Supporting the learning of others at work

Training the Trainers: First International ln-line conference

5-6th November 2008

Employees supporting the learning, training and development of other employees while working in

groups: examples drawn from aerospace, health and accountancy

Alan Brown

alan.brown@warwick.ac.uk

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/glacier/learning/

http://www.tlrp.org/themes/workplaceov.html

Supporting the learning of others at work

how organisations support employees learning from each other (while working in groups)

some team members explicitly encouraged to support the learning and development of others

accountancy case study draws on the work of the Early Career Learning project funded by ESRC TLRP

TLRP Associate Director: workplace learning

Supporting the learning of others at work

The development of expertise in knowledge-intensive workplaces in aerospace.

focus on competence insufficient basis for preparation for future performance.

Need to take a developmental view of expertise. development of expertise should itself be viewed

as a continuing process. goes beyond expecting technical proficiency and

a commitment to continuing improvement.

Supporting the learning of others at work

Competence inventories of staff:

Those who are technically able to perform a task but have very limited practical experience

Those who have successfully performed the task a few times Those who have performed the task many times and under a

variety of conditions Those who have substantial experience but are also able to

support the learning of others Those who are world class, that is they are able to think through

and, if necessary, bring about changes in the ways that tasks are tackled

Supporting the learning of others at work

importance of having a capacity to support the learning of others as well a capacity to change the way things are done.

Workplace-based assessment (WPBA) traditionally focused on the

first three levels

Assessment could be broadened to cover aspects of interaction with others, both on task and at other times

Compare German Meister qualifications

Supporting the learning of others at work

Early career learning in nursing, engineering and accountancy

graduates challenge in applying what they have learned during training

not a simple case of transfer of knowledge to a new setting.

development of expertise built around integration of different kinds of knowledge.

Supporting the learning of others at work

Eraut (2004) five stages:

The extraction of potentially relevant knowledge from the context(s) of its acquisition and previous use;

Understanding the new situation, a process that often depends on informal social learning;

Recognising what knowledge and skills are relevant; Transforming them to fit the new situation; Integrating them with other knowledge and skills in order

to think / act / communicate in the new situation.

Supporting the learning of others at work

Much learning and development takes place while working,

Social capital developed through participation in work-related networks,

The informal learning associated with personal networks was often important in many contexts over a career,

Need for employees to develop a range of generic skills (planning, problem solving, communication, IT and management skills) and much skill development in these areas can come through informal learning while working coupled with short periods of explicit formal learning and reflection upon experience.

Use of personal networks can be an effective way to critically reflect upon work.

Supporting the learning of others at work

Learning how to support the learning of others (especially for those with management and supervision responsibilities) is vital to improve the likelihood of significant learning while working,

Learning how to organise knowledge effectively and apply it appropriately can be developed effectively through informal learning coupled with more formal reflective and deliberative learning,

Innovation and learning within and across organisations are social processes and both personal networks and cross-company networks need to pay attention to building relationships to support development as well as focusing upon substantive issues.

Need to consider the interaction between formal and informal approaches to learning, skill development and knowledge creation as a particularly effective way forward not only for enhancing personal professional development but also as a means to improve organisational effectiveness.

Supporting the learning of others at work

informal learning in learning-rich jobs value of ‘learning by interacting’ within communities and networks: personal development and sense-making.

desire for sense-making driven by search for understanding and/or a function of participation in networks with an explicit learning dimension.

Learning from others with acknowledged expertise is

sometimes facilitated through particular activities (e.g. work shadowing), sometimes through explicit knowledge development and sharing activities and at other times is built into the organisation of work activities (e.g. in the construction of project teams).