Recent years have seen significantly increased interest in learning at the workplace as partial or full compensation for vocationally‐oriented education and training in schools…
Abstract
Recent years have seen significantly increased interest in learning at the workplace as partial or full compensation for vocationally‐oriented education and training in schools and educational institutions. In this general enthusiasm, former scepticism about workplace learning would seem to be buried deep under layers of modern management slogans. However, the well‐known limitations inherent in this learning framework cannot be talked out of existence, and there is an urgent need for insight and tools capable of distinguishing between the genuine possibilities in the area and how to establish fruitful interaction between workplace learning and educational learning. It is, first and foremost, a matter of viewing learning from the perspective of the learner, because adults are not very inclined to learn something of which they cannot see the point on the basis of their own life situation. As a grounding for this, a contemporary and comprehensive learning theory is needed. The outline of such a theory and an example of how it can be used are presented.
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This study examines the experiences of five teachers working in two English secondary school subject departments after being given the opportunity to engage with Lesson Study (LS…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the experiences of five teachers working in two English secondary school subject departments after being given the opportunity to engage with Lesson Study (LS) to increase student performance in their subject areas. This study aimed to reveal the drivers for the teachers' engagement in LS, and how this experience of Joint Professional Development (JPD) might be contributing to their learning as teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies an analytic approach to evidencing teacher learning, based on the work of Knud Illeris, offering this as a methodological contribution to the field of professional development literature.
Findings
Findings reveal that, despite all the teachers developing a passion for learning through LS, there are constraints on its sustainability and impact which can be attributed to the teachers' broader contexts and which affected them differently. The constraints centre on tensions between priorities and agendas within and beyond the school, related largely to budgets and visions of staff development.
Research limitations/implications
This focused study on two subject departments engaging in LS limits its generalisability in terms of findings. However, the study offers a practical research application of a model of learning for analysis of teacher reflections on collaborative learning experiences.
Originality/value
Understanding individual teacher reflections on LS experiences is under-represented in the literature, in particular studies providing insights into conditions conducive and constraining to JPD.
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The aim of this article is to develop a holistic model that shows the basic elements of workplace learning and their mutual connections. This is done by adjusting and combining…
Abstract
The aim of this article is to develop a holistic model that shows the basic elements of workplace learning and their mutual connections. This is done by adjusting and combining two models that have already been worked out formerly by members of the consortium: a model dealing with the workplace as a learning space, and a general model of the learning process. The most important features of the new model are its distinction between the social and the individual levels of learning, and its pointing to the overlap between the working practice of the organisation and the work identities of the employees as the central area for important workplace learning. Concludes by discussing the purposes to which this model can be put.
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This paper seeks to address current limitations in approaches to training evaluation by presenting a conceptual model of work‐based learning and an associated evaluation framework.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to address current limitations in approaches to training evaluation by presenting a conceptual model of work‐based learning and an associated evaluation framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The model and framework presented in this paper are based on a critical review of current approaches to learning evaluation and insights from learning transfer research and programme theory.
Findings
This paper sets out a conceptual model of workplace learning based on five elements: a pre‐learning stage, the trigger (need) for learning, the learning event, application of learning and the impact of learning. A linked criterion evaluation framework is also described. It is proposed that this provides a scientifically robust but practitioner friendly framework for workplace learning evaluation.
Practical implications
While most organisations wish to evaluate the effectiveness of their investment in employee training and development, few do. One of the barriers to effective learning evaluation is the failure to ground approaches in a contemporary and comprehensive model of workplace learning. The model and framework set out in this paper aim to assist evaluation by addressing this gap in a practitioner friendly way.
Originality/value
This paper sets out a novel, flexible and comprehensive conceptual model of workplace learning along with an innovative approach to training evaluation that addresses limitations in existing approaches. It is hoped that this will contribute to the debate on appropriate evaluation methods and assist practitioners to undertake evaluation in a more credible manner.
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Jørgen Lerche Nielsen and Lars Birch Andreasen
The chapter discusses how student engagement can be facilitated through educational designs that make conscious use of various online communication technologies. The discussions…
Abstract
The chapter discusses how student engagement can be facilitated through educational designs that make conscious use of various online communication technologies. The discussions are based on cases from the practice at the Danish Master Programme in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Learning (MIL), where students from all over Denmark within a networked learning structure are studying in groups combining on-site seminars with independent and challenging virtually organized project periods. The chapter discusses the involvement of students as co-designers of how courses and learning environments unfold, and deals with the development of students’ information literacy. Various teacher roles are addressed, as implementing new educational technology requires teachers who are flexible and aware of the different challenges in the networked environment. The aim of the chapter is to discuss the application of new technological possibilities in educational settings inspired by problem- and project-based learning.
Martin Severin Frandsen and John Andersen
Roskilde University was established in Denmark in 1972 as a critical reform university based on the principles of participant directed problem-oriented project learning (PPL). In…
Abstract
Roskilde University was established in Denmark in 1972 as a critical reform university based on the principles of participant directed problem-oriented project learning (PPL). In 2009, the university launched a new master programme in Urban Planning (Planning Studies). This chapter presents experiences from student projects working with action research in facilitating citizen-driven urban development. Firstly, we outline the key theoretical foundations of the Planning Studies programme: planning as social learning, empowerment and social mobilization. Secondly, we describe the principles of the Roskilde University pedagogical model (PPL) rooted in the tradition of experiential and critical pedagogy of Oskar Negt, John Dewey, Paulo Freire and others. Thirdly, we present two cases of problem-oriented projects working with action research in bottom-up urban planning and sustainable transition in Copenhagen. The first case concerns the involvement of local residents in the redesign of a public square through a series of aesthetic experiments. The second case concerns an experiment with alternative transport solutions and sustainable street transition through reduction of private car use and the creation of new public spaces on former parking lots. The article concludes that action research in problem-oriented project work is promising way of involving students in community empowerment processes. Doing action research strengthens the students understanding of ‘the logic of practice’ and their ability to master practical and ethical judgements in complex real-world empowerment and learning processes. This both prepares them for professional practice and provides them with an embodied and pragmatically empowered understanding of how transformations towards a more sustainable and just society can be brought about.
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This is paper is concerned with the learning outcomes associated with connectivity through online networks, open online exchange and wider changes associated with contemporary…
Abstract
Purpose
This is paper is concerned with the learning outcomes associated with connectivity through online networks, open online exchange and wider changes associated with contemporary information practices. The theme of connectivity is used here to capture both the detailed specificity of relations that define networks of learners and the ambient effect of wide accessibility to resources and people through open, online forums.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper follows the idea of a network from the ground up, outlining the social network perspective as a way to consider the foundational bases of learning and networks, as well as the effect of ambient influence. The paper addresses the ways learning may be viewed as a social network relation, an interpersonal relationship and an outcome of interaction and connectivity, and how network connectivity can be used as input for design for learning.
Findings
The paper presents a range of perspectives and studies that view learning from a social network and connectivity perspective, emphasizing both the person-to-person connectivity of a learning tie and the impact of contemporary data and information sharing through the dynamics of open contributory practice.
Practical implications
The outcome of connectivity in the service of learning is bound up with digital information practices, including individual practices of search, retrieval, participation, knowledge dissemination, knowledge construction and more. This paper provides a network perspective on learning relations that accommodates analysis in online and offline environments, but incorporates attention to the open, online retrieval and contributory practices that now influence learning practices and which may support design of new learning environments.
Originality/value
This paper offers insight into the way social networks and connectivity combine to show network relations, relationships, outcomes and design input at the actor, network and societal levels.
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The purpose of this paper is to argue that curriculum‐based careers education is part of a wider move to treat higher education students as holistic learners and to reframe the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue that curriculum‐based careers education is part of a wider move to treat higher education students as holistic learners and to reframe the ways in which careers educators can learn from, and contribute to, these wider developments.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper conceptualises students as “embodied learners” who require opportunities for reflection to understand and process the existential, affective and pedagogic challenges inherent in their learning. Drawing on Palmer's notion of “paradoxical spaces”, careers education is shown to be one of many related responses to these student needs.
Findings
Consequently, while sometimes perceived as an anomalous feature of the higher education landscape, careers education is found to share important commonalities with other pedagogic initiatives which inform and extend current debates about careers in the curriculum.
Originality/value
By showing the familial characteristics that careers education shares with related initiatives, a new basis for including careers within the curriculum is proposed and a new collaborative mode for careers educators to engage with other teaching staff is encouraged. A new rationale for curriculum based careers education is advanced, that differs from utilitarian and vocational arguments by being derived from a pedagogic discourse, which seeks to establish common ground between careers educators and other academics.
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Margit Saskia Neher, Christian Ståhl and Per Nilsen
This paper aims to explore what opportunities for learning practitioners in rheumatology perceive of in their daily practice, using a typology of workplace learning to categorize…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore what opportunities for learning practitioners in rheumatology perceive of in their daily practice, using a typology of workplace learning to categorize these opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
Thirty-six practitioners from different professions in rheumatology were interviewed. Data were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis with a directed approach, and were categorized according to a typology of formal and informal learning.
Findings
The typology was adjusted to fit the categories resulting from the analysis. Further analysis showed that work processes with learning as a by-product in general, and relationships with other people in the workplace in particular, were perceived as important for learning in the workplace. The use of many recognized learning opportunities was lower. Barriers for learning were a perceived low leadership awareness of learning opportunities and factors relating to workload and the organization of work.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of results from all qualitative inquiries is limited by nature, and the issue of transferability to other contexts is for the reader to decide. Further studies will need to confirm the results of the study, as well as the proposed enhancement of the typology with which the results were categorized.
Practical implications
The study highlights the importance of relationships in the workplace for informal learning in rheumatology practice. In the clinical context, locally adapted strategies at organizational and individual levels are needed to maximize opportunities for both professional and interprofessional informal learning, taking the importance of personal relationships into account. The findings also suggest a need for increased continuing professional education in the specialty.
Originality/value
The workplace learning typology that was used in the study showed good applicability to empirical health-care study data, but may need further development. The study confirmed that informal workplace learning is an important part of learning in rheumatology. Further studies are needed to clarify how informal and formal learning in the rheumatology clinic may be supported in workplaces with different characteristics.