E-2 Distributed Cognition

Question 1

Important person with Distributed Cognition

Answer 1

Roy Pea

Question 2

What is distributed cognition?

Answer 2

• a theory of learning in which cognition is distributed across people, tools, time, and space
• cognition and intelligence occur beyond confines of the head

Question 3

Distributed Cognition: Historical Perspective

Answer 3

• DC emerged out of constructivist viewpoints that learning happens socially
• does NOT focus on intelligence as the only attribute of the individual BUT intelligence occurs in activity
• it occurs beyond the confines of our head
• DC rejects this isolationist view of intelligence

Question 4

how is cognition distributed?

Answer 4

1. across materials
2. across people
3. across time
4. across space

Question 5

how is cognition distributed?

-across material

Answer 5

• tools and cognitive artifacts
• they contain the intelligence of their designers within them
• can increase intelligence
• BUT can also shape and constrain thinking

Question 6

how is cognition distributed?

across people

Answer 6

-groups can accomplish more than any one person

Question 7

how is cognition distributed?

across time

Answer 7

what we learn before impacts what we know now

-the knowledge of our predecessors is contained in the tools we use

Question 8

how is cognition distributed?

across space

Answer 8

-we access spaces particularly in our on/offline worlds

Question 9

cognitive artifacts

Answer 9

• these are the tools that mediate thinking
• they contain the intelligence of their designers within them
• are human-made devices constructed to enhance cognition … allowing “higher-order” thinking
• how things are designed and represented matters for thinking and learning

Question 10

cognitive artifacts examples

Answer 10

• externalizing to reduce memory load –> diaries, reminders, calendars, notes, lists, post-its, piles, flagged emails
• modifying existing representations–> crossing off, underlining, highlighting
• externally manipulating items into different structures –> playing scrabble, organizing cards in your hand

Question 11

cognitive artifacts as educational tools

Answer 11

education often results in making far too many people look ‘dumb’ because they are not allowed to use resources, whereas outside of education we all use resources

Question 12

affordances

Answer 12

tools have affordances or clues about how to use them

• affordances depend on the current context and the goal
• objects thus carry intelligence “in” them

ex: button (push it and light goes on), switch (change it and light goes on)

Question 13

constraints

Answer 13

tools also have constraints or characteristics that prevent us from using them in certain ways

• when creating tools, designers make choices that structure tools in certain ways
  ex: lego assembly kits compared to your legos as a child

Question 14

representations

Answer 14

• are an abstraction of a real thing or event
• they are one type of cognitive artifact
• they all have different affordances and constraints as a result of design decisions

Question 15

representations as cognitive artifacts

Answer 15

strong representations can facilitate understanding and poor representations can hinder understanding

Question 16

good representations…

Answer 16

1. turn a problem into an experimental task, not a reflective one (ex: comparing flights)
2. capture only essential elements of the event or thing (leaves out unimportant info)
3. address the needs of the person using the representation (easy to interpret)
4. are appropriate for the task at hand
   (help people make judgments, as well as find important patterns and structures

Question 17

distributed cognition summary

Answer 17

• cognition, learning and intelligence are not simply in the brain
• cognition is spread out across people, time, tools, and places
• cognitive artifacts can facilitate or hinder our ability to think, problem, solve, and learn
• representations are one type of cognitive artifacts