Complete thesis - Murdoch University

challenged to construct deep and meaningful knowledge rather than to reproduce surfaceknowledge. They suggested that complex tasks requiring abstract thinking, alternative solutions,well-developed writing, and commitment beyond the general school context would bebetter solved through authentic pedagogy.Central aspects of authentic learning are to take learner perspectives and to create a learningenvironment by referring the content to the learners’ actual life experiences. However, thetarget professional domain must also be taken into consideration (Barab and Duffy, 1999).The content of learning is then assumed to become genuine and meaningful – an authenticactivity implies real world experiences, which make the content relevant and engage thelearners in their own meaning-making.3.3.3 Situated cognitionA theoretical framework rooted in the constructivist principles advanced by Piaget (1968) andVygotsky (1978), the situated cognition approach to learning emphasises the relationshipsbetween social, behavioural/psychological and neural perspectives of knowledge. Authenticpractice (and learning) take place within a complex web of social and activity systems whichmay (or may not) acknowledge the place of mental constructs (models and schemas). Thework of Lave and Wenger (1991) exemplifies a Vygotsky-inspired socio-historical school, whilea cognitive science school incorporates the work of Norman (1993); Brown et al (1989); Collinset al (1989).Apprenticeship learningCurrent theorists have been exploring the lessons learned from on-the-job learning environments,in particular apprenticeship learning. After examining five apprenticeship situations,Lave and Wenger (1991) noted that in the successful cases there is little observable teaching,yet large quantities of learning. In these examples, the practice of community created thepotential curriculum in the broadest sense. As Lave et al (1988) note, [school] curricula tendto be a specification of practice, while apprenticeships arrange opportunities for practice. InLave and Wenger (1991)’s view, learning is not simply one kind of activity, rather ‘talentdevelopment’ viewed as an aspect of all activity. The process of learning is always situated,with prime importance given to the reasons for learning. They argued that in many apprenticeshipsituations the desire to become central to a community of practice makes learninglegitimate and of value for the individual.141