Legitimate Peripheral Participation
Lave and Wegner (1991) describe learning as increased levels of participation in communities of practice. According to Lave and Wegner, legitimate peripheral participation is the process of evolving from newcomer status to a full participant within a community of practice. The newcomer can be considered a legitimate participant because the individual has been granted access to resources that would not be available to outsiders. Yet, the term peripheral describes the varied ways in which a newcomer may engage within the community of practice. As the necessary knowledge and skills increase, so does active participation. Over time, as knowledge and skills increase the newcomer becomes and oldtimer.
Apprenticeships can take a variety of forms. Wenger (1991) describes apprentice learning as a gradual release of responsibilities and access to the community's resources. Instruction is not overt, yet the apprentice learns through engagement with the practice and communication with peers. A cognitive apprenticeship (or internship) provides a student with the opportunity to join a community of practice and engage in an authentic context for their course of study. The difference between a trade apprenticeship and a cognitive apprenticeship is the need for reflection. When an apprentice maintains membership to two communities of practice, the first being the new community and the second being the university, there should be opportunities for the learner to critically reflect on the new learning. The engagement and interaction between the two communities promotes growth and advancement in practice.
In the 1990’s the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV) implemented situated learning into educational practices via anchored instruction. (Anchored instruction is a term used to describe complex video simulations.) The group proposed that the video simulations provided rich situated contexts for engaging learners in realistic and complicated problem solving. While critics of anchored instruction argue that the videos place the learner in an observer role, the CTGV has demonstrated that by engaging in anchored instruction activities their students are better prepared to solve similar and near-similar real world problems (Driscoll, 2005).
Herrington, et al. (2000) provide the following guidelines for developing situated learning experiences for online courses:
Online instruction should provide…
Learning communities develop within classrooms when students and teachers work together to solve authentic problems. Instructor and student collaboration affords students with opportunities to develop expertise and bring the own expertise to the group. When classroom culture moves toward a community of learning, students learn how to do the work of learning with others.
History & Key Persons