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Informal Learning (informal + learning)
Selected AbstractsWork Situations Triggering Participation in Informal Learning in the Workplace: A Case Study of Public School TeachersPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2003Margaret C. Lohman ABSTRACT Interviews and site visits were conducted with 22 teachers to identify the work situations that trigger their engagement in informal learning and the personal characteristics that enhance their motivation to engage in informal learning when dealing with such situations. Analysis of the data found that three types of work situations triggered engagement in informal learning: new teaching tasks, new leadership roles, and adherence to policies and procedures. Motivation to engage in informal learning was enhanced by teachers' initiative, self-efficacy, commitment to life-long learning, and interest in their content area. Implications of the findings for theory, research, and the facilitation of informal learning are discussed. [source] Informal learning and the transfer of learning: How managers develop proficiencyHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2003Michael D. Enos This study examined how the extent to which managers engaged in informal learning, perceptions of support in the transfer environment, and level of managerial proficiency related to transfer of learning in twenty core managerial skills. The results suggested that informal learning is predominantly a social process and that managers with high levels of proficiency who experience low levels of coworker, supervisor, and organizational support learn managerial skills mostly from informal learning and transfer learning more frequently. New perspectives are offered on the interrelationship between informal learning and transfer of learning, the role of metacognition and self-regulation in informal learning, and the influence of informal learning in the development of managerial proficiency. [source] Invited reaction: Informal learning and the transfer of learning: How managers develop proficiencyHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2003Victoria J. Marsick Enos, Kehrhahn, and Bell have made an important contribution to measuring informal learning and its transfer as proficiency in a set of company-identified managerial skills. Measurement of informal learning is at the crux of research that seeks to link learning outcomes to other indicators of effective performance. The ability to show how informal learning affects managerial proficiency also would help practitioners build a better business case for planning and supporting informal learning. A drawback to the research methodology employed in this study is reliance on self-report, which the authors note but do not fully discuss. Questions also arise about the nature of skills measured and the nature of managerial work in what appears to be a period of transition in the company they examined. I conclude with some thoughts on alternative lenses for considering implications for practice. [source] Qualifications Frameworks: some conceptual issuesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007MICHAEL YOUNG The aim of this article is to contribute to realising the progressive and democratic opportunities that National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) can offer. In doing so it will be critical of many of the ways that NQFs have been interpreted to date and the claims that have been made for them. The article has six sections. Section 1 considers some of the reasons for the recent growth of interest in NQFs. Section 2 is concerned with the widely shared goals of NQFs and some of the contradictions and problems that they involve. Section 3 discusses the very different forms that NQFs can take. Section 4 examines a number of issues that underlie all approaches to qualifications but are made more explicit by qualification frameworks and concludes by questioning the much lauded claim that NQFs can promote and accredit informal learning. The concluding section considers the longer term implications for the future of NQFs of the earlier analysis. [source] Tools and techniques for transferring know-how from boomers to gamers,GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 5 2007Karl M. Kapp How well boomers transfer their knowledge to younger employees (gamers, may well determine which organizations maintain their competitive edge during the next decade. But boomers' and gamers' preferred learning styles are as different as night and day, and conventional approaches may hinder rather than aid knowledge transfer. Fortunately, companies can learn a lot from gamers about sharing knowledge. Instant messaging, blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, and podcasts,technologies gamers already use extensively outside the work environment to obtain information,are efficient, low-cost tools for informal learning that companies can incorporate into an enterprise strategy for capturing and distributing business- and job-critical know-how before it's too late. © 2007 Karl M. Kapp. [source] Informal learning and the transfer of learning: How managers develop proficiencyHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2003Michael D. Enos This study examined how the extent to which managers engaged in informal learning, perceptions of support in the transfer environment, and level of managerial proficiency related to transfer of learning in twenty core managerial skills. The results suggested that informal learning is predominantly a social process and that managers with high levels of proficiency who experience low levels of coworker, supervisor, and organizational support learn managerial skills mostly from informal learning and transfer learning more frequently. New perspectives are offered on the interrelationship between informal learning and transfer of learning, the role of metacognition and self-regulation in informal learning, and the influence of informal learning in the development of managerial proficiency. [source] Invited reaction: Informal learning and the transfer of learning: How managers develop proficiencyHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2003Victoria J. Marsick Enos, Kehrhahn, and Bell have made an important contribution to measuring informal learning and its transfer as proficiency in a set of company-identified managerial skills. Measurement of informal learning is at the crux of research that seeks to link learning outcomes to other indicators of effective performance. The ability to show how informal learning affects managerial proficiency also would help practitioners build a better business case for planning and supporting informal learning. A drawback to the research methodology employed in this study is reliance on self-report, which the authors note but do not fully discuss. Questions also arise about the nature of skills measured and the nature of managerial work in what appears to be a period of transition in the company they examined. I conclude with some thoughts on alternative lenses for considering implications for practice. [source] A missing link in the transfer problem?HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010Examining how trainers learn about training transfer Abstract This study describes and reports the methods training professionals use to learn about training transfer. Specifically, this study focused on trainers' use and perceived utility of the literature (research and practitioner-based) to develop their knowledge of how to support training transfer in their organization. Consistent with extant research conducted on human resource professionals, our survey results suggest that training professionals seek knowledge mostly through informal learning (e.g., job experiences, discussions with internal and external training professionals, books, searching the Web), but they prefer to learn about training transfer in discussions with external trainers and academics. As a follow-up to the survey, our interview results indicate that trainers select learning methods based on source quality, motivation, and accessibility, but these differed based on which learning methods were chosen. Ideas to guide future human resource researchers are presented within the framework of information-seeking theory. This paper concludes by discussing practical implications for increasing trainer competencies that support training transfer in organizations. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Small firms and internationalisation: learning to manage and managing to learnHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2002Valerie Anderson Small firms contribute significantly to the UK economy, but most research into learning and work features the experience of large organisations. This article focuses on learning and work in small organisations. An interpretive framework relating to organisational learning is derived from the literature. Data on learning in small firms that internationalise are analysed to assess the extent to which models of organisational learning are applicable to the context and challenges they face. The article suggests that the large firm model of learning is inappropriate; the distinctive culture and communication systems of small organisations require different approaches to the acquisition, transmission and interpretation of knowledge. Tacit knowledge, developed through informal learning, is a priority and learning through local business networks is more important than participation in formal programmes. Advocacy of human resource development (HRD) practices based on conventional theories of organisational learning, therefore, may hinder rather than encourage performance in small organisations. [source] Company-based education programmes: what's the pay-off for employers?HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001Graeme Martin This article addresses the question of whether company-based programmes of education repay employer investment in terms of learning transfer to the workplace. Building on earlier work by the authors, we use an in-depth longitudinal case study of a long-standing programme of continuous education sponsored by the US-based NCR corporation in Scotland. As educators, we expected to find that the programme would have been associated with positive outcomes, based on the belief that 'embrained' or formal, abstract knowledge can be transferred to the workplace. We were aware, however, that research in this area has not been promising in demonstrating learning transfer, in part because such a process is mediated by the quality of the transfer climate. Drawing on survey data and in-depth interviewing of a sample cohort, we found that the programme of company-based education had significant implications for learning transfer. Surprisingly, however, transfer climate had little influence on the willingness of employees to use their knowledge to make improvements or generate innovations at work. Finally, we found that these data supported situated learning theory, stressing the importance of tacit knowledge, informal learning, the communal nature of workplace learning and the difficulties in evaluating learning transfer. We believe that these results have important implications for the literature on the evaluation of HRD interventions, for human resource development (HRD) specialists interested in developing programmes of so-called lifelong learning and for practitioners working in the area of organisational learning and learning organisations. [source] Employability enhancement through formal and informal learning: an empirical study among Dutch non-academic university staff membersINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2009Beatrice Van Der Heijden Although learning is generally perceived as a way to improve employees' current job performance, so far, no research has been conducted to explore the possible relationships between formal and informal learning, on the one hand, and employability, on the other. Though contemporary views stress the importance of the job as a powerful learning site, considerable research evidence underpinning these views is lacking. This paper goes into the impact of formal and informal learning upon employability. The influence of employee characteristics and organizational factors is also taken into account. An e-questionnaire was used to collect data among 215 Dutch non-academic university staff members. Our findings emphasize the necessity of Human Resource Development strategies that encompass a mix of formal and informal learning opportunities. In particular, participation in networks appears to be an important predictor for employability. With the outcomes of this study, we aim to contribute to the further development of theoretical insights regarding employability enhancement through learning possibilities embedded in the workplace. It seems that strategies that focus exclusively on enhancing informal on-the-job learning should not be encouraged. Our study is limited to one context and further research is required to investigate the generalizability of the findings to other occupations and/or countries. [source] Learning conditions at work: a framework to understand and assess informal learning in the workplaceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2004Sveinung Skule The purpose of this article is to develop a framework to understand and assess the quality of learning environments in the workplace. It is argued that indicators used to measure and assess informal learning at work, at both the national and the enterprise level, are underdeveloped. Consequently, current frameworks to measure and benchmark learning are heavily biased towards education and formal training. A new framework is developed, based on a quantitative survey representative of the private sector in Norway. The framework consists of seven learning conditions, which have significant effects on informal learning at work. Implications for further research, policy and practice are discussed. [source] Why Do Part-time Workers Invest Less in Human Capital than Full-timers?LABOUR, Issue 2009Annemarie Nelen We analyse whether lower investments in human capital of part-time workers are due to workers' characteristics or human resource practices of the firm. We focus on investments in both formal training and informal learning. Using the Dutch Life-Long-Learning Survey 2007, we find that part-time workers have different determinants for formal training and informal learning from full-time workers. The latter benefit from firms' human resource practices such as performance interviews, personal development plans, and feedback. Part-time workers can only partly compensate the lack of firm support when they have a high learning motivation and imagination of their future development. [source] Work Situations Triggering Participation in Informal Learning in the Workplace: A Case Study of Public School TeachersPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2003Margaret C. Lohman ABSTRACT Interviews and site visits were conducted with 22 teachers to identify the work situations that trigger their engagement in informal learning and the personal characteristics that enhance their motivation to engage in informal learning when dealing with such situations. Analysis of the data found that three types of work situations triggered engagement in informal learning: new teaching tasks, new leadership roles, and adherence to policies and procedures. Motivation to engage in informal learning was enhanced by teachers' initiative, self-efficacy, commitment to life-long learning, and interest in their content area. Implications of the findings for theory, research, and the facilitation of informal learning are discussed. [source] Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning: a research agendaBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Chee-Kit Looi Over the next 10 years, we anticipate that personal, portable, wirelessly networked technologies will become ubiquitous in the lives of learners,indeed, in many countries, this is already a reality. We see that ready-to-hand access creates the potential for a new phase in the evolution of technology-enhanced learning, characterised by ,seamless learning spaces' and marked by continuity of the learning experience across different scenarios or contexts, and emerging from the availability of one device or more per student. The challenge is to enable learners to learn whenever they are curious and seamlessly switch between different contexts, such as between formal and informal contexts and between individual and social learning, and by extending the social spaces in which learners interact with each other. In this paper, we review the potential of mobile learning research for designing seamless learning environments that can bridge both formal and informal learning, present a research agenda and discuss important methodological issues that concern research into formal and informal learning. [source] | |||||||||||||