Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV) proposed to establish a learning environment with rich contextual information and affordance of authentic problem solving experience in order to help students to see the need for new learning. Thus, knowledge is a means or a tool to the ends instead of the ends.

Thus, anchored instruction has the following the essential components (CTGV, 1990):

1. Video-based macrocontexts as anchors: Anchored instruction situates instruction in the rich context of meaningful authentic problem-solving environment, provides kinds of problems and opportunities that experts in various areas encounter, as well as helps students explore the knowledge that the expert use as tools
2. Simulation of apprenticeship that comprises authentic tasks
3. Videodisc formats, which are used because of the following reasons

• Visual format can help students to develop pattern recognition skills
• Videos allows students to explore dynamic, visual and spatial representation of the problem and information as to form their mental models of the problem situation.
• Videodisc has random-access capabilities that enable students to explore the information from different perspectives.

4. Goal-oriented problem solving process: Students are challenged to engage in problem finding and problem solving activities. Students must identify major goals, generate the sub-problem that represent obstacles to the goal, and devise strategies to deal with various subproblems

Examples of the Anchored Instruction

• The Young Sherlock Project
• The Jasper Series: Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series is an example of a video-based instructional macro-context for complex problem generation and problem solving. CTGV (1992) listed seven design features underlying the series:
  1. Video-based format
  2. Narrative with realistic problems
  3. Generative Format, i.e. the stories end and students must generate the problems to be solved
  4. Embedded data design, i.e. all the data needed to solve the problems are in the video
  5. Problem complexity, each adventurer involves a problem of at least 14 steps
  6. Pairs related adventure: providing extra practice on core schema (the invariant and variant structures across the pair) to help transfer
  7. Links across the curriculum: Help extend mathematical thinking to other areas, encourage the integration of knowledge, support information findings and sharing

The instructional design principles underlying the anchored instruction are:

1. Instruction highlights the use of knowledge to help students to see the needs of learning the new information and set up the learning goals.
2. Students are encouraged to identify their own questions to the problem, to set up their own goals, and issues when they explore the anchors, a problem solving environment in a videodisc format, to identify relevant information and to come up with solutions.
3. Teachers need to learn to give control to students letting students to establish their learning goals. Teachers are no longer authoritative sources of knowledge, but facilitators and guides to support students' problem solving process, such as helping them to identify their goals.

Why anchors?

CTGV (1993) argued that anchors are macro-contexts that consist of rich information and are complex to be viewed from several perspectives. It is different from the micro-contexts, that are individual examples that are used to illustrate a particular dimension from a specific perspective.

• It is more manageable for teachers to organize instruction around anchors than to find all the resources necessary to accomplish actual-community-based project.
• It provides opportunities to begin with information-rich anchors
• It equalizes the preparation of the students for the project: providing a common ground of shared knowledge that facilitates active participation by students as well as by other members of the community.

References:

CTGV. (1990). Anchored instruction and its relationship to situated cognition. Educational Researcher, 19 (6), 2-10.

CTGV. (1993). Anchored Instruction and Situated Cognition Revisited. Educational Technology, 33 (3). P. 52-70.

Behaviorism

• Skinner's Programmed Instruction
• Keller's Personalize System of Instruction (PSI)

Cognitivism

• Gagné's Nine Events
• Reigeluth's Elaboration Theory
• Component Display Theory (CDT)
• Instructional Transaction Theory (ITT)

Constructivism

• Anchored Instruction
• Case-Based Reasoning
• Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT)
• Jonassen's Constructivist Learning Environments (CLEs)
• Mayer's SOL
• Open-Ended Learning Environments (OELEs)
• Perkins and Unger's Teaching and Learning for Understanding (TfU)
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
• Situated Learning