Workplace learning in informal networks. (original) (raw)

Supporting Informal Learning at the Workplace

… of Advanced Corporate Learning ( …, 2009

In times of rapid technological and socioeconomic changes, knowledge sharing and learning have become critical assets for most organizations and companies. New ways of learning and training are needed to cope with the rising demand of information. The Microtraining method developed on basis of recent learning theories and concepts is an answer to the need of flexibility of learning settings related to space and time, the availability of experts and the applicability of what is learned and trained at the workplace. This concept of informal learning comprises short learning sessions with work related topics. These learning occasions facilitate informal learning at the workplace on individual as well as on organizational level, as can be seen from two case studies. Index Terms-Informal Learning, Microtraining, Learning at the Workplace.

Informal learning in the workplace

Studies in continuing education, 2004

This paper focuses mainly on theoretical frameworks for understanding and investigating informal learning in the workplace, which have been developed through a series of large-and small-scale projects. The main conclusions are included but readers are referred to other publications for more detailed accounts of individual projects. Two types of framework are discussed. The ®rst group seeks to deconstruct the`key concepts' of informal learning, learning from experience, tacit knowledge, transfer of learning and intuitive practice to disclose the range of different phenomena that are embraced by these popular terms. The second group comprises frameworks for addressing the three central questions that pervaded the research programme: what is being learned, how is it being learned and what are the factors that in¯uence the level and directions of the learning effort?

Mechanisms to support Informal Learning in the Workplace

In times of rapid technological and socio-economic changes, knowledge sharing and learning have become critical assets for most organizations and compa-nies. New ways of learning and training are needed to cope with the rising demand of information. The Microtraining method developed on basis of recent learning theories and concepts is an answer to the need of flexibility of learning settings related to space and time, the availability of experts and the applicability of what is learned and trained at the workplace. This concept of informal learning comprises short learning sessions with work related topics. These learning occasions facilitate informal learning at the work-place on individual as well as on organizational level, as can be seen from two case studies.

The potential and paradox of informal learning in the workplace

2018

Through reflection on a lengthy series of research studies of diverse workplace learning conducted in Australia over the past decade, this chapter seeks to position discussion of informal learning as part of everyday working life. It uses a practice theory perspective to show how learning can be understood as a key feature of working and how it is implicated in the normal ebb and flow of work practices. It elucidates some of the tensions that such a view generates and points to the paradox in how promoting informal learning can effectively inhibit it.

Who Do We Learn from at Work? Interlinked Communities of Practice and Informal Learning

2002

This paper addresses the question of who is involved in learning in workplaces. It draws on a study of multiple worksites with differentiated work within a large educational organization. It discusses the value of communities of learning in conceptualizing the question and suggests that additional factors such as social networks, structural relationships and the context of particular work need to be considered. Introduction Learning at work constitutes a large part of the learning undertaken by adults during their lives. This paper investigates a fundamental aspect of this: who do we learn from at work? This is important because firstly, there have been suggestions that formal systematic learning is of much lesser importance than informal learning and, secondly, it has been argued that the person who is expected by organizations to foster learning in the workplace—the workplace supervisor—is unable to do so effectively because of other features of their role (Hughes, in press). The ...

Hungarian Educational Research Journal

This study investigates occurrences and tools of informal and non-formal learning at work, focusing on the Hungarian IT sector. The aim is to demonstrate that learning at work mainly manifests informally and to identify its patterns. Companies shifting towards teleworking during the pandemic further increased the importance of informal learning. The empirical research uses complex methodology of three pillars: A questionnaire about workplace learning conducted among employees in the IT sector (N = 162). Case studies of three Hungarian IT companies using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Learning activity logging of work-related learning events were recorded by participating employees (N = 19). According to the main conclusions there is a positive correlation between the number of available workplace learning opportunities and opinions on the efficacy of informal learning. Informal learning dominates the learning patterns of employees in a knowledge-intensive industry. I...

Informal Learning in the Workplace: A Comparison of Two Models

This article introduced Walden's process model of informal workplace learning ) and compared this model to that reported by . Secondarily, this article proposed suggestions for technology-enhanced effective informal workplace learning practices. Differences between the two models were described. It was found that Walden's model lent empirical support to Cseh, Watkins and Marsick's model. Walden's model lacked an examination of multiple alternative solutions to identified problems and a framing/re-framing of business contexts after learning, both of which were part of Cseh, Watkins and Marsick's model. Walden's model did, however, add a step for implementation of action based on learning in the workplace as well as a time frame with which learners engaged in informal learning strategy use. These two additions were not included in Cseh, Watkins and Marsick's model. of technology, and a host of other subjects, online, in stand-up-mode, and on several platforms, and is active in developing curricula that embraces virtual learning communities and enhanced staff productivity using a varying array of technology-based tools. She has authored or co-authored a multitude of textbooks, book chapters, and refereed publications at both national and international levels.

Managing informal learning in professional contexts: the learner's perspective

Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported. The need to keep track of the knowledge acquired this way is increasing as its sources diversity also increases. This work presents the pilots trials on the use of a tool developed to help keeping track of the learners' informal learning, within a number of companies spread out in three countries. This tool developed through the European Commission funded project TRAILER, is still under development, which will allow integrating the set of improving suggestions obtained from users during the piloting phase. The overall idea of managing one's informal learning was well accepted and welcomed, which validated the emerging need for a tool with this purpose.

The potential and paradox of informal learning

Informal Learning at Work, 2018

Managing informal learning learning in professional contexts: the learner's perspective

2013

Workplace learning in informal networks. (original) (raw)

Related papers