Situated Learning

Learning is not just a process that it is acquired in a classroom; it is also a process that it is acquired outside the classroom by the social interaction and collaboration. When I recently arrived to my “unidad receptora”, I foolishly thought that knowledge was acquired after obtaining a professional degree. But now I realized that it is just the begging, according to Brown, Collins and Dugid , learning is a continuous, lifelong process from acting in situations. So, knowledge and learning are properly conceive as being located in communities of practice.

Situated learning is basically a term used in socio cultural theory which views learning as not simply a cognitive process but a social one which is produced by the situation and the social context in which learning involves participation in a community of practice. (Lave & Wenger, 1991).

The theory of situated cognition or situated learning plays a significant role in my professional life because it is part of my receiving institution with many beneficial aspects with my teaching.

Personally, I think that I am learning a lot with my fellow teachers by socialization, visualization and imitation. In my in the school where I am doing my social service there are regular frequent meetings in which are mainly to talk about administrative matters. But, most importantly, we discuss things about general issues in education, about the perceived problems of the institution, the problems that the students are facing in the different subjects, examinations in general and teaching materials. There are other also informal contacts with my colleagues, for example during the break in the staff room.

For me it is a great opportunity to have a professional contact with colleagues and to learn from them. I also learn a lot from my students. In order to carry out my needs analysis, I had the opportunity to interact with both fellow teachers and students in which we discuss about learning issues.  The result of that for me was professional interaction and worth.

During my classes there are situations of co-participation, for example, when students collaborate with each other, working in pairs or groups. In which I step back and observe the group. I pay attention in how they behave and how the task is taking action. In some writing or speaking activities, they have to be involved in activities, solve problems, do research or report back on what they have found out. During that lesson I give students feedback. It is really surprising for me to see how many insights can be gathered.

It is really important to mention that there is another important social interaction and collaboration in which situated learning takes place which is Social Media. "Networked learning, in contrast, is committed to a vision of the social that stresses cooperation, interactivity, mutual benefit, and social engagement. The power of ten working interactively will invariably outstrip the power of one looking to beat out the other nine."

 In my blog, I have the opportunity to reflect and analyze about my development as an English teacher, the things that happen during my lessons at my receiving institution and also the chance to interact with my e-mates. I believe that we feel motivated because it does not let us to feel lonely about the teaching and leaning process because we sometimes share the same idea or point of view; we sometimes face the same problems or difficulties. We learn from each other by giving advice and increase each other’s learning.

To sum up, I feel situated to the institution and my students. Situational learning is part of my everyday life by having contact with my fellow teachers, students and e-mates. In which I learn from interaction, observation, imitation and experience.

 

References:

 Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Dugid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18, 32-42.

Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger (1991) Situated Learning. Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, p. 133.