ESRC Seminar, Chester, May 25th 2011

1. ESRC Seminar, Chester, May 25th 2011 Learning across the professions Michael Eraut University of Sussex

2. Individual and Social Perspectives An individual perspective on knowledge and learning enables us to explore: what people know what people can do what and how they learn variations in how different people interpret and use what they learn. A social perspective draws attention to: the social nature of most contexts for learning the social origins of knowledge that is shared, passed on or developed by groups, networks or communities the wide range of cultural practices and products that provide knowledge resources for learning.

3. Types of Knowledge 1 Codified scientific knowledge in the form of scholarly publications, documentation and records, is judged by its source, truth claims and acceptability to appointed gate-keepers. Other cultural knowledge is constructed and shared among communities and groups without undergoing codification. The personal meaning of codified and cultural knowledge is shaped, both socially and individually, by: its context(s) of acquisition, its context(s) of use, and discussion and debate.

4. Types of Knowledge 2 Personal knowledge is defined as what a person brings into new situations that enables then to think and act in those situations. This definition is not based on its truth but on its use. It comprises: Codified knowledge ready for use Knowledge acquired through acculturation Knowledge constructed from experience, social interaction and reflection Skills developed through practice with feedback Episodes, impressions and images that provide the foundations for informal knowledge Self-knowledge, attitudes, values and emotions.

5. The evidence of personal knowledge or capability This comes mainly from observations of performance, which implies a holistic rather than fragmented approach to knowledge. Unless one stops to deliberate, the knowledge one uses is already available in an integrated form and ready for action. The challenge for professional learning is finding the balance between developing separate aspects of a performance or focusing on simple holistic cases and then increasing their difficulty. The term Capability also includes group knowledge and organisational knowledge

6. Theoretical knowledge revisited Some starters for thought Theories as resources for thinking and understanding Theories as partial explanations of relationships between people and events The domain of a theory may be wide or narrow Its significance within that domain may vary with the context Theories posited as oppositional may be different lenses that focus on different representations of the same domain

7. Types of theory taught during professional formation  Appropriated from sciences or social sciences Conceptual frameworks peculiar to a profession Explanations of empirical research Elaborations of practitioners’ experience, maxims and practical principles through mediating artefacts situated at the boundary of codified and uncodified knowledge Preferred views of the ideology of the profession, justifications of its purposes and practices in terms of moral principles, views of society or occupational beliefs about the effectiveness of its practices

8. Theories encountered during placements These should include: Communal discourse among practitioners Common discourse among the general public (so-called lay theories) The personal theories, explicit or tacit, of other practitioners. Hence, the role of theory differs between higher education and practice contexts

9. User Evaluation of Theories Utility through their contribution to understanding and critical thinking, and/or guidance of effective action Alignment with personal goals and/or beliefs Theories embedded in common practices often remain implicit and unevaluated; because there is conflict between theories of action (what is believed to work) and espoused theories aligned with preferred ideals.

10. Implications of Situated Learning: Why Lave is out of date  Personal meanings of a concept or theory are shaped, both socially and individually, by the sequence of contexts in which they were acquired and/or used. Unlike traditional societies, modern societies lead to careers based on sequences of work contexts which are unique to individuals. This creates divergences of experience and of meaning, rather than the convergence associated with the concept of communities of practice.

11. Deceptive Discourse 1 The manifest function of professional discourse is: To consult and inform clients To keep colleagues aware of your actions To render account of your actions to managers Its latent function is: To keep clients happy while asserting the professional role To maintain good relations with colleagues while preserving freedom from their influence To tell managers what they want to hear while keeping them off your back

12. Deceptive Discourse 2 The advantages are that it: Provides a defensible account rather than a description of one’s actions Creates an impression of control over situations that inspires confidence in the actor Preserves personal autonomy of action. The negative consequences are that it: Limits what people can say as well as what they choose to say Prevents any discourse that might trigger reflection or enable a productive discussion that leads to a deeper conceptualisation of practice.

13. Transfer of Knowledge between Education and Practice Contexts The extraction of potentially relevant knowledge from the context(s) of its acquisition and previous use Understanding the new situation, a process that often depends on informal social learning Recognising which areas of knowledge are relevant to the new situation Focusing more precisely on what knowledge is needed for a particular assessment, decision or action Interpreting and/or transforming that knowledge to suit the new situation and context Integrating the relevant aspects of knowledge prior to, or during, performance

14. Problems with Transfer Most people see transfer as the responsibility of the learner and not the original or receiving contexts The amount of new learning is underestimated (iceberg metaphor) Transfer between education and practice settings is underdeveloped Transfer between practice settings tends towards over-generalisation

15. An epistemology of practice Four distinct but interconnected elements of professional practice: Assessing clients and/or situations (sometimes briefly, sometimes involving a long process of investigation) and continuing to monitor them Deciding what, if any, action to take, both immediately and over a longer period (either on one’s own or as a leader or member of a team); Pursuing an agreed course of action, modifying, consulting and reassessing as and when necessary; Metacognitive monitoring of oneself, people needing attention and the general progress of the case, problem, project or situation; and sometimes also learning through reflection on the experience. 2. The contexts in which the practice takes place 3. Three modes of cognition, which depend on the speed and conditions in which the practice is conducted

16. Interactions between Time, Mode of Cognition and Type of process

17. The role of routinisation Coping with the conditions Productivity Routines have a half-life Short cuts that save time and effort but reduce effectiveness The problem of change

18. Situational understanding Acquired through: Tacit acculturation Reflection on experience Multiple conversations Access to concepts and theories Assessment of a situation can be jeopardised by: Taken for granted assumptions Limited access to people and information Preconceptions Limited relationships (quality and number) Poverty of local discourse Misunderstandings and improved by: Use of research-type skills Recognition of previous experiences Questioning Consultation and engagement with others

19. The Tacit Dimension of Expertise Understanding Skills Implicit or incidental learning Routinised Implicit aggregation of episodes Non-verbal or meta-verbal and impressions Intuitively monitored Hidden constructs Knowledge use Decision-making Transforming & resituating knowledge Rapid and intuitive Retrieving knowledge from memory Holistic assessment Recognising when to use knowledge Judgement in complex Sensing how to use some knowledge uncertain situations

20. The role of monitoring, consultation and evaluation Monitoring critical in reflex or intuitive mode Ethical need for engagement of learners, clients or other stakeholders Evaluation of clients’ progress, individual or group practices is central to professional learning and accountability

21. A Socially Situated Definition of Competence Competence is the ability to perform the tasks and roles required to the expected standard Applies to any career stage Expected standard will vary with experience and responsibility Takes into account lifelong learning and changes in “good practice” Influenced by external standards and/or internal micro-politics Evidence of competence is determined by a series of performances, each of which needs to be situated in terms of its context, the prevailing conditions and the situations being addressed. At any one time, their competence is limited to the domain within which their practice meets the expectations of significant others in their workplace or among their clients.

22. Key aspects of a worker’s domain of competence The contexts in which the performer will have to operate, including likely locations and their salient features The conditions under which the performer will have to work, e.g., degree of supervision, pressure of time, crowdedness, conflicting priorities, availability of resources The situations which the performer may encounter, covering such factors as client types and demands, tasks to be tackled, interpersonal events, emergencies, etc.

23. Talking more explicitly about Knowledge at Work is more likely if there is: A climate of regular mutual consultation encouraging those consulted to describe what they know A training or mentoring relationship in which explanations were expected, sometimes of cultural or behavioural norms as well as more technical matters Informal relationships leading to work-related discussions of information out of hours, when more ‘provisional’ and ‘riskier’ comments might be made which conveyed some meaning but were not understood as pretending to be comprehensive or accurate A crisis, review or radical change in practice, which caused people to exchange opinions and experiences, sometimes even to making values more explicit. (Eraut et al 1998)

24. Approaches to sharing tacit knowledge that we have used or encountered Discussing common episodes at which the participants were co-present Recordings of episodes, with the possible addition of a voice-over commentary (Holmstrom & Rosenqvist, 2004) Describing incidents or telling stories, followed by discussion (Fairbairn, 2002) Discussing cases and/or problems, real or fictional

25. Examples of Learning through Mediating Artefacts Workshops for Analysing Textbooks and their modes of use The contents of a Nursing matrix on causes of Acute Pain Protocols for deciding when a patient needs urgent attention Engineers discussing virtual design ‘drawings’ on the screen over the telephone Learning to translate business processes into audited accounts Accounts as key mediating artefacts in learning accountancy Using still pictures rather than videos for reviewing operations or discussing patient conditions

26. Implications for Learning at Work Work processes with learning as a by-product Learning processes at or near the workplace Learning actions within either type of process

27. Work Processes with learning as a by-product Participation in group processes Working alongside others Consultation Tackling challenging tasks and roles Problem solving Trying things out Consolidating, extending and refining skills Working with clients

28. Settings for Feedback Immediate comment on aspects of a task or role given on-the-spot or soon after the event by a co-participant or witness. Informal conversations away from the job often convey indirect and/or unintended messages as well as intended advice. Formal roles such as mentor or supervisor involve: Some responsibility for a learner’s short to medium term progress Obligation to provide formative feedback on a regular basis. Appraisal is a process where designated appraisers are expected, but rarely succeed in: Giving normative feedback on personal strengths and weaknesses Ascertaining views on learning opportunities and meeting expectations

29. Factors affecting learning in the workplace # 1