3. Workplace Learning & Performance

This course takes place half way through a Master’s programme aimed at professionals involved in some form of educative role (e.g. lecturers, teachers, nurse educators, HR managers, trainers, team leaders and managers in industries as diverse as marine, logistics, armed forces, retail). It is a midsemester course, meaning that equivalent face-to-face hours for a whole semester take place within a six-week period.

Students are required to identify an authentic problem in their workplace, inquire into this problem to deepen their understanding of it through gathering and analysing evidence in their workplace and develop a learning intervention. Students are individually supported in the selection and writing up of their workplace issue. As a class and in their self-designated groups, time is spent discussing who the stakeholders are and thus who they would interview (typically 4-6 interviews given the short time frame), scaffolding the crafting of interview questions, developing an appreciation of the ethics involved in such activities and in ways of analysing their data. The first summative assignment is peer assessed and feedback given before the final submission of this assignment which is on writing up the issue and analysing the affordances (enablers and constraints) for learning in their organisation. These assignments are returned quickly by the educator so that students can incorporate and improve in their final assignment. The final assignment includes all stages of the inquiry process: the problem, the analysis of affordances for learning (here theory and practice are brought together), stakeholder analysis, the learning interventions with a rationale based on the literature on why the selected learning interventions (here also theory and practice are woven together), a timeline for the interventions and an evaluation plan. In addition, learners write a brief reflection of their learning journey. Students are also assessed on their participation and engagement in knowledge co-construction and inquiry processes. Throughout the course, students are actively engaged in dialogue as they make meaning, construct and co-construct knowledge and engage in inquiry processes.

In the first week, students are given access to a workplace learning MOOC developed by the educator that provides a simple overview of workplace learning and of the major concepts in the course. Students also experience the ecology room (See Figure 3.1) where they move around 12 different stations at their own pace. Each station introduces different aspects of workplace learning. In these ways, students are given an overview of the concepts and then over the course are reintroduced to concepts at a deeper level and in ways that require them to actively engage with the materials to develop their own interpretations and understandings, guided by some framing of the concepts in short 10 minute ‘lectures’. Typical sessions include opportunities for students to ask questions and clarify concepts with each other and share with the group, short 10-15 lecture format, followed by group discussions to work through issues and activities where learners physically place themselves in a space that represents a belief or perspective.

This chapter uses the research questions to structure the presentation of the findings. The first section, ‘Learners’ perception of the value of dialogical teaching and learning’ is followed by, ‘Moving from didactic to dialogical approaches’. In the following section we explore the challenges students experienced as they grappled with different responsibilities for their learning. ‘Learners’ awareness of their own inquiry processes’ follows and the final section, ‘Knowledge coconstruction’ is followed by the conclusion which touches on the implications for teaching and learning.