Situated Learning presented by Jason Arca

Situated Learning is an instructional model that was identified and researched by social anthropologist Jean Lave and former teacher Etienne Wenger, for which they also intertwine with Communities of Practice, another instructional model.  According to these researchers, learning is [both] social and comes largely from…our experience of participating in daily life (Smith, 2009).  

Situated learning occurs in the contextually, in activities and in situations.  This is in contrast to most classroom activities where content is learned outside of context, and is presented in abstract or hypothetical form.


Family Tree

Situated Learning falls under the overarching theoretical school of Constructivism/Interpretivism.  The general characteristics of Constructivism is learning are active and constructed through personal experience with the environment and validated though social interaction.  From the cultural aspect, there is a tie-in to Vygotsky’s Social Cultural Learning theory, a subset of Constructivism.  From it’s description, we can see close relationships to other instructional models.  Working in actual context is closely related to working on real world situations from the instructional models of Anchored Learning and Authentic Learning.  And of course, working in social groups is similar to working in collaborative groups, which is the Collaborative Learning model.  Also, if the situations can be thought of problems to be solved, now there is a relationship to Action Learning and Problem-Based Learning.  To see all the related instructional models, or the family tree, click here.



Practical Application

To create a practical application of situated learning, students have to be full participants in a meaningful situation.  This goes beyond just experimentation or being an observer.  There are couple ways that this can be employed in Chemistry, the subject that I will be teaching.  There are virtual laboratory software that will allow students to play the part of a chemist.  Although the context is not real, not having real materials or generating waste allows students more freedom to try out different variables and techniques.  A case study on virtual environment technology can be found here   There can also be partnerships made with laboratories or chemical plants, a water purification plant for example.  Video conferences can be made with the plant and students can play the part of someone who works there, ask questions, and contribute their input.