INDIVIDUAL AND DISTRIBUTED COGNITIONS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMWORK -A DEVELOPING CASE-STUDY AND EMERGING THEORY

We present a developing distributed cognition theory of interdisciplin ary collaboration that incorporates concepts from both situated cognit ion and information-processing theory. This theoretical framework is b eing refined as it is used for analyzing interdisciplinary collaborati on within the National Institute for Science Education (NISE). Our ana lyses are intended to improve scientific understanding of collaborativ e processes that influence productivity and quality of interdisciplina ry work within the NISE and beyond. A critical group meeting in the ea rly development of one interdisciplinary working team is analyzed usin g language and ideas from our theoretical perspective.