Learning and HRD Learning-and-HRD Learning-and-HRD
- 2. INTRODUCTION. • What comes to your mind when you first listen to the word “learning” ? • Goal : to change attributes, behaviour, knowledge, and attitudes through learning. • Learning is relatively permanent change in behaviour, cognition or affect that occurs as a result of one’s interaction with the environment.
- 3. • Change :- 1. Can happen by acquiring something new ( like a skill) or modify something already exists. 2. It must be long lasting • Focus of learning includes change in behaviour, cognition, or affect, or any combination of the three. • Finally, learning results from individual interaction with the world.
- 4. BASIC LEARNING PRINCIPLES • The cornerstone of learning theory is concept of association, it is a process by which 2 cognitions become paired, so that thinking of one evokes the other; e.g. dozen = 12 items. • There are three principles that influence the concept of associations: 1. Contiguity 2. The law of effect 3. Practice
- 5. AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH • Gestalt psychologists say that learning happens suddenly in form of an insight, as in an epiphany • Insight is seen as a sudden reconceptualization of one’s experience that results in a new idea or in discovering the solution to a problem • The critique of this theory suggests that insight is nothing but a transfer of learning from one situation to the other, and when connected to HRD cannot be very well defined into a particular structure
- 6. LIMITS OF LEARNING PRINCIPLES IN TRAINING DESIGN. • The principles were a result of tightly controlled lab settings and do not apply to many real world settings. • Gagne argued that training could be improved using three techniques: 1. Task analysis 2. Component task achievement 3. Task sequencing
- 7. IMPACT OF INSTRUCTIONAL AND COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY • Traditional : focused on describing what happens in learning situations • Instructional : what must be done before learning can take place • Focused on acquisition of human competence 1. Describing learning goal 2. Analysing initial state of learner 3. Identify the conditions that allow the learner to gain competence 4. Asses and monitor the learning process
- 8. • This instructional psychology is influenced by cognitive psychology. • Basically, adopting the language, methods, and models that portray humans as information processors, so as to develop models and theories that explain how people function. • The foundation lies in cognitive architecture which is fixed system of mechanisms that underlies and produce cognitive behaviour. • It helps in determining how humans process info. And come to learn and understand the world around them.
- 9. TWO VIEWS OF COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURE • Symbolic : notion that humans process info. In form of symbol and language • Connectionist : focuses on the way which info Is processed on the neural level and draw ideas from brain research and neurobiology. • They are not mutually exclusive. • The implication for HRD is that interventions should be based on cognitive architecture that explains how particular task or skill operates and is learned. They promise to maximize the learning.
- 10. MAXIMIZING LEARNING • Three major areas that lay emphasis on maximizing learning are: 1. Trainee characteristics 2. Training design 3. Transfer of training
- 11. TRAINEE CHARACTERISTICS • The trainee’s personal characteristics will influence how he or she learns new task and information. • It includes: 1. Trainability: focuses on the trainee’s readiness to learn and combines trainee’s level of ability and motivation with his/her perception of work environment. 2. f(motivation X Ability X Perceptions of work env.)
- 12. • If either motivation or ability is lacking, learning will not occur. • The very high level of one cannot overcome a very low level of the other. • With less motivation : waste time and resources • With less ability : takes longer time to learn, hence increasing length of training and it will be expensive. • It is also a function of the work environment.
- 13. PRETRAINING MOTIVATION • The way trainee perceives training. • Way in which individuals view their own ability. • Experiencing negative event in job prior to training increases motivation, and performance. • Other factors that increase motivation are, involvement in decisions about training, perception that training will lead to benefits, and perception of support.
- 14. TESTING OF TRAINEE • Trainability approach : measure motivation and ability of candidate for training and selecting those who show level of trainability • Second approach : complete part of training programme and use their performance on that section as predictor how well they will perform during remainder of training. Train and then select.
- 15. PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE. • Employee attitude towards career exploration and job involvement impact learning. • Personality traits related to employee learning include locus of control, need for achievement, independence and sociability.
- 16. TRAINING DESIGN • It involves adapting learning environment to maximize learning. • Includes : 1. Conditions of practice a. Active practice b. Massed vs. spaced practice sessions c. Whole vs. part learning d. Knowledge of results ( feedback) e. Overlearning f. Task sequencing 2. Retention of what is learned a. Meaningfulness of material b. Degree of original learning c. interference
- 17. TRANSFER OF TRAINING • Transfer of training to the job situation is critically important to the success of HRD efforts. • Three forms of transfers: 1. Positive : improve the performance 2. Zero : no change 3. Negative : worsen the performance • Near transfer : directly apply on the job with little modifications • Skill reproduction • Far transfer : expanding/ using in new or creative way. • Skill generalization.
- 18. • Identical elements : more similar training and performance situations in terms of stimuli present and responses required more likely training transfer will occur. – Physical fidelity : condition of training program, e.g. equipment, task, and surrounding. – Psychological fidelity : extent to which trainees attach similar meaning to both training and performance situation. • General Principles : learning fundamental elements of a task will ensure transfer from training • Stimulus variability : involving trainee in several different practice sessions.
- 19. SUPPORT IN WORK ENVIRONMENT • Supervisory support : – Encouragement to attend training – Goal setting – Reinforcement – Behaviour modelling • Support at organisation level : – Transfer of training climate – Presence of continuous learning work environment – Opportunity to perform
- 20. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING PROCESS. • Rates of progress • Interactions between attributes and treatment • Training of adults and older workers
- 21. RATES OF PROGRESS • People learn at different rates • Best way to show rates is learning curves • They provide useful feedback to both trainers and trainees. • If trainer notices a plateau, different approaches, encouragement, other interventions maybe needed. • Can be used as baselines for communicating expectations of progress to future trainees, and helps trainees plan future sessions.
- 22. ATTRIBUTE TREATMENT INTERACTION • It has been observed that some methods of training maybe better suited to certain types of people. • Expectancy theory of motivation: – When motivation is low, both high and low ability individuals perform at low level. – When motivation is high, difference in performance is expected on the basis of ability.
- 23. COGNITIVE RESOURCE ALLOCATION THEORY • The attentional demands made by a task will determine the contribution of both ability and motivation to task performance • Attentional demands change during skill acquisition process. – Declarative knowledge (AD : high) – Knowledge compilation (AD : Moderate) – Procedural knowledge (AD : low) • Cognitive ability is related to attentional resources an individual has, intelligence predicts performance best during initial stage.
- 24. • Motivational processes place a limit on the amount of available cognitive resources, that and individual will apply to a task. • Motivational processes that decide allocation of cognitive resources take up cognitive resources themselves, hence taking the resources one might use to learn, hindering the learning process. • Ability and self efficacy are better predictors of performance in early stages of skill acquisition, whereas motivation is better predictor during latter stages.
- 25. TRAINING ADULT AND OLDER WORKERS • Pedagogy • Traditionally used for instructional methodology, has emphasized educating children and teenagers through high school. • Andragogy • Adult oriented approach based on four hypothesis – They’re self directed – Have acquired knowledge and experience – Greater readiness to learn the task – Are motivated to learn
- 26. • Andragogical techniques are designed keeping in mind : – Joint planning – Self diagnosis – Formulation of learning objective – Collaborative teaching process – Involvement of students in the evaluation of success • Demerits: – Rigidity of paradigm – Extent to which learners are viewed as children/adult – Lack of recognition
- 27. OTHER APPROACH FOR ADULT LEARNING Traditional learners • Need motivation; unsure • Raise few questions; have little real world experience • High tolerance for bureaucracy • Resist participation; expect to be told what to do • Major focus on good grades • Tend to be idealistic • Restricted worldview • Have few but more specific expectations, if they are met or not, consideration is less. Non-traditional learners • Highly motivated • Raise many questions; need to connect class with real world • Low tolerance for bureaucracy • Want to participate; dislike being talked at; • Interested in value addition • Tend to be practical • Considerable knowledge • Have preconceived expectations, if not met, consider training as failure.
- 28. GERONTOLOGY • Scientific study of old age and aging • Five principles can be used for effective training and development of older adults: – Older workers can and do develop – Supervisors need to realize the that they may exclude older workers from training opportunities because of unwarranted negative attitudes. – Attention must be paid to motivation, structure, familiarity, organization, and time – Organizational climate must reward entry into training and transfer of skills – It must be considered within integrated career perspective.
- 29. CONTINGENCY APPROACH TO ADULT LEARNING • These are few dimensions of assessing a trainee: – Instrumentality – Skepticism – Resistance to change – Attention span – Expectation level – Dominant needs – Absorption level – Topical interest – Self – confidence – Locus of control
- 30. LEARNING STRATEGIES AND STYLES • Kolb's learning styles: • Learning style represents how individual choices made during the learning process affect what information is selected and how it is processed. • Kolb theorised that an individual’s learning style is based on person’s preferred modes of learning. • Modes of learning is the individual orientation towards gathering and processing information during learning
- 31. FOUR BASIC MODES OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING. 1. Concrete experience (CE) : – learning through experience – Interpersonal relations and feelings as opposed to thinking 2. Abstract conceptualization (AC) : – by thinking about an issue in theoretical terms 3. Reflective Observation (RO) : – To learn by watching and examining different points of view to achieve an understanding 4. Active Experimentation (AE) : – by actually doing it and judge its practical value.
- 32. KOLB’S FOUR LEARNING STYLES 1. Accommodative : Feeling and doing – Executing plans – Involvement in new experiences 2. Convergent : thinking and doing – problem solving – Decision making – Practical application of ideas 3. Assimilation : thinking and watching – Inductive reasoning – Integration of observation into explanation – Creation of theoretical models 4. Divergent : feeling and watching – Emphasizing imagination – Awareness of values – Ability to generate
- 33. LEARNING STRATEGIES • Behaviour and thoughts a learner engages in during learning – Rehearsal strategies – Elaboration strategies – Organizational strategies – Comprehensive monitoring strategies – Affective strategies
- 34. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS • The ACT* approach : – Focuses on changes that occur as learning proceeds from knowing what to do (declarative knowledge), to knowing how to do it (procedural knowledge). – There is a technique called model tracing used to develop a computer tutoring program • Step 1 : assumption – there is an ideal way of solving a problem • Step 2 : identify the mistakes that are commonly made • Step 3 : develop a learning model containing all correct and incorrect rules, with a set of assumptions about how a student’s knowledge changes, after each step.
- 35. • The ACT-R approach : – R stands for rational – Contains revisions to the theory that have come from continued research and technical development – It reflects the new findings about how declarative knowledge became procedural knowledge
- 36. LEARNING TO REGULATE ONE’S OWN BEHAVIOUR • Experts develop self regulation and control strategies through experience • They monitor performance by – – Checking their work – Judging how difficult a problem is – Allocating their time – Assessing progress – Predicting results of their efforts
- 37. EXPERT AND EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE • It is defined as “consistently superior performance on a specified set of representative tasks for a domain” • They can perform on demand • Acquired primarily under optimal environment conditions • Acquired by deliberate practice over a period of decade or longer • Deliberate practice requires high motivation • It leads to anatomical and physiological adaptation • They structure their lives according to training regimes like four 1 hour sessions • It is facilitated through planning, reasoning and anticipation • The experts are “experts” in a limited domain • The age at which an individual can attain peak performance varies based on domain
- 38. GAGNE’S THEORY OF INSTRUCTION • It focuses on kinds of things people learn and how they learn them • There is no one best way to learn something • The two main components of theory – Taxonomy of learning outcomes (what is being learned) – Techniques needed to teach them
- 39. • Human performance could be divided into five categories, each requires different set of conditions for maximizing learning, retention, and transfer: – Verbal information : (declarative knowledge) • Ability to state or declare something as fact or idea – Intellectual skills : (procedural knowledge) • Rules, concepts, and procedures to accomplish tasks – Cognitive strategies : (strategic knowledge) • Skills used to control learning, thinking and remembering – Attitudes : • State of mind influences which several behaviour we choose – Motor Skills : • Using your body to manipulate something (muscle memory)
- 40. • The five theories differ on: – Human preference – Requirements of learning – Effects of learning • Gagne argued that successful performance of any given task requires learning one or more of there categories.
- 41. •THANK YOU
Editor's Notes
- #5: Proximity - regular sees a knife and a fork together The law of effect - which states that behaviors that lead to satisfying outcomes are likely to be repeated, whereas behaviors that lead to undesired outcomes are less likely to recur.