Frequently asked questions in HRD

By Dato' R Palan

Systematic training cycle, Successful trainers/teachers, Instructional design process model, Effective PowerPoint slides, popular teaching tool, FUN learning, evaluation of training

• Language: English
• Publisher: SMR Group
• Release date: Mar 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9789675223150

Book preview

organisations

1 Why is learning emphasised so much today?

To understand the emphasis on learning, we need to understand first what learning is all about and the current context.

Learning

Learning may be defined as the process by which people acquire new knowledge and skills. The term also refers to any durable change which results from such process. Learning has always been emphasised as societies focused on creating a set of knowledge and skills essential for progress.

The current context

The current context is marked by issues such as intense competition and constant change. Change has always been there; but the pace of change is what differentiates the current situation from the one about 50 years ago. This, coupled with the influence of technology and competition necessitates learning, so that we remain relevant in the business and organisational contexts of today.

Human Resource Development

This is all about preparing people for the challenges by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to be competitive in a tough world.

The global economy today is knowledge based. Knowledge and human capital are factors that drive success. Learning is the key to success --for each of us as individuals, as well as for the society as a whole.

Lifelong learning

Learning throughout life will build human capital by encouraging innovation, creativity, and imagination. Lifelong learning is an absolute requirement for each of us to be relevant in today’s world.

Learning and change

Beckhard and Pritchard consider learning and change processes as part of each other. Change is a learning process and learning, a change process.

For example, learning to use the internet has changed the opportunities open to thousands of senior citizens. They work from home and feel connected to their community by being in touch with their children and friends over e-mail. In Australia, even eighty year olds have begun to learn how to use the personal computer.

In an organisational context, learning is driven through on-the-job processes, organisation development activities, and training and development programmes.

Website reference

http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk

Book reference

Beckhard, R. & Pritchard, W. (1992). Changing the Essence: The Art of Creating and Leading Fundamental Change in Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

2 What are the major learning theories?

The five major theories of learning that have had considerable influence on Human Resource Development are:

Behaviourism

Cognitivism

Humanism

Social Learning

Constructivism

Five different ways of learning

Rather than state which one of the theories is better than the others, most practitioners have chosen to apply the best of all of the theories. The theories apply to learning in all settings, for all age groups and for all types of learning events. Each approach, however, defines learning differently, seeks different outcomes from learning, and prescribes different roles for the teacher or trainer. They are not either/or choices but five different ways to learning.

Matching theories to needs

The challenge is to choose the appropriate approach to satisfy our needs. The following chart is adapted from Merriam and Caffarella’s Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. It describes the significant characteristics of each theory, along various aspects as follows:

An understanding of the theories of learning helps us design and deliver training in an effective manner, so as to achieve the intended purpose of the training exercise.

Website reference

http://tip.psychology.org

Book reference

Merriam, S. B., & R. S. Caffarella. (1999). Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. San Francisco, CA.: Jossey-Bass.

3 What is andragogy?

Andragogy

Initially defined as ‘the art and science of helping adults learn,’ andragogy (and-rè-go´jê) is seen as a core adult learning model. It incorporates the central principles of adult learning. Andragogy is a transactional model as it refers to the characteristics of a learning transaction. The term currently represents an alternative to pedagogy (pèd-e-go´jê) and refers to learner-focused education irrespective of age of learners.

Pedagogy

Pedagogy literally means the art and science of educating children and often is used as a synonym for teaching. More accurately, pedagogy represents teacher-directed education. In the pedagogic model, teachers assume responsibility for making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, and when it will be learned.

Malcolm Knowles

In an attempt to formulate a comprehensive adult learning theory, Knowles asserted that adults require certain conditions to learn. He borrowed the term andragogy to define and explain the conditions.

Six conditions for adult learning

The andragogic model asserts that the following six points be considered and addressed while designing adult learning. They are:

Adult learners need to know why something is important to be learned.

Adult learners need to be shown where to find and how to use information.

Subject matter must be related to adult learners’ experiences.

Adults will not learn until they are ready and motivated to learn.

Adults learn when learning is life-centred and can be applied to real situations.

Adults learn when they realise the need to learn a new skill.

An understanding of the ways in which adults learn will help us develop effective training programmes that attract learners and result in transfer of learning back to the job.

Website reference

http://tip.psychology.org

Book reference

Knowles,M.S.(1970).The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy. New York: Association Press.

4 What is experiential learning?

D.A. Kolb pointed out the significance of experience in learning. Experiential learning is a process which brings about a permanent change in behaviour due to transformation of experience. This involves going through the experience, processing it, sharing it, and applying the insights gained to new situations.

Content and experience

For Kolb, learning was not so much about acquisition or transmission of content as about the interaction between content and experience, whereby each transforms the other. Our role is not only to introduce new ideas but also to modify old ideas that may get in the way of new ones.

Kolb’s work was very much based on Kurt Lewin’s problem solving model of action research. Lewin focused on the group to understand people. He developed what has come to be known as the force-field problem solving model. Lewin’s work is relevant to experiential learning as the focus here is to get the group to reflect and learn from their experiences.

The experiential learning cycle

Kolb suggests four steps in the experiential learning cycle:

Adults learn best when learning is linked with their prior experiences. Experiential learning taps into the experiences of adults and generates learning through sharing. It is a learner focused approach that has great relevance today in adult education.

Website reference

http://www.learningfromexperience.com

http://www.reviewing.co.uk/research/experiential.learning.htm

Book reference

Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Lewin, K. (1951).Field Theory in Social Science; Selected Theoretical Papers. D. Cartwright (Ed.). New York: Harper & Row.

5 What is a learning organisation all about?

Learning organisations

Peter Senge popularised the concept of learning organisations. He defines them as organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together.

The learning organisation is seen as a response to an increasingly unpredictable and dynamic business environment. Learning organisations have systems and processes in place that help them achieve their objectives.

Characteristics of learning organisations

They are able to:

Adapt to their external environment.

Continually enhance their capability to change/adapt.

Develop collective as well as individual learning.

Use the results of learning to achieve better results.

Traditional approaches

Traditionally, organisations have sought to improve existing products and services through continuous improvement and innovation (breakthrough strategies). Over the last two decades, there have been many initiatives such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality Control Circle (QCC), and Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to achieve incremental improvements. Success or failure of these programmes depended on human factors, such as skills, attitudes, and organisational culture. Many of these implementations were defined for highly specified processes and anticipate certain situations like high costs or wastage.

Current focus

The current interest in learning organisations grows from the fact that the initiatives mentioned earlier, by themselves, are unable to cope with rapid changes and unexpected situations. Learning Organisations are seen as a viable alternative. They are not just about more training, but about helping people learn how to learn and be equipped with the knowledge and skills to respond to practical situations.

The five capabilities

Organisations and their employees need to develop five capabilities that Senge calls ‘disciplines’, to be learning organisations:

Personal Mastery involves the continual clarifying and deepening of one’s personal vision. It requires one to focus energies, develop patience, and look at reality objectively.

Mental Models are deeply ingrained assumptions, generalisations, or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action. The discipline involves bringing these tacit models to the surface to understand how we see the world and create, where required, new mental models that serve us better.

Shared Vision is the unearthing of shared ‘pictures of the future’ that foster genuine commitment and enrollment rather than compliance.

Team Learning is the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into genuine ‘thinking together.’

Systems Thinking is a conceptual framework, a body of knowledge and tools that has been developed over the past fifty years. Systems thinking enables us to see the full picture so that we realise the implications of change of various parts of a system.

Website reference

http://www.fieldbook.com

Book reference

Senge, P.M.