Title Situated Learning: How Much Context Is Too Much Context?

Designers of e-learning for the workplace face a difficult paradox. On one hand empirical research has established that, in general, providing realistic contexts for new information in a situated environment can enhance formation of the new knowledge in existing schemata. On the other hand, abstractions of subject information, providing overall organization and relationships of new knowledge, have been shown to allow greater far transfer of training (Allen, Otto, & Hoffman, 2000). Given this conundrum, how is a designer supposed to judge when sufficient context has been provided to the learner for the establishment of scaffolding to enable performance of the current task, while at the same time not limiting use of that knowledge to only one specific application? This report will suggest that the analysis of desired learning outcomes is key to understanding how much functional context to provide in instructional design (Keller & Keller, 1993). Background and Context Designers of e-learning in the workplace are not the only practitioners that can benefit from an analysis of this principle. Understanding the practical application of situational learning could benefit stand-up trainers and managers responsible for on-site training. The focus of research for this principle has been on workplace studies, but broader analysis of theories and research related to situated learning has also informed this report. For the purpose of this paper we will identify the learners as entry-level employees engaged in service or manufacturing. The media will consist typically in these settings of on-line tutorials, workbooks, and manuals. The learning outcome is for learners to perform actual workplace tasks to meet or exceed defined standards for that job/task within that workplace.