
as they often go hand-in-hand in practice.
 Articulation is defined as "the act of giving utterance or expression"
(Merriam Webster's, 2001). In terms of cognitive
apprenticeship, articulation is described by McLellan as consisting of
two aspects: separating component knowledge and skills to learn them
more effectively and, more common verbalizing or demonstrating
knowledge and thinking processes in order to expose and clarify them.
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16.  Through articulation, the learners make their
learning explicit through language so that
community members have a basis of
interaction to refine and expand
understanding.
 Articulation can be interwoven in a learning
experience through a variety of strategies
including discussion, demonstration,
presentation, and the exchange of written or
other learner-produced artifacts.
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17.  Merriam Webster's (2001) defines reflection as "consideration of
some subject matter, idea, or purpose."
 Reflection has been identified as one of the most important, yet
neglected, aspects of learning and instruction. The founders of the
Foxfire Project (1992), an innovative educational program for high
school students, assert "...some conscious thoughtful time to stand
apart from the work itself - is an essential activity that must take
place at key points throughout the work.
 It is the activity that evokes insights and nurtures revisions in our
plans. It is also the activity we are least accustomed to
doing, and, therefore, the activity we will have to be the most rigorous
in including, and for which we will have to help students develop
skills."
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18.  In the cognitive apprenticeship model of teaching and learning,
reflection is yet another cornerstone activity.
 The goal of reflection is that students have guided opportunities to
look back and analyze their individual and group performance and
artifacts with an eye toward understanding and improvement. Like
other components of cognitive apprenticeship, reflection can be
encouraged in students in a variety of ways.
 For example, a mentor can pose experientially-based questions, or
ask students to construct their own questions, throughout the
learning experience --questions that consider content (e.g. who or
what?) while emphasizing process (e.g. how and why?).
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19. 4. Exploration
 Exploration in cognitive apprenticeship is pushing
students to try out their hypotheses, methods, and
strategies with processes similar to those that experts
use to solve problems (Collins, 1991). Students are
usually engaged in two kinds of exploration:
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20. • Exploration of the world. Students explore and
even play with facts, problems, phenomena, and
properties of our world in a less structured learning
environment (Rose, 1995).
• Exploration of problem solving processes. When
novel problems that require adjustment of pre-
existing cognitive processes are presented to the
students, the learners try different problem-solving
processes.
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21.  The responsibilities of the teacher to foster students'
explorations include gradual fading of
support, encouraging students' autonomy, and
transferring responsibility to students (Rogoff, 1990).
 The goal of the students is to actually use their mental
models of experts' cognitive processes on their own or
as a group to find and solve problems, set achievable
goals, test hypotheses, and make their own discoveries
(Collins, 1991).
 Through exploration, learners are encouraged to carry
out expert problem-solving processes on their own.
Exploration also promotes learner autonomy in defining
or formulating the problems to be solved
(Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989).
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22. • Learners become independent of the teacher
and begin to apply what experts do regarding
forming and testing hypotheses, formulating
rules, and gathering information. Once they
are in problem-solving mode, students are
forced to make discoveries on their own.
• By doing so, they experience what it is like to
be a scientist, historian, or mathematician
because they are thinking and performing
like these professionals.
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23. • It is the teacher's responsibility to find general tasks that students will
find interesting. The goals should be broad enough so that students
or student groups can find their own achievable goals.
• Goals for exploration should take into account thinking and the
learning process. Goals that only require rote memorization or simple
physical practice should not be considered.
• Solving problems that require inductive reasoning and resolving
situations that are puzzling encourage student involvement (Shunk,
2000).
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24.  Thus far, it is evident that the two classrooms differ drastically in the
extent to which elements of the cognitive apprenticeship model are
present in class activities; it is to be expected that a similar disparity
would exist in the use of exploration.
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25. Example of
Cognitive
Apprenticeship in
the Real World
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26. CoVis is an integrated learning environment of visualization and communication
tools. The visualization tools model the processes of non-visible weather
phenomena. Students learning in the CoVis environment engage in open-ended
scientific investigations and explorations that resemble the authentic practices of
scientists. The communication tools provide channels for both synchronous and
asynchronous collaboration with other students and mentors. The mentors
provide coaching/scaffolding of the science practice. The software systems of the
CoVis environment include an asynchronous networking system, the
Collaboratory Notebook. It provides the mechanism for recording activities, sorting
artifacts, and sharing the working process with others. Through this
mechanism, students reflect and articulate their scientific inquiry processes and
the knowledge they gain through the processes.
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