KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT Carla George (March 2018) Abstract— The paper explains how learners gather their knowledge and how they apply this in their work environment.
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1 INTRODUCTION Guthrie, 1988; Rouet, 2006; Rouet & Tricot, 1996 that people will search information in accordance to their own personal or work reasons. They will undergo the process of visualising their search goal, choosing a category, obtaining the information required, processing the information and integrating this with newfound information, this process is repeated ongoingly until the requirements are met. (Dreher & Guthrie, 1990) mentioned that expert searching requires good assessment abilities towards deciding whether enough information has been gathered and relevant to their requirements. The article also suggests that experts tend to focus on efficiency content structures and organisation. Information seeking can also be developed through questioning ability in accordance to Hans Van Der Meij describes the methods of questioning between a student and peer or teacher during the learning development stages. He defines questioning simply by referring this to as an enquiry to imply an informal reply. Questions can serve other purposes such as action, motivation, inform and comfort. He further describes the stages that a person will undertake when trying to formulate a question and referenced Dillon, the first stage that the person will become very curious when they first encounter additional information or if they are puzzled by a situation. The second stage the person will develop a question that is relevant to their curiosity. During the third stage the person will seek and find the answer to satisfy the question.
2 NOVICE TO EXPERT The journey from a novice to an expert learner can vary in according to the demands within the ICT industry. Peter Weiß, Dudley Dolan, Wolffried Stucky, Peter Bumann describes that within Europe and Germany that addresses current technological changes such as digital media, data mining, software programming, hardware and software support. In the UK there is a huge demand for Java programmers and web development including ICT graduates with business analysis skills. The paper describes the need to support lifelong learning known as e-skills to address employer’s demands. There are a variety of associations that address the ICT skills gap such as BCS (British computer society, Microsoft, Comptia, Cisco.
Employers recommend that all training programmes to incorporate realistic challenges that they are faced with in a working environment. Most programmes are open to a variety of ways of learning and communications, such as webinars, selfassessments and Audiotech. when seeking information.
2.2 Knowledge management Knowledge management is the main source for competitive advantage and requires use of ICT resources to support its process within the workplace. This involves access to high quality ICT devices and equipment including high skilled workers. The students are happy with their trainer as they value his current experience of the ICT industry as they thrive for knowledge this gives them motivation to engage within their own learning development. Opportunities for learners to build upon their current IT skills through IT based projects or activities. Assessment forms are completed online assessing their ability towards using a computer system. Wenger also focus on boundaries to learning she considers this to be an opportunity towards improvement and to assess the value of current learning systems to ensure they can overcome difficulties and to prepare for upcoming challenges. These challenges should be considered as no learning is taking place if there is no exposure to stretching and dynamic activities. Wenger mentions the learning can become inefficient and stale leading to disconnection. Kims theory 1993 where she outlines organisational learning versus individual learning then comprises both stages into one through a single and double loop. The individual learning reflects observation, design and implement this is a simple mental model on how learning is form through action. Overall the second model shows changes when in an organisational environment as this reflects changes and structured routines involving problem solving.
S Billet also explains within his studies that he interviewed students that had difficulties with working in an isolated environment, so they also relied on expert advice to acquire knowledge and further their skills. They also had the opportunities towards attending training events and meetings to obtain additional information. Kolb describes that we use our present experience in daily life and we constantly reflect and plan to visualise our perceptions as we are learning. This is a continuous cycle but M Eraut disagrees with this as he feels the model doesn’t take into consideration the feelings and expressions that a person will undergo through learning. The model describes an experience as a step by step process rather than generalisation of what we have already learnt. I understand M Erauts confusion of this as informal is very difficult to define as it depends on the individuals learning expertise. The student’s preparation may involve reading books that are relevant towards the exam, online test forums- this will involve reviewing and interacting with an online community sharing thoughts and ideas that are also undergoing certification. Some may participate in a training class so that they can have access to material that is guaranteed to pass the exam. Online practical tests are available to prep the students towards the exam some are free however you will need to subscribe to a site to access them. Signing up to vendor sites that will provide access to learning resources and practical tools to support with revision. The aim of certification is to increase confident acquiring new knowledge and support progression within your current job role.
3 LEARNING STYLES Tacit knowledge exists in people’s minds it is difficult to describe as this can be learnt by experiences and informal communications. Explicit knowledge can be acquired through sharing of information such as manuals and a variety of documentation that can be accessed to allow for development and expansion. The standard learning styles that apprentices adopt can be categorise below: Visual: The way that all learners can adapt and work in the current conditions. Visual efficiency can be affected if this is neglected this can lead to visual deficiencies such as eye disorientation, eye movement etc. The appropriate learning approach is using visual aids with highlighting the principal areas of importance that will help towards retaining information. Other methods could include taking notes, diagram maps or map of events.
Auditory: The ability to follow directions, processing information, spelling and numbering accuracy. Difficulties can arise towards communication and wrong perceptions. Auditory learners will record sessions using tape recorders and group discussions. In their own time they can replay previous class sessions if they misunderstood or miss out vital information. Kinaesthetic: They are mainly known as doers as most their learning involves movement. Kinaesthetic learners will learn best through simulations; role plays and first-hand experiments. They need to be stimulated always as they could be easily distracted and cause difficulty in sitting still in class. The procedures are in place to establish learner’s preferred method of learning, so this can be adapted throughout their learning experience.
4 SUMMARY There is a need for workplaces to implement the appropriate resources in place that will facilitate the desire to learn. Encouraging participation from the employer and learner they can underpin the requirements and preparation to ensure that the workplace can be utilised as an effective tool for learning.
REFERENCES [1] J Hunter L C, Spence K, McKenna K, Idema R. (2008) – “Learning how we learn: an ethnographic study in a neonatal intensive care unit [2] Tang M G. (1991)- “The Role and Value of Graphic Representation of Knowledge Structures in ESL Student Learning: An Ethnographic Study” [3] Experienced Based Learning Lee Andresen, David Boud and Ruth Cohen (2001)