Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory

Cognitive apprenticeship theory is an instructional design model firstly introduced by Collins, Brown, and Newman in 1989. In their work “Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics” the authors wrote:

“We propose an alternative model of instruction that is accessible within the framework of the typical American classroom. It is a model of instruction that goes back to apprenticeship but incorporates elements of schooling. We call this model “cognitive apprenticeship”.”

Cognitive Apprenticeship is a way of learning through an experience guided by an expert. According to mentioned work of Collins et al., methods of cognitive apprenticeship include:

Modeling - expert's presentation of a task from which should build conceptual models of required processes

Coaching - learners try to perform the task while expert offers them advice, reminders and hints

Articulation - expert helps learners to articulate their reasoning and knowledge

Reflection - comparison of ways problem has been solved between learners or learners and expert

Exploration - students should try to solve a problem by themselves

Bibliography

Educational Technology.

Collins, Allan, Brown, J. S. and Newman, S. E. Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the Craft of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. Defense Technical Information Center, 1986.

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