T h e Te a c h i n g - Teaching and Learning Research Programme

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How do people learn at work?M a rtyn Sloman and John KanefskyIn January and February 2002 three one-day workshops wereheld to discuss future priorities for research into learning at theworkplace. They were jointly sponsored by the CharteredInstitute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and TLRP.Two were held in London and one in Edinburgh. Some 120people participated: half workplace learning practitioners orconsultants, half academics with an interest in research onlearning.The workshops began with a review of the implications of therecent re s e a rch re p o rt ‘How Do People Learn’, commissionedby the CIPD, and produced by Cambridge Programme forI n d u s t ry. These discussions looked at ways new competitivemodels and the increasing capability of learning technologya re creating new opportunities and imperatives for impro v i n gthe effectiveness of learning delivery in organisations. Mosti m p o rt a n t l y, there is a shift in focus to the individual learn e r.P a rticipants agreed that relevant, appropriate and accessiblere s e a rch is essential to address these changes and to targ e to rganisational eff o rt and re s o u rces eff e c t i v e l y, although theu rgency of the demand was contrasted with the long termn a t u re of much re s e a rch evidence.In the second half of the workshops, participants were askedto identify priority re s e a rch issues. The output was capture df rom a dozen small-group discussions spread across thet h ree events. The suggestions were inevitably varied andd i ffuse. However some important themes emerged, albeitwith a wide degree of overlap and synerg y.Theme I: Effective Learning InterventionsGiven the shift in focus to the learner, how can interventionsfrom the organisation encourage effective learning? Threemain topics emerged. First, a number of workshop groupsgave priority to the balance and relationship between informaland formal learning in the workplace. Secondly, there was aninterest in the role of line managers in facilitating / supportinglearning. The third topic was making sense of 'blendedlearning'. We need to understand / evaluate whether and howblending different learning components (work shadowing /coaching as well as e-learning and the classroom) canimprove outcomes for learners and organisations.Theme II: Organisational Culture and LearningParticipants discussed what is an effective learningenvironment and what steps can be taken by organisations tocreate such environments. Another important strandconcerned the link between individual and collective learning –and the difficulties in making operational sense of the laternotion. All these flow into the need to identify differentorganisational styles and approaches to learning and theimportance of hierarchy in determining learning needs.A consideration that was repeatedly raised is how the age ofthe individual (and previous good and bad experiences oflearning) can affect willingness to learn and the approach tolearning. There is an evident link here with the next issue.Theme III: Motivation to learn in organisationsThe central questions here are easily stated. Why, in someorganisations, do individuals seem more motivated to learn andmore committed in their learning? What are the factors thatcreate this response from individuals? What are the keybarriers and enablers and who, in the organisation, canremove the barriers and promote effective learning.If these questions are addressed it should be possible to framean agenda for action for individuals, organisations andGovernment. Most importantly it will allow practitioners todetermine their most effective response to promote andfacilitate individual (learner-centred) learning in theirorganisations. Learning style is clearly of importance inexploring this issue.Theme IV: Linking Learning with outcomesM e a s u rement and the evaluation of training / learning is an issueof high importance to practitioners, but participants re c o g n i s e dthis as a complex problem and rarely done well. Some felt that,despite the practical difficulties, this issue remained much tooi m p o rtant to be sidelined and, more o v e r, the new learn i n ge n v i ronment in organisations off e red an opportunity for a fre s ha p p roach or a revisit of the ideas in their new context.Theme V: Workplace learning in its wider contextParticipants also looked to the wider economic context and toexplore the boundaries of learning. Topics put forwardincluded: the importance of learning to Scotland’s role in theglobal economy; the growing importance for economic growthof 'soft' skills and the way that they can be learned / taught; theneed to create mechanisms and communities to improveeducators and trainers. The transition from education /curriculum to work-based learning was seen as important forall these topics.Two comparatively well-rehearsed topics were the subject ofconsiderable discussion across all three workshops. The firstwas access issues and the need to ensure that no group isexcluded from participation in new learning opportunities. Thesecond was the need to take account of the particularproblems faced by small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs) and to ensure that they are not left behind in theimprovements in learning organisation and technology.The CIPD Research Report "How do People Learn?" isavailable from Plymbridge Distributors (Tel: 01752 202301) andan abbreviated version is available for downloading free onwww.cipd.co.uk.Contacts:M.Sloman@cipd.co.ukJ.W.Kanefsky@ex.ac.ukwww.tlrp.org
Review of current pedagogicresearch and practiceJoe Cullen and Elliot Stern, Tavistock InstituteThis Review was commissioned as part of planning for PhaseIII of TLRP. The aims were to better understand currentconceptualisations of pedagogy and to review currentevidence and understanding that could improve teaching andlearning practice and lead to improved learning outcomes.The review explicitly covered post-compulsory education -higher education, adult education, work-based learning andcontinuing professional development, and informal andcommunity based learning. The Report was published on theTLRP website (www.tlrp.org, under 'publications') to assistthose planning bids for Phase III.The review drew on a wide range of sources: publishedmaterial; ‘grey’ literature; interviews; and statistical analysis.The key questions considered included:- What is the current state of the art in understandings oflearning and teaching processes with regard to postcompulsoryeducation sectors/domains?- How do learning and instructional processes affectlearner attainment and pedagogic effectiveness?- How are learning and teaching arrangements andconfigurations informed by current understandings ofteaching and learning?- What are the factors that appear to shape pedagogicunderstandings and assumptions within and across themain sectors identified?- What is known about what does and does not work indifferent sectors and contexts?- In what ways do ‘proximal forces’ – for example‘learning patrimonies’, learning cultures and regulatoryframeworks – affect pedagogic approaches andpractices?- What appear to be the main gaps and challenges incurrent knowledge and understandings of effectiveteaching and learning practice?• Very little is known about ‘what works’ in postcompulsoryeducation. Priority should therefore begiven to meta-analyses and reviews of reviews in orderto lay the foundations for an evolving evidence base.• ‘Performativity’ and an ‘assessment culture’ are drivingunderstandings of pedagogy. This suggests arequirement for research on innovative evaluationmethodologies and critical reviews of assessmentparadigms. Part of this research effort should focus on‘attainment and context’ – the relationship betweenlearning outcomes and the application of theseoutcomes in ‘real life’.• There is a need for research that recognises both thespecific contexts of pedagogic practice and the needfor more comparative understandings. This directsattention to research that explicitly contributes todeveloping frameworks, typologies and analytic toolsthat could allow for comparisons between differentteaching situations.• Priority should be given in Phase III of TLRP tounderstanding the knowledge production anddissemination process. Moreover, the Programmeshould devote resources to actively supporting moreeffective knowledge diffusion through ‘supportmeasures’ that promote the engagement of the differentstakeholders involved.• The utilisation of Virtual Learning Environments and ICTin teaching and learning is increasingly pervadingpedagogic theory and practice. Priority shouldtherefore be given to: understanding and unpackingthe pedagogic models underpinning the design oflearning VLEs; unpacking the ‘grand visions’ and‘cultural logics’ that shape design; identifying whatworks in what contexts; developing innovativeassessment and evaluation methodologies.Contact: Joe Cullen, (j.cullen@tavinstitute.org)The key conclusions and recommendations were:• There is a need for analysis of the structural basis ofpost-compulsory education – what are the sectoraloverlaps? What are the inter-relationships betweenhigher education, adult learning and lifelong learning?What ‘cultural logics’ shape understandings of thesesectors?• A key theme for Phase III should be the relationshipsbetween ‘meta-theories’ of psychology, politicaleconomy, grand theories of learning; middle theories oflearning and practice, and how these affect outcomes.Future NewslettersPlease contact Mary James for initial discussion ofcontributions to future issues of the Programme Newsletter.Copy should be sent to Lynne Blanchfield, accompanied ifavailable by illustrative photos (in JPEG format if possible).www.tlrp.org
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Page 8: The New CoreProgramme TeamA new Tea

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