Onlignment Archive

Throughout 2011 we will be publishing extracts from The New Learning Architect. We move on to the eighth and final part of chapter 4:

A multitude of opportunities for increasing learning exists within every context, both from the top down and bottom up. The table above shows just a sample of what is available. Some of these opportunities are certainly not new, but may not have been fully exploited in the past. Others – such as blogging, electronic performance support, online books, mobile learning, using forums and wikis, online search, podcasts and webcasts, social networking and blended learning – have resulted from relatively recent technological developments, and have certainly not yet been used to their full potential.
The model can help l&d professionals to:

• consider all the contexts in which learning can take place at work and the opportunities that exist in each of these contexts;
• assess the relative priorities that should be placed on each of the four contexts for a given population;
• provide the right balance of top-down and bottom-up learning for that population;
• create the conditions in which this strategy can succeed.

This process needs to be informed by a thorough understanding of (1) the role that each context plays in an overall l&d strategy, (2) the conditions necessary for learning to thrive from both the top-down and the bottom up, and (3) the range of opportunities that exists to support learning in each case. Much of the rest of this book is devoted to ensuring that understanding.
In the meantime you may be overwhelmed by the abundance of options at your disposal. There’s no doubt that learning and development was a lot simpler when it consisted either of sitting next to Nellie or attending a class. I remember George Siemens once saying that the more choice we have, the more likely we are to choose the familiar option. If that’s the case we’re all doomed. We have waited a long time for the tools to arrive. Now they’re here, the least we can do is try our best to put them to work.
Coming next, the first part of chapter 5: The scope of top-down learning
Return to Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
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Throughout 2011 we will be publishing extracts from The New Learning Architect. We move on to the seventh part of chapter 4:
Bottom-up learning is managed by employees themselves. Why? Because it is in their interests to gain whatever knowledge and skills they need to perform effectively. A bottom-up approach is needed to address the 80% of learning that is needed 20% of the time. It most needs to be encouraged in those organisations in which there is constant change and fluidity in tasks and goals.

Bottom-up learning is cheaper, more responsive, less controlling, less patronising and altogether more in tune with the times. But it is also less certain, less measurable and less suited to dependent learners who don’t know what they don’t know.
For bottom-up learning to thrive, employees need the motive, the means and the opportunity (just like the perps in the crime novels). They will only have the motive if they are rewarded for effective performance. They will only have the means if employers help them to develop the metacognitive skills they need to learn independently and provide, where appropriate, the right collaborative software tools. They will only have the opportunity if employers are able to foster a culture which encourages self-initiative and does not penalise mistakes.
L&d professionals could do worse in future than to regard bottom-up learning as the default solution, the one they choose routinely except where it is obviously unsuitable. For too long, employees have been spoon-fed their education and their training, and have failed to develop as independent learners to the extent that perhaps they should have done. Those entering the workforce in 2010 have overcome these barriers and have higher expectations. Provide them with the motive, the means and the opportunities and their capabilities are likely to astound you.
Coming next in chapter 4: The model in action
Return to Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Obtain your copy of The New Learning Architect
 

Throughout 2011 we will be publishing extracts from The New Learning Architect. We move on to the sixth part of chapter 4:
As stated previously, top-down learning happens at the employer’s initiative, and does so because organisations need their employees to have the right knowledge and skills if they are to perform effectively. Whatever the attractions of a more bottom-up approach (as we shall see), some learning cannot be left to chance. Why? Because employees need basic competencies and they don’t always know what they don’t know, where to look for answers or who to turn to; because requirements change (new policies, products, plans), and because employees must be developed to fill future gaps.

However, it is unrealistic for all learning to be managed on a top-down basis, particularly in those organisations where change is constant and knowledge requirements hard to predict. As most top-down learning requires the direct intervention of subject experts and l&d professionals, resources are clearly going to be limited, so priorities have to be made. Top-down learning is likely to be most valuable for the 20% of knowledge that is needed 80% of the time, and for learning that is most critical in terms of risk to safety, budget or reputation.
Coming next in chapter 4: The need for bottom-up learning
Return to Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Obtain your copy of The New Learning Architect
 

Throughout 2011 we will be publishing extracts from The New Learning Architect. We move on to the fifth part of chapter 4:

The goals of formal and non-formal learning are essentially the same – to equip employees with the fundamental knowledge and skills that they require to meet present and future job responsibilities. The difference is in the approach. The structure inherent in formal education, training and development – the objectives, the curricula, the assessment, the professional facilitation – provides advantages for employers and employees alike:

• Employers can have greater confidence that important content has been covered consistently.
• Employers can more easily track who has had what training and when.
• Employers can have greater confidence that learning objectives have actually been achieved.
• Employees can have greater confidence in the quality of the tuition they are likely to receive.
• Employees are more likely to have access to professionally-designed materials.
• Employees have the opportunity to gain a certification/qualification that will be valuable in their careers.

Coming next in chapter 4: The need for top-down learning
Return to Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Obtain your copy of The New Learning Architect

Throughout 2011 we will be publishing extracts from The New Learning Architect. We move on to the fourth part of chapter 4:
More proactive approaches are needed because, however good our performance support environment, there are certain fundamental things we need to know and skills we need to have before we can make any serious attempt to function in our present jobs, or take on new responsibilities. We are, of course, recruited as much as anything, for the skills and knowledge we already possess – for our years of experience with other employers and for our qualifications. But every employer is different in terms of their culture, their particular policies and procedures, and the people that they employ. Even the most qualified new recruit requires some induction.
And jobs don’t remain static – responsibilities change along with new strategies, processes and systems, creating new requirements for knowledge and skill. And looking ahead, organisations and employees themselves have an obvious interest in making preparations for employees to take on greater responsibilities.
In addressing these needs, organisations can, of course, deliver formal interventions, typically packaged up as ‘courses’. However, they can also call upon a wide range of more flexible, non-formal approaches, which allow for continuous learning and development.
Coming next in chapter 4: The need for formal learning
Return to Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Obtain your copy of The New Learning Architect