The old adage, "No man is an island" resonates vividly when it comes to the concept of "distributed cognition" and "the social mind" because this goes to show that truly no individual learns by himself without other people, their environment, and technology or tools. These are at least three of the major factors contributing to one's gain of understanding of the world around them. This can evidently be witnessed inside an early years' classroom when the teacher allows for the class to play together as an introduction activity to the lesson "letter B". The teacher may setup a corner or even the whole classroom to be conducive to learning (environment) about the letter B and some words that begin with it. The teacher may ask the class to find objects (tools) whose name that begin with the letter B around the classroom. This activity will help the young learners learn about the importance of helping one another (people) in finding these objects. A study, in 2023, has shown that giving opportunities to work together can be beneficial for young learners as they learn to collaborate with their environment (Zhu & Chen, 2023).

Distributed cognition also supports the concept of the teacher being the facilitator and not the dictator of learning inside the classroom. (Stajcic & Nilsson, 2023). The better understanding the teacher has of this concept, the better the learners will benefit from their learning environment. Furthermore, the social mind also explains how young learners thrive when their environment is conducive to learning. At the same time, there are limitations. Over-reliance on external tools may risk weakening individual recall or problem-solving skills. In addition, implementing distributed cognition effectively requires careful planning: classrooms need access to materials, supportive peers, and skilled facilitation, which may not always be possible in resource-limited contexts.

In sum, distributed cognition offers a powerful way to understand learning as more than what happens “inside the head.” By recognizing that thinking is supported by people, tools, and environments, educators can create classrooms that mirror real-world problem-solving and prepare children for lifelong learning.

References

Stajcic, M. P., & Nilsson, P. (2023). Teachers’ Considerations for a Digitalised Learning Context of Preschool Science. Research in Science Education, 54(3), 499–521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-023-10150-5

Zhu, C., & Chen, H. (2023). Distributed cognition in early childhood education: Collaborative learning with digital tools. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 21(2), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X221146789

Edutopia. (2015, October 14). How collaborative learning leads to student success [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xTwsvX8Xxk