Cognitive Apprenticeship in STEM Graduate Education: A Qualitative Review of the Literature
Open accessAbstract
The future is dependent on the STEM graduate education system, emphasizing the importance of STEM graduate programs in producing highly trained expert researchers. The cognitive apprenticeship (CA) framework provides guidance to experts (i.e., faculty) on how to explicate their knowledge through the creation of learning opportunities that foster and support students in developing expertise in a particular discipline. This review examines the current landscape of research focused on the use of the CA framework in STEM graduate education. The research suggests the CA framework is a useful and effective model for supporting faculty in cultivating rich learning opportunities for STEM graduate students.
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The results suggest that GenAI can allow mentorship in CURE settings to more closely resemble mentorship in independent graduate research environments that typically provide a far greater degree of intellectual freedom.
“However, our results suggest that GenAI can allow mentorship in CURE settings to more closely resemble mentorship in independent graduate research environments that typically provide a far greater degree of intellectual freedom (Minshew et al. 2021; Nuis et al. 2023; Wang et al. 2026b).”
From Generative AI Expands the Intellectual Reach of Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) (2026) · cites this paper as Minshew et al. 2021
Cites
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511815355 · Cited by 33,219 · see citing works
Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x018001032 · Cited by 13,645 · cited 3× · see citing works
“The cognitive apprenticeship (CA; Brown et al., 1989; Collins et al., 1991) framework emphasizes the apprenticeship components of the socialization models, while also prioritizing the cognitive skills required to engage in advanced problem-solving tasks that are common in STEM.”
BackgroundPreparing the Next Generation of Faculty: Graduate School as Socialization to the Academic Career
Austin, A. E. (2002) · The Journal of Higher Education · doi:10.1353/jhe.2002.0001 · Cited by 1,347 · see citing works
Andrews, T. C., & Lemons, P. P. (2015) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.14-05-0084 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
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Babar, A., Davin, K. J., & Dornburg, A. (2026) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2608.27638
“However, our results suggest that GenAI can allow mentorship in CURE settings to more closely resemble mentorship in independent graduate research environments that typically provide a far greater degree of intellectual freedom (Minshew et al. 2021; Nuis et al. 2023; Wang et al. 2026b).”
- Authors
- Minshew, L. M., Olsen, A. A., & McLaughlin, J. E.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- The University of Texas at Arlington (US)
- Venue
- AERA Open
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2021-01
- Volume
- 7
- ISSN
- 2332-8584 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3206035418
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 6.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- AERA Open (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Innovative Education and Learning Practices
- Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
- Keywords
- cognitive apprenticeship, STEM graduate education, graduate students, faculty mentoring, expertise development, learning opportunities, doctoral education
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