Situated Cognition Theory Research Articles

Tangibility of representations in engineering courses and the workplace

AbstractBackgroundSituated cognition theory suggests that representations of concepts are products of the environment wherein we learn and apply concepts. This research builds on situated cognition by investigating how concepts are tangible to a professional engineering environment.Purpose/HypothesisThe tangibility of concepts in relation to social and material contexts was defined and explored in this study. Specifically, the conceptual representations of structural loads were examined within workplace and academic environments.Design/MethodA researcher conducted ethnographic fieldwork at a private engineering firm and in undergraduate engineering courses. Data sources from this fieldwork included the ethnographer's participant‐observation field notes, formal and informal interviews, and artifact documentation.ResultsFindings from this study described how academic representations of structural loads are more or less tangible to the social and material contexts of engineering practice. Representations documented in the workplace were found to be tangible to (1) real‐world conditions, (2) project/stakeholder constraints, and (3) engineering tools. Conversely, representations documented in the courses studied exhibited various degrees of tangibility to none, some, or all of these three traits.ConclusionsThese findings explicitly identify the ways in which representations of structural loads differ across academic and workplace environments and how these differences may contribute to the education–practice gap. Specific suggestions for making academic representations more tangible to workplace environments are provided based on findings from in the workplace, previous engineering education literature, and best practices observed in the courses studied. Future research considerations and the value of ethnographic methodology to situated cognition theory are also discussed.

On the Effectiveness of English Teaching in Junior Middle School from the Perspective of the Creation of Situation

Under the guidance of constructivism learning theory and situated cognition theory, this study takes the teaching videos of high quality English classes in junior middle school as the research subjects. It is found that there are some problems in the creation of situations in junior middle school English classroom, such as the ambiguity of teaching situation, the simplicity of teaching situation and the inadequacy of communication in situation. Furthermore, it puts forward the corresponding and effective strategies to improve the teaching effect of the creation of situation. This study provides a reference for teachers to create a good teaching situation.

Audience participation digital drama‐based learning activities for situational learning in the classroom

AbstractIn this study, the transformational play approach was further used to deploy drama‐based situational learning in the classroom through the Digital Learning Theatre (DLT) by engaging drama performers and the audience collaboratively. This study analysed the learners' learning effectiveness based on translation and sentence‐construction abilities, and their perception by focussing on concentration, and comprehension of dialogues before and after the drama‐based activity. The experimental results were based on both the DLT including tablet PCs to enable audience participation in drama performances, and the DLT for drama performances in which the audience can participate through traditional open discussion sessions with the narrator of the drama. Sixty‐five students were selected randomly as participants from the English as a Foreign Language academic program at the junior high school level. The application of the DLT including the tablet PCs approach showed considerable improvement in students' learning effectiveness as well as a significant positive effect on classroom learning, outperform the effectiveness of the DLT with traditional open discussion sessions for the audience. Accordingly, to improve students' learning effectiveness, their engagement in the learning process can be advanced through situational learning activities using educational technologies that combine with collaborative learning mechanisms for classroom learning. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic The transformational play proposed by Sasha Barab is designed based on situated cognition theory to position persons, content, and context together through digital games. Dorothy Heathcote proposed a drama‐based learning approach for learning in the classroom, and learners can play various roles in the drama to learn in a situational learning setting. The teacher, too, plays a role to guide the students and engage them in the situational learning setting. Integration of immersive educational technologies supports learning by reducing obstacles to adoption in the learning process and improve learning effectiveness. Within a rich contextual learning environment, learners can be placed in different situational learning tasks that allow them to apply existing knowledge and experiences. What does this paper add This study introduces a manner of applying the transformational play approach in drama‐based situational learning activities suitable for collaborative learning in a classroom setting. It introduces a practical and simple method to transform a regular classroom into a digital version of the learning theatre, including a virtual stage to drama performances. The drama‐based situational learning approach facilitates the audience as well as the performers to transform themselves into protagonists in the learning context by collaboratively following the learning content and learning with their peers. The technology‐enhanced drama‐based situational learning approach is introduced based on the transformation play approach that allows the students to learn situationally through different script instances, and improves their learning effectiveness by helping them understand the learning content through performing, participating, watching, and interacting in the learning context. Implications for practice and/or policy Learners can apply their prior knowledge and experiences creatively through drama‐based learning activities, and interactive engagement allows the audience to participate in the learning process equally as drama performers. Educators and learning system developers can implement this approach to facilitate situational practice and discuss learning content. The learning process supports the reinterpretation of the learners' experiences and reflects on how to procure/adopt new knowledge and apply it to real‐life situations. Drama performance is a collaborative/group learning task and it is performed for the audience. Students with higher achievements will help students with lower achievements so that everyone can contribute in the learning process to achieve their learning objectives.

Clinical Reasoning in Forensic Psychiatry: Concepts, Processes, and Pitfalls.

Forensic psychiatrists are often sought by the court of law to provide professional opinion on specific legal matters that have a major impact on the evaluee and possibly society at large. The quality of that opinion and recommendations rely on the quality of the analysis from the assessment results conducted by the psychiatrist. However, the definition and scope of a forensic psychiatric analysis is not clear. While existing literature on forensic psychiatric analysis generally includes organizing information, identifying relevant details, and formulating a set of forensic psychiatric opinions as components, there is no explicit and unified definition of these terms and process. This lack of clarity and guidelines may hinder forensic psychiatry from achieving its goal of providing objective information to the court or other relevant parties. Forensic psychiatric analysis exhibits numerous parallels to clinical reasoning in other fields of medicine. Therefore, this review aims to elaborate forensic psychiatric analysis through the lens of clinical reasoning, which has been developed by incorporating advances in cognitive sciences. We describe forensic psychiatric analysis through three prominent clinical reasoning theories: hypothetico-deductive model, illness script theory, and dual process theory. We expand those theories to elucidate how forensic psychiatrists use clinical reasoning not only to diagnose mental disorders, but also to determine mental capacities as requested by law. Cognitive biases are also described as potential threat to the accuracy of the assessment and analysis. Additionally, situated cognition theory helps elucidate how contextual factors influence risk of errors. Understanding the processes involved in forensic psychiatric analysis and their pitfalls can assist forensic psychiatrists to be aware of and try to mitigate their bias. Debiasing strategies that have been implemented in other fields of medicine to mitigate errors in clinical reasoning can be adapted for forensic psychiatry. This may also shape the training program of general psychiatrists and forensic psychiatrists alike.

"Want to Learn" and "Can Learn": Influence of Academic Passion on College Students' Academic Engagement.

Although research exists on the relationship between passion and engagement among employees, the mechanisms of academic passion on academic engagement among students needs to be elucidated. Guided by the broaden-and-build and situated cognition theories, we explored the positive effect of academic passion on academic engagement, the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy, and the role of teacher developmental feedback as a moderator in the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. Based on a sample of 1,029 college students from universities in the Henan Province of China, the results showed that academic passion was positively related to academic engagement, academic self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement, and teacher developmental feedback effectively moderated the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. These findings explained the mechanism underlying the relationship between academic passion and academic engagement. Moreover, the findings highlighted important factors that promote college students' academic engagement.

Informal faculty development in health professions education: Identifying opportunities in everyday practice

Introduction Faculty development (FD) supports health professions educators to develop knowledge, skills, and expertise. Whilst formal FD is a focus in the health professions education (HPE) literature, little is known about how FD occurs informally. We sought to identify opportunities and constraints for informal FD amongst health professions educators in the academic (university) setting and understand how they engage with these opportunities. Methods This exploratory study was conducted in one Australian university. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with undergraduate and postgraduate teachers and assessors (teachers) (n = 10); teaching team and program leaders (mid-level leaders) (n = 8); and senior (university-level) leaders (n = 2). We analysed data thematically and applied situated cognition theory. Results We identified three everyday educational practices that provide opportunities for informal FD in the academic setting: (1) applying evidence to; (2) evaluating; and (3) sharing, educational practice. Engaging with these opportunities was shaped by individuals’ motivation and proactivity to engage in professional learning (effectivities) and organisational culture and structures (constraints). Conclusion Applying evidence to, evaluating, and sharing educational practice provide valuable contexts for ongoing learning in the academic setting. Assisting educators and organisations to recognise and leverage these ‘in situ’ FD opportunities is vital in fostering a continuous learning culture.

Cerro Rico: the co-production of a discursive voice in chamber music

Centred around a video essay, this exposition aims to develop an understanding of subjectivity within a collaborative chamber music context. Drawing on the theory of situated cognition (see for example Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989) and the concept of subjective ‘voice’ in performance (Cumming, 2000), the presentation develops the model proposed by Gorton and Östersjö (2016 and 2019) in which a ‘discursive voice’ may emerge from the process of composer–performer collaboration. These ideas are explored through a study of the early rehearsals of David Gorton's composition ‘Cerro Rico’, for soprano violin and charango. This is a very slow piece, and while the two instrumentalists both operate at this extreme of the tempo spectrum, they do so guided by different conceptions, one metronomic and the other taxonomic, of how this should be notated; the charango player works with a very slow metronome mark of quaver = 15 while the violinist plays mostly in large note-values: breves, longs, and dotted longs. From these opposed positions, the performers find a shared understanding of time. Through an appraisal of video footage taken from the first rehearsals of ‘Cerro Rico’, it is argued that the malleable character of coordination, shaping, and timing that is afforded in performance by the extreme slowness of the piece creates the conditions for the emergence of a discursive voice, compounded from the contributions of the two performers and the composer. The ‘collaboration’ between composer and performers can be conceived as being situated within this discursive voice, manifested as a sense of shared ownership of the materials.

Challenges in mitigating context specificity in clinical reasoning: a report and reflection.

Objectives Diagnostic error is a growing concern in U.S. healthcare. There is mounting evidence that errors may not always be due to knowledge gaps, but also to context specificity: a physician seeing two identical patient presentations from a content perspective (e.g., history, labs) yet arriving at two distinct diagnoses. This study used the lens of situated cognition theory - which views clinical reasoning as interconnected with surrounding contextual factors - to design and test an instructional module to mitigate the negative effects of context specificity. We hypothesized that experimental participants would perform better on the outcome measure than those in the control group. Methods This study divided 39 resident and attending physicians into an experimental group receiving an interactive computer training and "think-aloud" exercise and a control group, comparing their clinical reasoning. Clinical reasoning performance in a simulated unstable angina case with contextual factors (i.e., diagnostic suggestion) was determined using performance on a post-encounter form (PEF) as the outcome measure. The participants who received the training and did the reflection were compared to those who did not using descriptive statistics and a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results Descriptive statistics suggested slightly better performance for the experimental group, but MANCOVA results revealed no statistically significant differences (Pillai's Trace=0.20, F=1.9, df=[4, 29], p=0.15). Conclusions While differences were not statistically significant, this study suggests the potential utility of strategies that provide education and awareness of contextual factors and space for reflective practice.

Stimulating employee learning: the confluence of case-based and self-regulated learning

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the linkage of case-based instruction with the enhancement of self-regulated learning of employees. Specific objectives are to review and describe: some characteristics of adult learning, features and functions of self-regulated learning (SRL) and the instructional approach, case-based learning (CBL), followed by a synthesis of the information in the form of a detailed, CBL approach for practitioner use.Design/methodology/approachThe approach used in this work is represented in the following phases. First, conduct a literature review of each of these areas: characteristics of adult learners, details of SRL and its components, accompanied by the expression of linkages among the concepts and CBL. This includes exploration of metacognition, as it relates to the self-regulation of learning. Also reviewed was CBL, including theory background. Literature reviews were aided by databases: Education Research Complete, Psych Info and ScienceDirect. The second substantive phase was to synthesize the information obtained in the reviews and analysis and create a detailed design presentation for using CBL with trainees.FindingsThe findings of the analysis and synthesis of information enable the expression of a complete, detailed approach to the application of CBL for practitioner use. A review of practices in CBL augmented with examination of important theories of situated cognition and constructivism assist in building a rationale as to how case-based instruction may improve individual and team/group self-regulation of learning.Practical implicationsPresented in the paper is a complete model of case-based instruction for practitioner use and refinement.Originality/valueCase-based instruction has not been directly linked to the self-regulation of learning. This paper makes a contribution to the literature of CBL as well as to situational cognition.

Augmented reality marketing: A technology-enabled approach to situated customer experience

Recent advances in Augmented Reality (AR) technologies have led to a growing interest in their application for marketing strategy and practice – what we term Augmented Reality Marketing (ARM). However, despite emerging publications on the subject, managers and academics struggle to articulate how ARM delivers experiences that are valuable to customers in a way that is different from other marketing approaches. In this article, we review the emerging literature, and define ARM as a customer-facing interface for the application of digital marketing technologies in physical settings. Rooted in a class of ‘situated cognition’ theories from social psychology, we identify a unique set of digital affordances which ARM offers beyond extant marketing approaches in traditional media. By drawing on the key conceptual building blocks of situated cognition theory, we develop a framework of ARM experiences to synthesize current research and applications, and to suggest directions for future research.

A situated cognition model for clinical reasoning performance assessment: a narrative review.

Background Clinical reasoning performance assessment is challenging because it is a complex, multi-dimensional construct. In addition, clinical reasoning performance can be impacted by contextual factors, leading to significant variation in performance. This phenomenon called context specificity has been described by social cognitive theories. Situated cognition theory, one of the social cognitive theories, posits that cognition emerges from the complex interplay of human beings with each other and the environment. It has been used as a valuable conceptual framework to explore context specificity in clinical reasoning and its assessment. We developed a conceptual model of clinical reasoning performance assessment based on situated cognition theory. In this paper, we use situated cognition theory and the conceptual model to explore how this lens alters the interpretation of articles or provides additional insights into the interactions between the assessee, patient, rater, environment, assessment method, and task. Methods We culled 17 articles from a systematic literature search of clinical reasoning performance assessment that explicitly or implicitly demonstrated a situated cognition perspective to provide an "enriched" sample with which to explore how contextual factors impact clinical reasoning performance assessment. Results We found evidence for dyadic, triadic, and quadratic interactions between different contextual factors, some of which led to dramatic changes in the assessment of clinical reasoning performance, even when knowledge requirements were not significantly different. Conclusions The analysis of the selected articles highlighted the value of a situated cognition perspective in understanding variations in clinical reasoning performance assessment. Prospective studies that evaluate the impact of modifying various contextual factors, while holding others constant, can provide deeper insights into the mechanisms by which context impacts clinical reasoning performance assessment.

Sequence matters: patterns in task-based clinical reasoning.

Background The cognitive pathways that lead to an accurate diagnosis and efficient management plan can touch on various clinical reasoning tasks (1). These tasks can be employed at any point during the clinical reasoning process and though the four distinct categories of framing, diagnosis, management, and reflection provide some insight into how these tasks map onto clinical reasoning, much is still unknown about the task-based clinical reasoning process. For example, when and how are these tasks typically used? And more importantly, do these clinical reasoning task processes evolve when patient encounters become complex and/or challenging (i.e. with contextual factors)? Methods We examine these questions through the lens of situated cognition, context specificity, and cognitive load theory. Sixty think-aloud transcripts from 30 physicians who participated in two separate cases - one with a contextual factor and one without - were coded for 26 clinical reasoning tasks (1). These tasks were organized temporally, i.e. when they emerged in their think-aloud process. Frequencies of each of the 26 tasks were aggregated, categorized, and visualized in order to analyze task category sequences. Results We found that (a) as expected, clinical tasks follow a general sequence, (b) contextual factors can distort this emerging sequence, and (c) the presence of contextual factors prompts more experienced physicians to clinically reason similar to that of less experienced physicians. Conclusions These findings add to the existing literature on context specificity in clinical reasoning and can be used to strengthen teaching and assessment of clinical reasoning.

The Linguistic Effects of Context Specificity: Exploring Affect, Cognitive Processing, and Agency in Physicians' Think-Aloud Reflections.

Background The literature suggests that affect, higher-level cognitive processes (e.g. decision-making), and agency (the capacity to produce an effect) are important for reasoning; however, we do not know how these factors respond to context. Using situated cognition theory as a framework, and linguistic tools as a method, we explored the effects of context specificity [a physician seeing two patients with identical presentations (symptoms and findings), but coming to two different diagnoses], hypothesizing more linguistic markers of cognitive load in the presence of contextual factors (e.g. incorrect diagnostic suggestion). Methods In this comparative and exploratory study, 64 physicians each completed one case with contextual factors and one without. Transcribed think-aloud reflections were coded by Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software for markers of affect, cognitive processes, and first-person pronouns. A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to inferentially compare these LIWC categories between cases with and without contextual factors. This was followed by exploratory descriptive analysis of subcategories. Results As hypothesized, participants used more affective and cognitive process markers in cases with contextual factors and more I/me pronouns in cases without. These differences were statistically significant for cognitive processing words but not affective and pronominal words. Exploratory analysis revealed more negative emotions, cognitive processes of insight, and third-person pronouns in cases with contextual factors. Conclusions This study exposes linguistic differences arising from context specificity. These results demonstrate the value of a situated cognition view of patient encounters and reveal the utility of linguistic tools for examining clinical reasoning.

Clinical reasoning performance assessment: using situated cognition theory as a conceptual framework.

Developing valid assessment approaches to clinical reasoning performance has been challenging. Situated cognition theory posits that cognition (e.g. clinical reasoning) emerges from interactions between the clinician and situational (contextual) factors and recognizes an opportunity to gain deeper insights into clinical reasoning performance and its assessment through the study of these interactions. The authors apply situated cognition theory to develop a conceptual model to better understand the assessment of clinical reasoning. The model highlights how the interactions between six contextual factors, including assessee, patient, rater, and environment, assessment method, and task, can impact the outcomes of clinical reasoning performance assessment. Exploring the impact of these interactions can provide insights into the nature of clinical reasoning and its assessment. Three significant implications of this model are: (1) credible clinical reasoning performance assessment requires broad sampling of learners by expert raters in diverse workplace-based contexts; (2) contextual factors should be more explicitly defined and explored; and (3) non-linear statistical models are at times necessary to reveal the complex interactions that can impact clinical reasoning performance assessment.

Seeing eye to eye: social augmented reality and shared decision making in the marketplace

Firms increasingly seek to improve the online shopping experience by enabling customers to exchange product recommendations through social augmented reality (AR). We utilize socially situated cognition theory and conduct a series of five studies to explore how social AR supports shared decision making in recommender–decision maker dyads. We demonstrate that optimal configurations of social AR, that is, a static (vs. dynamic) point-of-view sharing format matched with an image-enhanced (vs. text-only) communicative act, increase recommenders’ comfort with providing advice and decision makers’ likelihood of using the advice in their choice. For both, these effects are due to a sense of social empowerment, which also stimulates recommenders’ desire for a product and positive behavioral intentions. However, recommenders’ communication motives impose boundary conditions. When recommenders have strong impression management concerns, this weakens the effect of social empowerment on recommendation comfort. Furthermore, the stronger a recommender’s persuasion goal, the less likely the decision maker is to use the recommendation in their choice.

Conceptualizing Learning Environments in the Health Professions.

The learning environment (LE) is an important and frequently discussed topic in the health professions education literature. However, there is considerable inconsistency in how the LE is defined and described. The authors propose a definition of the LE and a conceptual framework to facilitate health professions educators in understanding, studying, and designing interventions to improve the LE. To arrive at this conceptual framework, the authors employed a living systems perspective that draws on various frameworks and theories, including ecological psychology, workplace learning, situated cognition, and sociomateriality theory. The conceptual framework identifies five overlapping and interactive core components that form two dimensions: the psychosocial dimension and material dimension. The psychosocial dimension comprises three components: the personal, social, and organizational. Intertwined with the psychosocial dimension at each level is the material dimension, which encompasses physical and virtual spaces. This theoretical lens can facilitate identifying and analyzing problems in the LE and guide development of interventions to mitigate them. The authors conclude with several practical suggestions for health professions educators, investigators, and editors.

Unpacking productive coaching interactions: identifying coaching approaches that support instructional uptake

ABSTRACT This multiple-case study utilised inductive and deductive analyses of interactions of five coach-teacher dyads at two university-based literacy clinics to investigate procedural knowledge – what coaches say and do – to guide teachers toward greater instructional expertise. Using theories of situated cognition and positioning and framed within social constructivism, we examined videos of coaching and tutoring and identified predominant coaching interaction discourse and three facilitative coaching approaches associated with teachers’ uptake of instructional ideas: (1) joint problem identification; (2) redirection and reinterpretation; (3) ‘flipped’ IRE framework. We conclude by arguing how coaches’ talk creates agentive space for teachers to initiate intentional instruction.

From opening the 'black box' to looking behind the curtain: cognition and context in assessor-based judgements.

The increasing use of direct observation tools to assess routine performance has resulted in the growing reliance on assessor-based judgements in the workplace. However, we have a limited understanding of how assessors make judgements and formulate ratings in real world contexts. The current research on assessor cognition has largely focused on the cognitive domain but the contextual factors are equally important, and both are closely interconnected. This study aimed to explore the perceived cognitive and contextual factors influencing Mini-CEX assessor judgements in the Emergency Department setting. We used a conceptual framework of assessor-based judgement to develop a sequential mixed methods study. We analysed and integrated survey and focus group results to illustrate self-reported cognitive and contextual factors influencing assessor judgements. We used situated cognition theory as a sensitizing lens to explore the interactions between people and their environment. The major factors highlighted through our mixed methods study were: clarity of the assessment, reliance on and variable approach to overall impression (gestalt), role tension especially when giving constructive feedback, prior knowledge of the trainee and case complexity. We identified prevailing tensions between participants (assessors and trainees), interactions (assessment and feedback) and setting. The two practical implications of our research are the need to broaden assessor training to incorporate both cognitive and contextual domains, and the need to develop a more holistic understanding of assessor-based judgements in real world contexts to better inform future research and development in workplace-based assessments.

Design of Immersion Virtual Simulation Experiment Based on Haptic Feedback

In order to improve the immersiveness and scene reality of current virtual simulation experiments, a haptic feedback-based design Stereoscopic virtual simulation resource construction scheme was designed, which is based on constructivism learning theory and situated cognition theory and takes advantage of VR technology combined with haptic feedback and binocular stereoscopic display technology And the experiment was validated by seed germination experiments in Middle School Experiment Teaching. The results show that students' interest in learning can be stimulated and the learners' behaviors and feelings can be satisfied.

Entrepreneurial cognition and socially situated approach: a systematic and bibliometric analysis

Research on entrepreneurial cognition (EC) has evolved in recent years, and the aim of this contribution is to offer a clear, systematic, and bibliometric review of EC as a field of study from a more dynamic perspective, building on Socially Situated Cognition theory (SSC). Based on a data set that covers 18 years of research, from 1998 to 2016, the present study analyzes all of the 151 papers available in the Web of Science Core Collection and 15 editorials, book chapters, and books directly referring to entrepreneurial cognition. Building on our results, we divided EC studies into two stages, namely the “emerging” (1998–2007) and the “mature” (2008–2016). In addition, with this study we suggest three main topics that should be investigated in future researches: entrepreneurial action should be considered endogenous in the entrepreneurship process and the studies in the field of embodied and distributed cognition should be expanded.