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| Stasz, C., & Brewer, D. J. (1999). Academic Skills at Work: Two Perspectives (MDS-1193). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California. |
The apparent discontinuities between formal knowledge (school learning) and practical knowledge (out-of-school learning) as well as research on how people learn and develop expertise has motivated new interest in experiential, or applied or contextualized learning (see Berryman & Bailey, 1992; Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989; Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989; Raizen, 1989; Resnick, 1991). Research suggests that it is no longer sufficient to teach knowledge and procedures in the didactic manner that often characterizes school learning. Rather, instruction must also focus on the conditions of application of the knowledge and skills being learned. Further, the most effective learning takes place through situated activity, "using the physical environment and the tools it provides, the co-operative construction of knowledge among the group of workers (or students) doing a common task, and the culture of the specific work community" (Raizen, 1989, p. 86).
Although the empirical case for learning academics through applied or contextualized approaches is still being made, the calls for teaching academics and other skills in a more applied manner are now commonplace. Federal legislation (e.g., 1990 Amendments to the Carl Perkins Act, School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994) promotes applied learning and increased opportunities for students to participate in work-based learning activities linked to school. Employers and scholars alike believe that instructional tasks derived from the workplace or everyday contexts can motivate students, enhance their understanding of fundamental academic concepts, and develop their practical knowledge.
The interest for applied or situated learning strategies in mathematics is evident in publications by House and Coxford (1995) or by other mathematics teaching reformers. For example, one recent publication, High School Mathematics at Work: Essays and Examples for the Education of All Students (Mathematical Sciences Education Board [MSEB] and National Research Council, 1998), compiles a set of essays that deal with such topics as connecting math in work and life, the role of standards and assessments, and curricular considerations. While this report is not intended as a consensus document, it reveals a wide array of thinking on what constitutes a relevant application. One author suggests that "a good task is one that a million or more workers in the U.S. economy are being paid to solve" (Packer, 1998, p. 69). Another suggests that math tasks should have several characteristics: they must require time, allow multiple solution paths, be open-ended, permit revision and extension, and develop basic skills (Kahle, 1998). Still others caution against creating "contrived" exercises (Parnell, 1998) or exercises that look applied on the surface but can be accomplished with little understanding of the underlying mathematics (Taylor, 1998). Solving mathematics problems from some workplace contexts may require more contextual knowledge than is reasonable when the goal is to learn mathematics; solving others may require more mathematics knowledge than is reasonable in high school.[7]
In short, while few question the value of applied learning, the importing of out-of-school examples into the school-based learning context is fraught with conceptual and practical problems that await further research and development.
[7]Similar discussions about applied learning are being held among science educators (e.g., Layton, 1991; Vickers, 1998) and technology educators (e.g., Raizen, Sellwood, Todd, & Vickers, 1995).
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| Stasz, C., & Brewer, D. J. (1999). Academic Skills at Work: Two Perspectives (MDS-1193). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California. |