Complete thesis - Murdoch University

This concern with apprenticeship is supported by later work by Elmholdt (2002). He presentsan interesting study of two ‘landscapes of learning’ which focus on the differences between theapprenticeship and another on-the- job model of learning. However, it should be noted thatElmholdt does not indicate what formal education has preceded the environments describedin his cases. In the first, blacksmith apprentices in a shipyard are surrounded by an environmentthat is characterised by many stabilising elements that support the handing down ofknowledge across persons, tasks and generations. Their learning is community stabilising andreproductive. In reproductive learning the divergence between the personal experience andthe competence in the community of practice is reduced by a change in the practice forms ofthe person, whereas the practice forms of the community are stabilised. The second, in aninternet company, is characterised by many changing elements that support flexibility andreadiness to change through reconstructive and innovative learning. This landscape is communityextending and exceeding. Reconstruction implies a transformation of the originallyconstructed, so that reconstructive learning extends existing practice forms of a community.The divergence between personal experience and competence in the community is reduced bychanges in the practice forms of both the person and the community. This learning radicallyexceeds the boundaries of a community’s existing practice forms.The stabilising elements of the shipyard are based on a three-step apprenticeship model:observational and model-learning - based on the work of journeymen; guided participation -the task is carried out by the apprentice under scaffolding provided and gradually withdrawnby the journeyman; practice. In this environment, reconstructive and innovative learningare only accepted if they fall within the tolerances of the acceptable practice forms, andmay be initiated by destabilising elements (eg introduction of technology) or unexpectedcircumstances (eg a strike enabled the apprentices to invent a new system).The flexible environment in the internet company are exemplified by individual responsibilityfor learning and a collegiate approach to problem solving. New employees are required tochoose an area of specialisation and to keep up with developments in that area. Knowledgeis to be shared with the rest of the organisation through formal training days and informalassistance. Work is continually negotiated and co-ordinated, but the three step approach isnot emphasised.While the apprentice blacksmiths were restrained to observation and imitation, the webdevelopers were encouraged to ‘try ahead’ and to bring practices from the outside to theinside. This brokering (Wenger, 1998) activity is never stable. Limitations of this approachare based on the lack of support for reproductive learning. Dreyfus (2001) asserts that limitedaccess to imitation of working experts may inhibit the development of genuine expertise. His143