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”.”