Notes on “Learning in Theory and Practice”

Prepared by Ariadna73 Page 1 of 2  

Reference Brown, John Seely and Paul Duguid. 2000. “Learning in Theory and Practice.” Chapter 5 in The Social Life of Information. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press

Knowledge management = Use of technology to make information relevant and accessible Managing knowledge is not at easy as 123. It involves more things such as knowledge and learning

Requires the appropriate • Application • Technology • Situation

Incorporates information processes • Finding • Selecting • Organizing • Presenting

This chapter will consider knowledge and learning in relation to practice and distinct from information

Epistemology: Philosophical arguments Knowledge management = lightweight fad Will try to balance the two ("try to lift a gun too heavy to handle to aim at a target too insubstantial

matter")

Distinction between Information and Knowledge (a 2500 year-old question) Information is treated as a self-contained substance

It is reasonable to say "I have the information, but I don't understand it" Information is independent of the meaning Information is what you find in the dictionary. Knowledge is when you can sustain a conversation

Knowledge entails a knower Knowledge is something we digest, rather than simply hold

• It is not reasonable to say "I have the knowledge, but I don't understand" • Unlike information, knowledge is hard to steal from an industry, or to transfer from one plant

to another Focusing on knowledge rather than in processes, turns attention toward people (the knower)

• When the information is so much that it is confusing, we don't need more information; we need more people

• Sometimes losing the knowledge by letting people go can be a costly mistake Community support

• Practice and talk must go together o Learning on demand o Social learning o Learning and identity shape one another

• The group is important: knowledge is shared in the group • The community of practice is peaceful. People forget all the differences while focused on

getting the job done

Notes on “Learning in Theory and Practice”

Prepared by Ariadna73 Page 2 of 2  

Learning in practice Learning about something, and becoming something are two different things, and the difference is PRACTICE (Know that Vs. Know-How)

Limits to going by the book • They don't teach in the classroom what happens in reality • A person is not an expert just by memorizing the book • Explicit vs. Implicit dimensions of knowledge

o Explicit: the book o Implicit: the practice

Learning is a remarkably social process People learn in response to need

• Networks of practice o Groups of people that share a practice

• Communities of practice o Subsections of the networks of practice o The groups of people are tight-knit, know each other and work together directly o Direct coordination limits reach. But people strongly collaborate

• Information does not travel uniformly throughout the network as it does throughout the community

Learning needs are understood in relation to the development of human identity

The practical value of phone cords (Example of a case in a company) In the past, technicians would tell stories to phone operators and these could help customers

better. This has changed with changes in communication processes, and the knowledge has been lost

The company changed the structure of the call center so the operators could learn from one another, and that did more good that several offsite courses