Participating in a rich learning environment

New models, metaphors and strategies for learning and development in vocational education and training in the knowledge era

PROJECT PROFILE | Maret Staron, Manager, TAFE NSW International Centre for VET Teaching and Learning (ICVET) and Project Manager, Designing Professional Development for the Knowledge Era national research project

Sometimes things go really well for us at work. We can have enormous satisfaction through the way that we work and learn. Other times we feel that something is missing. That only part of our mind and heart is engaged at work. We may feel that much of our significant learning occurs outside of work. That our learning outside of work informs our work as much as, if not more than, our formal learning at work. Many people at work are commenting that traditional strategies and methods for learning at work are not working as well as they have in the past.

There is a need to re-examine our approaches to learning and development in vocational education and training (VET). Three of us – myself, Robby Weatherley and Marie Jasinski – have been fortunate to be able to form a research team to investigate new ways of integrating work with our learning. Through TAFE NSW we established a research project called “Designing Professional Development in the Knowledge Era” initially in partnership with the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and now with the Department of Education, Training and Science (DEST). The aim is to develop a business framework for learning and development in the knowledge era – that supports sustainability and resilience in the VET sector.

The mechanistic, standardised, lock step ways of doing things that came out of the industrial era are no longer serving their purpose.

The mechanistic, standardised, lock step ways of doing things that came out of the industrial era are no longer serving their purpose. The forces of the knowledge era are making themselves well and truly felt. Information overload, pace of change, globalisation, technologies, increasing uncertainty, diversity and complexity are impinging on our work and learning. Many (but not all) of our ‘old’ ways are no longer relevant. But what should replace them and what does the knowledge era mean?

The knowledge era is characterised by complexity, rapid movement, turbulence, contradictions and multiple priorities. It is also characterised by a great amount of energy, excitement, opportunity and creativity. It is an ‘intangible era’ where the growing economic commodity is knowledge itself more so than goods and services. Who and how we know becomes more important than what we know. It’s not just about accessing information but about how we learn to select, borrow, interpret, share, contextualise and apply knowledge to our work. Relationships become as important as systems and processes and we need to use our ‘emotional’ as well as our ‘cognitive’ intellect at work.

A metaphor is emerging for working and learning in the knowledge era that is an ecological metaphor.

A metaphor is emerging for working and learning in the knowledge era that is an ecological metaphor. This metaphor links our lived experience and our humanness to our environment and work context. This shifts us from a ‘networks’ metaphor to a ‘learning ecologies’ metaphor which tells us to continually adapt to survive and that the ‘whole’ person needs to engage at work. We need:

our imagination and intuition at work, as well as our logic and reason
to approach learning and work through a design mind set and not only a problemsolving mind set
to ensure we keep conversations and face to face events alive as well as virtual opportunities.

Aligned to the learning ecologies metaphor is ‘life based learning’ .

Aligned to the learning ecologies metaphor is ‘life based learning’. This takes us beyond the models that we are currently familiar with in professional development in VET such as the expert ‘teacher’ centred didactic models and work based, project based learning models. The last decade has also had a renewed focus on workplace learning, coaching and mentoring as well as action learning and action research activities.

There is no one solution or model for learning and working in the knowledge era. Life based learning will not replace these other models, it will add to the possibilities for learning and development in VET. Life based learning is about acknowledging that the whole person comes to work – including our personal values and beliefs, our emotional maturity and our feelings of congruence (or lack of it) with organisational structures and requirements. What we experience and learn outside of work can be as important to our work as what we experience and learn at work. It impacts profoundly on our work and often drives what we do at work and how we do it. We are always on the path of learning whether at home, at work or during the myriad of activities that we involve ourselves in. Fundamentally the learning takes place through relationship and is about self discovery - which directly influences our work. The journey of self discovery is the most profound learning journey that we can take.

The journey of self discovery is the most profound learning journey that we can take.

It can be uncomfortable in our organisations to make space for the unspoken aspects of our working lives, to make room for the unexpected and to acknowledge that control can at times be an illusion. In our workplaces we need to examine which processes and systems operate best in mechanistic, logical and lock step ways - and which systems and processes need to be freed up, to be (partially) self organising and open to intuition, creativity, imagination and non standardised ways of doing things. We need to take a leap of faith.

If we are to bring the ‘whole’ person to work and integrate work and learning, then this demands of us a change in our organisational mindsets and attitudes. We need to incorporate organisational learning as well as business wisdom. Being open to the unexpected, supporting people in learning through their mistakes and acknowledging foundation age old virtues such as generosity, sensitivity, authenticity, integrity, trust and good will are all important. Making wise decisions involves the breaking down of ‘silos’, integration and connections, courage to do ‘the right thing’. It involves insight, compassion, humility, common sense and good judgement. There is no denying that it is difficult to act wisely in organisations particularly when it contradicts directives and solutions, funding requirements and established strategies. It is about moving what is good and right from rhetoric to practice. About working with contradictions and paradoxes.

A major shift needs to take place from deficit based models to positive or strength based models.

A major shift needs to take place from deficit based models to positive or strength based models. Deficit models focus on what is wrong, what is missing and how to fill the gap. Such models are a legacy of the industrial era and are currently the dominant model for learning and development. Strength based models are more holistic and focus on what’s right and working well and amplifying this. Learning and development strategies for the knowledge era align to strength based models. Strategies such as learning conversations, appreciative inquiry, talent management, disruptive technology and positive deviance do this.

People need time to reflect and work out ways of moving from the industrial era to working and learning in the knowledge era.

People need time to reflect and work out ways of moving from the industrial era to working and learning in the knowledge era. From mechanistic models of control and direction to knowledge-based models that support openness, taking personal responsibility for learning and knowledge transference. People need time to work out when mechanistic ways may be the best way forward and when openness, trust and creativity is called for. When learning conversations are needed and how legitimate work spaces can be created for this.

Yet when times are tough there is usually a decrease in organisational support for learning and development. This usually occurs when values are not consistent with rhetoric. Actions within our organisations emerge from our culture which can be either supportive to positive learning environments or harmful. The pressure is usually on us to be drawn back to ‘quick-fix’ superficial improvements rather than more authentic developmental opportunities. The focus needs to be not just on realignments but also on ‘reculturing’ within our organisations which is underpinned by our values. It’s the types of cultures we have that fundamentally create the types of organisations we have.

Key concepts

It’s the types of cultures we have that fundamentally create the types of organizations we have.

Our vision in this research project is for learners to be participating in rich learning environments. That they are passionate about learning and co-creating their own learning environments. I believe that having the will for this to happen can make it happen. For VET to remain strategically positioned, resilient and self sustaining, we need to bring together strategy, theory, people and practice in new and creative ways.

We are part of the way through our research. We have focused on the theoretical and conceptual basis for designing professional learning and development for the knowledge era. We will be conducting forums across Australia to discuss these concepts and to examine the practical application in organisations. Our final report will be out in February 2006. It will comprise:

A substantial research report on context, concepts, models and strategies for learning and development in the knowledge era.
A business framework which will include practical guidelines, why this makes good business sense, ‘what’s in it for me’, evaluation strategies and case studies.

My thanks go to Maire Jasinski and Robby Weatherley, my fellow researchers, who have contributed immensely to my own learning and to the body of this research. We will continue to share our research and findings with you. So stay tuned to this website!

ICVET Promoting Emerging Practice, TAFE NSW International Centre for VET Teaching and Learning

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