Learning and Development HR1007 Session 2 Learning

Session Objectives  Explain how people learn  Discuss various theoretical approaches to learning  Reflect on your own learning experiences and learning style  Explain the relevance of learning theories to organisations At the end of the session you should be able to

What is Learning? What is your definition of learning? Think of a situation in which you learned something then write down your definition. ‘ Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to an enduring change in behaviour’. (Huczinsky & Buchanan 2004) Learning implies change Relatively permanent Behavioural ‘to get knowledge of or skill in, by study, experience or being taught’ (Oxford Dictionary)

Task 1: How do we learn? Think over an event from your past when you learned something new What did you learn? How did you learn? How did you feel during learning? What helped you to learn? What stopped you from learning?

Theories of Learning Behaviourist/Stimulus Response Theories Observable behaviour Learned sequences of muscle movement Learn habits Trial and error Importance of reward and punishment Positive and negative reinforcement There are a number of theories that help us to understand the learning process.

Read about the work of Watson, Skinner & Pavlov

Limitations of Behaviourist Theories Comes from Positivist tradition and misses social complexities Lab experiments not applicable to life situations Individuals have choices and are influenced by perception, attitudes, experience, personality, motivation. Doesn’t explain incidental learning

Cognitive Theories Solving problems through insight (Kohler) Cognitive maps (Tolman) Intellectual growth and maturation (Piaget) Importance of feedback Intrinsic Extrinsic Concurrrent Delayed

Kolb’s model of learning Concrete Experiences Observation & Reflection Abstract conceptualisation The Learning Cycle (Kolb 84) Actually doing something Thinking/asking about the thing you want to learn Forming hunches, general rules or theories about the thing you are interested in Active experimentation Testing theories and hunches in new situations

Deep Learning Intention to understand Relate previous to new knowledge Connect knowledge from other modules Relate theory to everyday life Make use of evidence in argument Organise & structure into a coherent whole Internal emphasis - a need to know and satisfy curiosity

Surface Learning learning by rote, memorising information for exams using standard techniques to solve familiar problems seeing principles and examples as the same treating the task as an external imposition seeing knowledge as cut off from every day reality Focusing on completion of tasks or assessments, i.e. the need to satisfy

Task 2: Learning Styles  Complete the learning styles questionnaire and then plot your scores  Identify your dominant learning style(s) and read the descriptions.  Go back to your account in Task 1 and decide which style you used mostly.  How can this knowledge of your learning preference assist you in your studies?

Learning Modes & Preferences Concrete experience (Activist) Feeling Reflective observation (Reflector) Watching Abstract conceptualisation (Theorist) Thinking Active experimentation (Pragmatist) Doing Prefers to use theory to make decisions & solve problems in the real world. Prefers to immerse oneself totally in new experiences, without bias. “Here and now, try anything” Prefers to reflect on & observe experiences from many perspectives Prefers to make sense of phenomena in the world by referring to or developing new theories /ideas (See Honey, P and Mumford, A (1986) The manual of learning styles)

Implications for study Learning cycle reminds us to allocate time to learn from our experiences by consciously following each stage, thereby making learning more effective. Knowledge of the learning styles enables us to choose team members with diverse modes of learning in order to maximise group learning. Awareness of surface and deep approaches to learning empowers us to choose which approach we take.

Learning “In a world where the rate of change is increasing rapidly every year, in a time when few will end their careers in the same jobs or even the same occupations that they started in, the ability to learn seems an important, if not the most, important skill.” (Kolb, et al. 1991)

Learning, Training and Development Educate – to bring up so as to form habits, manners, intellectual and physical aptitudes Train – To instruct and discipline in or for some particular art, profession, occupation, to make proficient by instruction and practice Develop – To unfold more fully to bring out all that is potentially contained within Think about these terms – educate, train, develop. Write down what you think is the difference between them. Now you have some idea of the difference between the terms, try to apply to the context of an organisations with which you are familiar. What different activities would come under each of these headings and why?

Implications for Organisations? What sort of employees do we want? How to develop employees’ skills, knowledge and attitudes How can we encourage them to learn at work? How can we change/modify their behaviour? What is the role of punishment and discipline? How to help employees to manage their own development How to create a ‘learning organisation’