LEARNING AND HRD Jayendra Rimal 1 Agree or

LEARNING AND HRD Jayendra Rimal 1

Agree or disagree o For learning to take place, the most important variable to consider is whether the individual learner has sufficient ability to learn what is being taught. o In general, people learn best and remember the most when they can spread out the time spent learning new materials. o Learning something to the point of “overlearning” is generally a waste of time and should be avoided. o If training has been effective then it really doesn’t matter whethere is support in the work environment or not. o Trainers should always seek to match the type of training delivery methods to the characteristics of the individual being trained. o Adult learners typically respond best to a lecture-style approach to training. 2

Learning o Learning – a fundamental process and requirement of capacity development characterized by a relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of one’s interaction with the environment. o Aspects/Focus of learning: - Change (acquiring new or modifying) - Long lasting (recollection) - Behavior, affect or cognition - Individual’s interaction with the environment o Capacity development – More ability to change and adapt or adoption of new behavior or practices. o Effective learning strategies and processes – A foundation of effective HRD programs and practices thru: – Individual learning – Organizational learning 3

Need for learning o Learning to be effective – Improve the extent to which the outputs meet the needs of the customers. o Learning to be efficient – Improve the utilisation of inputs in relation to the outputs o Learning to expand – Increase or diversify activities to meet further needs. 4

How does learning occur? o Association – The process by which two cognitions become paired together (e. g “dozen” and “twelve items”). Some principles that influence the learning of association: – Contiguity: Association by experiencing objects together. Learning a new language may involve pairing words with pictures – The law of effect: Behaviour followed by pleasurable consequences. Congratulated by manager for carrying out a productive sales call – Practice: Repeating events will increase the strength of the association. Working on a keyboard repeatedly will help to increase the typing speed. 5

Levels of individual learning o Knowing about – An awareness that something exists. (orientation) o Understanding – Mastery of the concepts and beyond. o Acceptance – Agreement to the underlying logic and holding of consistent beliefs o Ability to apply – Successful use of new behaviours and performance levels 6

Maximizing individual learning o Trainee characteristics - Trainability - Personality and attitudes o Training design - Conditions of practice - Retention of what is learned o Transfer of training - identical elements - General principles - Stimulus variability - Support in the work environment 7

Trainability o Trainability = f (ability + motivation + perceptions of the work environment) o Ability is the aptitude to perform the tasks at hand o Motivation is effort, persistence or choice • The way training is perceived • Involvement in decision about training • Manner in which individuals view own ability/skill weakness • Need for achievement or competence • Job involvement/experience of negative event prior to training • Career advancement opportunities • Expectancy of achieving desired outcomes • Freedom of choice • Characteristics of the organization o The largest component of training costs are the trainees personal costs (e. g. 20 employees. X 10 days=200 work days) o Substantial costs can be saved by selecting only trainable staff 8

Personality and attitudes o Personality - A set of personal characteristics that account for consistent patterns of behaviour - Dimensions: Extraversion; openness to experience - Traits: Need for achievement; activity; independence; sociability o Attitude – A person’s general feelings of favorableness or unfavorableness towards some stimulus object - Career exploration - Job involvement - Expectations - Trainee confidence 9

Training design o Conditions of practice – Active practice (repeated performance of task) – Massed versus spaced practice sessions – Whole versus part learning – Overlearning (longer retention) – Feedback (enhances learning and retention) – Task sequencing (subtasks taught in appropriate sequence) o Retention of what is learned – Meaningfulness of material (association to job) – Degree of original learning (effective initial learning) – Interference (pre and post training) 10

Transfer of training o Positive transfer – Better job performance o Negative transfer – Poorer job performance o Zero transfer – No effect on job performance o Identical elements theory - Similar training and performance situations, better transfer of learning o General principles theory – Learning the fundamental elements of a task ensures better learning o Stimulus variability – Multiple examples of a concept involving different practice situations o Support in the work environment – Peer, supervisor & organizational support (continuous learning work environment) ensures transfer of learning 11

Modes of learning Action (OJT) Concrete Experience Ability to change Feedback Active Practice experimentation (Work related) Commitment to change Analysis (Case study) Reflective observation Translation Concept (University education) Abstract conceptualization 12

Modes of learning, contd… o Concrete experience (CE) - An intuitive preference for learning through direct experience, emphasizing interpersonal relationships and feelings as opposed to thinking. o Reflective observation (RO) - A preference to learn by watching and examining different points of view to achieve an understanding. o Abstract conceptualization (AC) - A preference for learning by thinking about an issue in theoretical terms o Active experimentation (AE) - A preference for learning something by actively doing it and judging its practical value 13

Learning styles o Convergent - A combination of abstract conceptualization (AC) and active experimentation (AE) (thinking and doing) with a focus on problem solving, decision making and practical application of ideas. o Divergent - CE and RO (feeling and watching) emphasizing imagination, an awareness of values and ability to generate alternative courses of action. o Assimilation - AC and RO (thinking and watching) that stresses inductive reasoning, integration of observations into explanations and creation of theoretical models o Accommodative - CE and AE (feeling and doing) demonstrated by accomplishment, executing plans and involvement in new 14 experience

Learning strategies o Rehearsal strategies - basic learning tasks (repeating items on a list) - complex learning tasks (underlining text, copying notes) o Elaboration strategies - basic (forming a mental image) - complex (taking notes, paraphrasing, summarizing) o Organizational strategies - basic (grouping information to be learned) - complex (outlining articles, creating a hierarchy) o Comprehensive monitoring strategies (self questioning) o Affective strategies (increase alertness, relax, reduce test anxiety) 15

Individual differences in the learning process o Different rates of trainee progress – learning curves o Attributes treatment Interaction (ATI) - cognitive ability and motivation interaction o Training of adults - Pedagogy: instructional methodology for educating children - Andragogy: instructional methodology for educating adults. assumptions: adults are self directed; knowledge and experience; readiness to learn relevant tasks and motivated to learn 16

Learning curves P P (Trainee 1) Time (Trainee 2) Time P P (Trainee 3) Time (P=proficiency) (Trainee 4) Time 17

Organizational learning o A process of continuous testing of experience and transformation of that experience into knowledge accessible to the whole organization and relevant to its core purpose. o A process of coordinated systems change with mechanisms built in for individuals and groups to access, build and use organizational memory, structure and culture to develop long term organizational capacity 18

Organizational learning, contd… o Is there a continuous testing of experience? - willingness to examine everything, structures for testing, treatment of people spreading negative information o Is knowledge (capacity for effective action) being produced? -New capabilities, qualitative differences o Is the knowledge shared? - Accessibility to all o Is the knowledge relevant? - Usability, focus on core purposes 19

Principles of organizational learning o Need for a powerful and cohering vision of the organization and its communication o Need to develop strategy in the context of the vision o Frequent dialogue, communication and dialogue o Continuous re-examination and challenges of things that are taken for granted o Development of a conducive learning and innovative culture 20

Types of organizational learning o Single loop learning: Expectation-action-review-correction process; improves the organization's capacity to achieve known objectives; the organization learns without significant change in its basic assumptions. o Double loop learning: Expectation-action-review-re-evaluation/redefinition of expectation-correction process; the organization learns something new about what has been achieved in the light of changed circumstances and decides how this should be applied o Adaptive learning: Adopting to environmental changes o Generative learning: Going beyond just adapting to change, to being ahead of and anticipating change; total reframing of an organization’s experiences and learning 21

Learning organization o An organization that continuously improves by rapidly creating and redefining the capabilities required for future success o An organization that is continually expanding to create its future o An organization which facilitates the learning of all its members and continually transforms itself o An organization that is skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge and at modifying its behaviour to reflect new knowledge and insights. 22

Characteristics of learning organizations o Presence of tension - Gap between vision and reality, questioning/inquiry, challenging the status quo, critical reflection o Systems thinking - Shared vision, holistic thinking, openness o Culture facilitating learning - Suggestions, teamwork, empowerment, empathy 23

Characteristics of learning organizations o Learning organizations are good at - systematic problem solving - experimentation - learning from past experience - learning from others - transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization 24

Characteristics of learning organizations o A learning organization has – shared vision that enables to identify, respond to and benefit from future opportunities – enabling structure that facilitate learning – supportive culture that encourages challenges to the status quo and the questioning of established ways of doing things – empowering management that believes in devolved decision making and team working result in improved performance – motivated work force that want to learn continuously – processes and policies to encourage enhanced learning for all 25

Thank you !