On the final day of the conference David Boud and Knud Illeris both presented keynote speeches, which I guess where most in alignment with my current thinking about issues in workplace learning. The subtitle of the conference had attracted me greatly, but it was ‘from the learner’s perspective’ which I found a little lacking. On this final day the learner emerged as a distinct individual. Perhaps this was more due to the majority of presentations being given in the author’s second (or more) language. I think that if I had not studied organisational theory earlier in the year, much of the conference would have been difficult to connect with. Reflection was a strong theme in the learning strategies, in some ways this was the dominant learning strategy represented.
In one of the breaks I spoke briefly to Steen Elsborg about a project in the construction industry (project website here) In this project the main focus was about finding the best way of running the large construction sites. Workers were involved in weekly meetings, during which the next week’s work would be planned and also learning sessions would take place. Acceptance by the workers was helped through the early implementation of their suggestions for changing practice and the project as a whole has led to higher workplace and employability skills (as they are termed in Australia). Through this process workers were awarded a Diploma of Communication. Teachers from vocational colleges were involved and each week would prepare a session – sometimes the workers would suggest a topic, other times the teacher would select. This required a greater degree of flexibility than the teachers were used to, so there were learning experiences for them too. Further projects will continue to explore this process, and managers will also be offered training.
still more to come...
Posted by Kirsty at November 30, 2004 03:46 AM