Theoretical Assumptions and Methods for Researching Cognition Situated in Intentional Learning Environments

Situative and distributed theories of cognition increasingly are being proposed as alternatives to the traditional individualist notion offered by cognitive psychology. From this perspective, “knowledge,” perhaps more aptly termed “knowing about,” is no longer conceived of as a static structure residing in the individual’s head; instead, knowing is a process distributed across the knower, the environment in which knowing occurs, and the activity in which the learner is participating.