The Design of a Cognitive Apprenticeship to Facilitate Storytime Programming for Librarians

Year 2016, Volume: 7 Issue: 4, 331 - 351, 16.10.2016

Jennifer A. Scott-brown Jill E. Stafeniak

Abstract

The majority of research that has been conducted on structuring mentorship programs has
been on career support in terms of transferring tacit and explicit knowledge from the
supervisor to the protégé. While the instructional design literature touts that cognitive
apprenticeships provide a great framework for constructivist and situated learning
environments, little research has been done examining how much time should be allocated to
the various phases of the apprenticeship framework. The purpose of this study was to explore
whether the use of a cognitive apprenticeship framework could be used to mentor new
librarians. Data was collected and analyzed in three phases. Phase 1 consisted of a needs
assessment to determine the skills necessary for programmers to deliver a curriculum based
storytime. Phase 2 data collected during the implementation of the cognitive apprenticeship
included observation and reflective journals. Data collected during Phase 3 consisted of
participant interviews immediately following the implementation of the cognitive
apprenticeship, and three months after the conclusion of the study. All data was coded and
analyzed using a phenemonological approach. The researchers found the need for flexibility
when utilizing a cognitive apprenticeship model, based on participant prior knowledge and
experience, the importance of the modeling and coaching stages of the model, participant
desire for working with other programmers being trained.

Keywords

situated learning, instructional sequencing, cognitive apprenticeship, programming, librarians

References

• Block, P. (2011). Flawless consulting: A guide to getting your expertise used (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pfeiffer.
• Alger, C., & Kopcha, T. J. (2011). Technology supported cognitive apprenticeship transforms the student teaching field experience: Improving the student teaching field experience for all triad members. The Teacher Educator, 46, 71-88.
• Bandura, A. (1971). Social learning theory. New York: General Learning Press.
• Block, P. (2011). Flawless Consulting: A guide to getting your expertise used (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
• Bouta, H., & Paraskeva, F. (2013). The cognitive apprenticeship theory for the teaching of mathematics in an online 3D virtual environment. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science & Technology, 44(2), 159-178.
• Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42.
• Collins, A., Bown, J. S., & Newman, S. E. (1987). Cognitive apprenticeship: Teaching the craft of reading, writing, and mathematics. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Collins, A., Brown, J. S., & Holum, A. (1991). Cognitive apprenticeship: Making thinking visible. American Educator, 15(3), 1-18.
• Collins, A., Hawkins, J., & Carver, S. M. (1991). A cognitive apprenticeship for disadvantaged students. In B. Means, C. Chelemer, & M. S. Knapp (Eds.), Teaching advanced skills to at-risk students (pp. 216-243). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Delattre, M., Ocler, R., Moulette, P., & Rymeyko, K. (2009). Singularity of qualitative research: From collecting information to producing results. Journal of Critical Postmodern Organization Science, 73(3), 33-50.
• Dennen, V. P. & Bruner, K. J. (2007). Cognitive apprenticeship in educational practice: Research on scaffolding, modeling, mentoring, and coaching as instructional strategies. In D. H. Jonassen, M. J. Spector, M. Driscoll, M. D. Merrill, & J. van Merrienboer (Eds.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology (pp. 426-437). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Dickey, M. D. (2008). Integrating cognitive apprenticeship methods in a web-based educational technology course for P-12 teacher education. Computers & Education, 51, 506-518.
• Gilley, A., Gilley, J. W., & Kouider, E. (2010). Characteristics of managerial coaching. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 23(1), 53-70. doi:10.1002/piq.20075
• Higgins, M. M. & Kram, K. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. The Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264-288.
• Jonassen, D. H. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models (pp. 217-239). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Joo, B. (2005). Executive coaching: A conceptual framework from an integrative review of practice and research. Human Resource Development Review, 4(4), 462-488. doi:10.1177/1534484305280866
• Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. The Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 608-625.
• Larkin, M., Watts, S., & Clifton, E. (2005). Giving voice and making sense in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 102-120.
• Lave, J. (1988). Cognition in Practice: Mind, mathematics and culture in everyday life. London: Cambridge University Press.
• Liu, T. C. (2005). Web-based cognitive apprenticeship model for improving pre-service teachers' performances and attitudes towards instructional planning: Design and field experiment. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 8(2), 136-149.
• McLellan, H. (1994). Situated learning: Continuing the conversation. Educational Technology, 34(10), 7-8.
• Newby, T. J. & Heide, A. (1992). The value of mentoring. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 5(4), 2-15. doi:10.1111/j.1937-8327.1992.tb00562.x
• Raabe, B. & Beehr, T. A. (2003). Formal mentoring versus supervisor and coworker relationships: Differences in perceptions and impact. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 271-293. doi:10.1002/job.193
• Schon, D. A. (1987). Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.
• Stewart, K. K. & Lagowski, J. J. (2003). Cognitive apprenticeship theory and graduate chemistry education. Journal of Chemical Education, 80(12), 1362-1367.
• Swap, W., Leonard, D., Shields, M., & Abrams, L. (2001). Using mentoring and storytelling to transfer knowledge in the workplace. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 95-114.
• Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Willig. C. (2008). Introducting qualitative research in psychology: Adventures in theory and method (2nd ed.). Maidenhead, England: McGraw Hill/Open University Press.