Use of the Distributed Cognition Theory in a Lesson Plan: A Theory, a Model and a Lesson Plan

Distributed Cognition Theory (DCog) approaches the cognition holistically and argues that knowledge come into existence not only inside the human mind but also in the world. It is theoretically related to cognitive and social theories. Simply, DCog takes information processing model into account and applies it to a computational functional system. DCog theory is generally used in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) to find adequate answers to the design questions of HCI. But, there are few studies inspired from DCog in educational sciences. One of such studies is CTOM (connection, translation, off-loading, and monitoring) framework proposed by Martin (2012) that regard learning as “coordination” between systems in the natural settings. To increase the coordination, all of the components of the framework need to be employed in a learning setting. The framework also includes learning activities that can increase the technology use in education. In this regard, the main purpose of this study is to elaborate the use of Distributed Cognition (DCog) Theory and accordingly the CTOM framework in a lesson plan. To do so, firstly theoretical orientations of DCog was explained. Then, CTOM framework was criticized by considering the pedagogical functions of DCog. Finally, a lesson plan was prepared based on the CTOM framework according to Gagne’s nine events of instruction. Consequently, the current study can be used in further empirical studies to test the effectiveness of the model in terms of educational outcomes