October 1, 2005: Headlines: Learning: Action Learning: Organizational Development: Education: Organization Development Journal: Action learning (Evans, 1998) is a process that embeds a learning culture in groups, facilitating positive change for a wide range of organizations such as Motorola, Xerox, Peace Corps, and United Nations Development Program
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October 1, 2005: Headlines: Learning: Action Learning: Organizational Development: Education: Organization Development Journal: Action learning (Evans, 1998) is a process that embeds a learning culture in groups, facilitating positive change for a wide range of organizations such as Motorola, Xerox, Peace Corps, and United Nations Development Program
Action learning (Evans, 1998) is a process that embeds a learning culture in groups, facilitating positive change for a wide range of organizations such as Motorola, Xerox, Peace Corps, and United Nations Development Program
For action learning to occur, there are six distinct and necessary ingredients: a problem; a group; the questioning and reflection process; the commitment to taking action; group commitment to learning; and a facilitator (Marquardt, 1999). The facilitator's central task is to ensure that the other five ingredients are included, acknowledged, and developed by the group, resulting in a learning culture that is safe for participants to develop their thinking by exploring options outside programmed group or academic knowledge. This exploration requires group commitment to innovation. Innovation entails group commitment to openness and honesty as prerequisites for critical thought and expression, which in turn strengthen group identity and cohesion.
Action learning (Evans, 1998) is a process that embeds a learning culture in groups, facilitating positive change for a wide range of organizations such as Motorola, Xerox, Peace Corps, and United Nations Development Program
Action Learning: Developing a Learning Culture in an Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Team
Oct 1, 2005 - Organization Development Journal
[Excerpt]
Action Learning
Action learning (Evans, 1998) is a process that embeds a learning culture in groups, facilitating positive change for a wide range of organizations such as Motorola, Xerox, Peace Corps, and United Nations Development Program (Dotlich, & Noel, 1998; Marquardt, 1999). A structured process enables group exploration, definition, actioning, and evaluation of complex and work-related problems.
Conceptually, the action learning cycle (figure 1) consists of four phases (Zuber-Skerritt, 2000). First, the identified problem must be of immediate relevance to the group, within the power of the group to solve and be problems (or opportunities) where no single course of action is evident. Next, the problem-solving process begins by a process of individual reflection, followed by group discussions to examine critically the language used and reach consensual agreement on the meaning of this language and related concepts. This process facilitates movement from unawareness, feelings of anxiety, unsafe risk, and confusion to a supportive, questioning, and learning environment that engages and extends individuals beyond programmed knowledge to pose and explore increasingly insightful questions.
The questions, rather than individuals, become the focus of attention and the "problem" to be solved, facilitating exploration of possible actions. Thirdly, the group identifies the most applicable action, based on their increased knowledge and implements the action. Finally, they evaluate its effectiveness. If the evaluated solution to a problem does not meet the group's requirements, further rounds of action learning are repeated to address the problem.
For action learning to occur, there are six distinct and necessary ingredients: a problem; a group; the questioning and reflection process; the commitment to taking action; group commitment to learning; and a facilitator (Marquardt, 1999). The facilitator's central task is to ensure that the other five ingredients are included, acknowledged, and developed by the group, resulting in a learning culture that is safe for participants to develop their thinking by exploring options outside programmed group or academic knowledge. This exploration requires group commitment to innovation. Innovation entails group commitment to openness and honesty as prerequisites for critical thought and expression, which in turn strengthen group identity and cohesion.
The attributes the facilitator encouraged the group to develop are (Marquardt, 1999):
1. Commitment to solving the problem by individual ownership of the problem and a focus on collective problem-solution as o opposed to attributing cause or blame. By implication, this also includes clarification of what the group can and cannot control and a resultant focus on those things it can control.
Figure 1. The Action-Learning Cycle
2. Increasing participants' ability to listen, to question themselves and others in a positive manner that seeks to clarify, explore, and search for greater knowledge of and insight into the problem.
3. A willingness to be open, risking vulnerability and identifying knowledge gaps and therefore trusting other participants to assist one another in learning.
4. Evidence that participants value each other's inherent knowledge, potential to advance knowing, and point of view.
5. Group commitment to taking action and belief in their ability eventually to succeed.
6. A personal awareness of both their own and others' ability to learn and develop; that is, acknowledgement that the group process facilitates personal and professional development.
The development of these six characteristics, within the context of real work problems, is the primary goal of the facilitator. Once these characteristics are embedded, the facilitator should disengage and allow the team to undertake continuing self-facilitated reflection, action and evaluation. In the reported case study, the facilitator withdrew after the six reported action learning cycles.
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Story Source: Organization Development Journal
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Learning; Action Learning; Organizational Development; Education
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