Distributed Cognition

Question 1

Contextual Theories (the “cognitions”)

Answer 1

• Situated Cognition: Knowledge is situated within authentic activity, context, and culture
• Distributed Cognition: Knowledge is distributed across objects, individuals, artifacts, and tools
• Embodied Cognition: All aspects of cognition are shaped by the body

Question 2

Roy Pea and Intelligence

Answer 2

• Often distributed by off-loading what could be elaborate
• Error-prone mental reasoning processes as action constraints of either physical or symbolic environments
• The ‘mind’ rarely works alone
• The intelligences revealed through these practices [of cognition] are distributed- across minds, persons, and teh symbolic and physical environments, both natural and artificial”

Question 3

Judith Heerwagen on ‘distributed cognition’

Answer 3

“We can think of ourselves/tools/collegues/toys/stories/Post-It notes/Piles of files as distributed cognition systems”

Question 4

Distributed Cognition: Defined

Answer 4

• Distributed Cognition: A theory of learning in which cognition is distributed across people, tools, time and space
• From this viewpoint, cognition and intelligence occur “beyond the confines of the head”

Question 5

Distributed Cognition: Historical Perspective

Answer 5

• Distributed Cognition emerged out of constructivist viewpoints that learning happens socially
  
  • So heavily influenced by Vygotsky
• Still, many learning theories focus on intelligence as solely an attribute of the individual
• Distributed Cognition rejects this isolationist view of intelligence
  
  • Instead, intellegence is manifested in activity
  • Intelligence occurs beyond the confines of our head

Question 6

How is Cognition Distributed?

Answer 6

• Across materials (tools and cognitive artifacts): - - They contain the intelligences of their designers within the
  
  • They can augment intelligence
  • But they can also shape and constrain thinking, so there are trade-offs
• Across people: Groups can accomplish more than any one person
• Across time:
  
  • What we learn before impacts what we known now
  • The knowledge of our predecessors is contained in the tools we use
• Across space:
  
  • We access spaces, particularly in our on/offline worlds

Question 7

Examples of DCog

Answer 7

• Externalizing to reduce memory load
  
  • Diaries, reminders, calendars, notes, lists
  • Post-its, piles, marked/flagged emails
  • Pen and paper

Question 8

Examples of DCog

Answer 8

• Externalizing to reduce memory load
  
  • Diaries, reminders, calendars, notes, lists
  • Post-its, piles, marked/flagged emails
  • Pen and paper
• Modifying existing representations
  
  • Crossing off, underlining, highlighting
• Externally manipulating into items into different structures
  
  • Playing Scrabble, organizing cards in your hand

Question 9

Pea and Distributed Cognition

Answer 9

“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 10

Cognitive Artifacts

Answer 10

• Tools that mediate thinking
• Contain the intelligence of their designers within them
• They can augment intelligence
• Can also shape and constrain thinking, so there are trade-offs
• How things are designed and represented matters for thinking and learning
  
  • Representations need to be tailored to purpose, person and task
• Human-made devices constructed to enhance cognition
  
  • They allow us to engage in “higher-order” thinking
• Examples: The tools Hutchins observed during naval navigation

Question 11

Cognitive Artifacts Examples

Answer 11

• Externalizing to reduce memory load:
  
  • Diaries, reminders, calendars, notes, lists
  • Post-its, piles, marked/flagged emails
  • Pen and paper
• Modifying existing representations:
  
  • Crossing off, underlining, highlighting
• Externally manipulating items into different structures:
  
  • Playing Scrabble, organizing cards in your hand

Question 12

Affordances

Answer 12

• The perceived and actual properties of the things, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used
• Provide strong clues to the operations of things
• When affordances are taken advantage of, the user knows what to do just by looking; no picture, label, or instruction needed
• Ex. Plates for pushing, Knobs for turning, Slots for inserting, Balls for throwing

Question 13

Affordances

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

Constraints

Answer 14

• Tools also have constraints, or characteristics that prevent us from using them in certain ways
• When creating tools, designers make choices that structure those tools in certain ways
  • Those choices may limit the way we think about tools, or the way we use them

Question 15

What is a representation?

Answer 15

• Representations are an abstraction of a real thing or event

Question 16

Representations as Cognitive Artifacts

Answer 16

• Representations are an abstraction of a real things or event
  
  • They are one type of cognitive artifact
  • They all have different affordances and constraints, as a result of design decisions
• Strong representations can facilitate understanding, and poor representations can hinder understanding

Question 17

Representation and Design Principles

Answer 17

• Naturalness Principle: Increase the mapping between the real things and the representation (ex. if making a map, make symbols look as much like the real things as possible)
• Perceptual Principle: Use spatial and perceptual representations (ex. graph vs. tables with numbers)

Question 18

Good Representations

Answer 18

• Turn a problem into an experiential task, not a reflective one (Ex: Comparing flights)
• Capture only essential elements of the event or things
  
  • Leaves out unimportant, unnecessary information
• Address the needs of the person using the representation
  
  • Easy to interpret
• Are appropriate for the task at hand
  
  • Help people make judgments, as well as find important patterns and structures

Question 19

Distributed Cognition: In Summary

Answer 19

• 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 artifact
  
  • How they are designed and used influences our thinking

Question 20

DC Terms and Ideas

Answer 20

• Affordances: Clues about how to use tools (depend on the current context and the goal)
• Constraints: Characteristics that prevent us from using tools in certain ways
• When creating tools, designers make choices that structure those tools in certain ways
  
  • Those choices may limit the way we think about tools, or the way we use them
• How things are designed and represented matters for thinking and learning