Action learning 2: what are the benefits?
March 29, 2008
I wrote an article yesterday about what action learning is and how it can be used by organisations. There are many benefits to using action learning, some of which are as follows:
The ‘experiential learning cycle’ (Kolb) is a theory of learning that is used commonly by learning and development professionals and training or management consultants. The work of Kolb is considered to be extremely important in the understanding of human behaviour in relation to learning, and the learning cycle describes the process by which we learn something through four phases – conceptualisation, experimentation, active experience and reflection. It is felt that the more stages in the cycle the learning method covers, the more effective it is as a method.
Action learning takes the learner through all the stages of the cycle as it involves the consideration of a problem, action being taken and reflection afterwards, so it can really help the learner to take on board the new ideas or ways of working that come out of the process. Also, research has found that skills are best learned by active methods (i.e. that involve doing something as with action learning) rather than passive (for example sitting in a lecture). Whilst active methods can be more time consuming, they are promoted by learning and development experts for the acquisition of skills.
Another good point about action learning is that there are no ‘transfer of learning’ issues. In a lecture, for example, the learner is told something and then has to try to adapt this information to be able to apply it to real situations when back at work, which can be quite difficult as theory and practice are not the same. Action learning works on actual work issues, so the learning occurs from carrying out an action rather than being told how to.
Action learning can be a key contributor to the company becoming a ‘learning organisation’ – which is a popular buzz phrase at the moment. The learning organisation is one that can adapt to constantly changing business environments by reflecting on its practice and constantly striving to improve. Action learning can obviously help with this as its purpose is to use organisational problems in the learning process – in this way issues that are unique to the organisation can be resolved for the benefit of both the company and its staff. Additionally, the opportunity to work towards resolving issues in a team environment can be a great motivator for those involved.
So, action learning can be a very effective and powerful learning tool, both for individuals and the organisation. I can definitely see where it could benefit my organisation. However there are definitely drawbacks and limitations to the method that would need to be addressed for it to be successfully implemented. The next article will look in more detail at these issues.
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