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Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning

Context-Based Learning
David Edward Rose1
(1) Philosophical Studies, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, NE1 7RU Newcastle upon Tyne,
UK
David Edward Rose
Email: [email protected]

Without Abstract

Synonyms
Object-based learning

Definition
Context-based learning is a pedagogical methodology that, in all its disparate forms, centers
on the belief that both the social context of the learning environment and the real, concrete
context of knowing are pivotal to the acquisition and processing of knowledge. The approach
is based on the firm conviction that learning is a social activity that is badly served by most
classroom situations due to an inherent misrepresentation of how the mind acquires,
processes, and produces knowledge. Learning is a communal activity centered on the
interactions between persons with substantial interests and standard classroom structures that
do not respond to this may well inhibit the success of learning.

Theoretical Background
The German philosopher G. W. F. Hegel succinctly critiqued theoretical approaches to
questions of practical philosophy in his subtle comment about the Owl of Minerva flying
only at dusk. The comment asserts that in areas of human discipline and practical activity
(and education is a human activity), theory can only be a descriptive practice that arises when
the trial and error and nitty-gritty of actual practical engagement with the world and people

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has become a stable institution. Only when such activities and conventions have progressed
to an effective level are general principles and rules of conduct, in short theory, distilled out
of everyday performances and practices. Context-based learning is perhaps only just entering
into the self-conscious phase whereby thinkers reflect on the theory that can best capture an
overtly practical engagement with the learning environment. The approach is still, in many
ways, an immanent response to the day in day out process of learning and transmitting
knowledge, whereby new techniques have been developed bottom-up rather than inspired and
determined by preexisting theoretical commitments. And nowhere is such a pragmatic
approach more appropriate than in a pedagogical methodology that seeks to integrate the
interests of the would-be knower with the body of knowledge before him or her.
Of course, theoretical precedents have been sought in the educational literature, and two
thinkers above all others seem to stand out: John Dewey, the American pragmatist, and Lev
Vygotsky, the Russian psychologist. From the former, context-based learning derives an
overtly pragmatic commitment: learning is an activity bound up with human interests. Just as
the standard of truth and knowledge in Deweys deeper philosophical theory is their utility, a
statement is true if it is useful, so must learning prepare the subject for social engagement. In
response to his theoretical commitments, Dewey believed that education ought to be
dominated by real-life tasks and challenges and that theory and facts were to be learned
through activity, rather than the standard model of a passive student receiving knowledge
from an expert or superior. The latter thinker, Vygotsky, asserted that culture and the
learners immediate environment determine both how he or she thinks, that is, the processes
of reasoning, and also the content of his or her thinking, that is, the elements of knowledge
that are combined and used in the thinking process. Ones success in learning is dependent
upon the environment of learning and the activity is best facilitated through a process of
problem solving in collaboration with peers, relations, or teachers. Intellectual development
depends greatly on the social situation of learning and how interactions with teachers,
relations, and peers around the learner occur. So, the context in which learning is based is a
dual axis: on the one hand, the context is the social situation of learning whereby knowledge
is acquired, processed, and produced through collaboration and use rather than direct
dissemination; on the other hand, the context must be an engagement with a real-life task
whereby knowledge interfaces with an actual, empirical reality. Both axes instigate a move
away from the hierarchical model of passive-learning in the traditional lecture hall or
classroom situation.
However, as indicated, it is the actual practice of context-based learning that, for the most
part, reveals its commitments and implicit assumptions. The method redefines the roles of
both learner and teacher: the former is to be actively involved in the learning process and the
latter is to facilitate the learners taking possession of the knowledge for him or herself. The
learning process is not about rote learning of facts, but is interest governed in the sense that
the learner perceives that there is something at stake in the learning rather than the mere
propensity to pass an examination or gain credit. Learning is no longer seen as something
happening to one, but an activity in which one is engaged. Consequently, the teacher
becomes a facilitator or a supervisor of tyro researchers; he or she is no longer a dispenser of
facts and theories, but an organizer of a social community of equal learners.
As the learner becomes the center of their own educational experience situated within a
communal group, so he or she reflects upon the first axis of the context (the social

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environment), the object (the intersection of the knowledge with empirical reality), and the
experience of learning. The advantage is obvious: through learning, the leaner is also
learning to learn and progresses from a dependent student to an independent subject. The
second axis of the context concerns the engagement with real-life learning challenges. These
activities would ideally involve both intellectual and physical activity: the movement of the
students, the seeking out of data, the measuring of objects, and so on. The learning context
must be both a concrete reality and the site of an investment of abstract ideas and
epistemological mores. So, one approach would be to invest academic knowledge of
philosophy, physics, literature, and so on into a real context such as health care, art galleries,
the music industry, political events, and so on, reflecting the interests of the learners
themselves. A second approach would be to frame the pursuit of academic knowledge in
terms of real-life challenges: the objective of making river water safe to drink (chemistry) or
the understanding of why public consensus is so outraged when cadavers organs are used
without consent (philosophy). In both approaches, it is obvious that the epistemological base
of the discipline is broadened (in the chemistry example, there must be an explicit discussion
of why we would want safe water and where the technology would be useful) and that the
acquisition of knowledge crosses disciplines (in the philosophy example, data on the medical
use of organs would have to be compiled).
The process of learning should involve distinct phases. One, the learner begins with empirical
engagement with the site or interaction of the knowledge that relies on facts and theories
already belonging to the learner as well as knowledge shared with peers and the encounter
with new knowledge in situ. Two, the learner then conceptualizes that reality in terms of
concepts and theories is drawn from one or more academic disciplines. The knowledge
acquired from a traditional discipline is perceived as useful to the completion of a task or in
the satisfaction of the learners self-directed interest. Three, the concepts and theories of the
discipline are applied or used and thus engage reality and a concrete problem or object, so
that the student sees and commands them in action. The learner takes possession of the
knowledge in order to satisfy an interest. Four, the results and conclusions acquired and
generated are disseminated in a variety of ways, determined by appropriateness:
presentations, reports, theses, web pages, and so on. The approach encourages higher-order
thinking alongside the passive acquisition of discipline-based knowledge and involves the
learner in the social construction of knowledge that interfaces with a concrete reality.
The advantages of the approach are that the learning environment facilitates the
internalization of knowledge and facts because they are connected to the reality of learners
lived experience. Learners are involved in the production of the knowledge in a tyro
researcher role whereby a hands-on experience makes learning into a doing and not just a
happening. Furthermore, learners are motivated to acquire the knowledge and see it as
valuable because it solves a specific problem or engages a distinct reality. The motivation to
engage in learning is interest rather than punitively driven. As a pedagogical method, it
implicitly builds upon the knowledge that learners already possess and so increases
confidence and independence through active involvement and social collaboration.

Important Scientific Research and Open

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Questions
Much of the research into context-based learning is rather appropriately an active
engagement with new pedagogical techniques in specific disciplines (Anthony et al. 1998;
Hansman 2001; Rose 2009). The majority of this empirical research is concerned with the
effectiveness of imparting skills and relating academic knowledge to real-life challenges. In
these studies, there is an attempt to compare the acquisition of knowledge concepts through
traditional means and through context-based approaches. The hypothesis that underpins much
of the research is that if a learner can understand why they are learning what they are
learning, it will somehow be of significance to them and hence retained. The empirical case
needs to show that this is more than a mere truism and the theoretical work has to articulate a
framework that explains why this is the case.
There are, however, also some theoretical assumptions that deserve more attention. Most
obviously, the reduction of epistemology to simple pragmatism whereby discipline-specific
knowledge is only of value if it can be utilized or applied to tasks and social integration
seems to prioritize skill learning over facts. Moreover, context-based learning ought to
perhaps be conditional and not a universal theory. It may perhaps be more suited to specific
disciplines and the balance between student-led and facilitator-governed learning will differ
from discipline to discipline and perhaps also from learner to learner. A core dissemination of
knowledge is required at the dependent stage and should not be discounted: independence
develops from dependence and the use of context-based approaches should be attentive to
these considerations. Empirical investigations are required to measure the effectiveness of the
technique and to discern the correct balance between the dependence and independence at the
various stages of an education.

Cross-References
Bottom-Up and Top-Down Learning
Collaborative Learning
Dewey, John
Interests and Learning
Learner-Centered Teaching
Personalized Learning
Problem-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning

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References
Anthony, S., Mernitz, H., Spencer, B., Gutwill, J., Kegley, S., & Molinaro, M. (1998). The ChemLinks
and ModularCHEM consortia: Using active and context-based learning to teach students how
chemistry is actually done. Journal of Chemical Education, 75(3), 322324.
Hansman, C. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing
Education, 89, 4351.
Rose, D. (2009). Weaving philosophy into the fabric of cultural life. Discourse, 9(1), 165182.

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