Learning, Training and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Learning, Training and Development - Essay Example The paper describes individual learning. The individual gains personal growth which he/she uses to enhance performance and develop career. Sadler-Smith identifies various theories that underpin learning at an individual level. These consist of: cognitive, behaviourist, social learning, and situated learning theories. The cognitive theory implies that an individual acquires knowledge and problem solving skills that he/she transfers to new everyday jobs through mental processes. The behaviourist theory by Ivan Pavlov, Skinner and J.B Watson views learning as a reaction to stimuli and individuals differ in their rate of learning. The social learning theory by Bandura emphasizes learning through experience since individuals cannot rely on their own actions only. They learn by observing others and only demonstrate the learned behaviour when they expect a reward. Harri-Augstein and Thomas disagree that learning is ‘a conversational construction, reconstruction and exchange of persona lly significant, relevant and viable meanings with awareness and controlled purpossiveness’. The language of dialogue used in the conversation is in form of internal thought processes and external processes of communication with others which leads to purposeful enquiry and change in mental models. The role of training practitioners is therefore to facilitate the process of dialogue and enquiry. Group learning occurs as a result of collective individual learning. ... The behaviourist theory by Ivan Pavlov, Skinner and J.B Watson views learning as a reaction to stimuli and individuals differ in their rate of learning. The social learning theory by Bandura emphasizes learning through experience since individuals cannot rely on their own actions only. They learn by observing others and only display the learned behaviour when they expect a reward. Harri-Augstein and Thomas (1991) argue that learning is ‘a conversational construction, reconstruction and exchange of personally significant, relevant and viable meanings with awareness and controlled purpossiveness’ (329). The language of dialogue used in the conversation is in form of internal thought processes and external processes of communication with others which leads to purposeful enquiry and change in mental models. The role of training practitioners is therefore to facilitate the process of dialogue and enquiry. Group (Team) Learning Group learning occurs as a result of collective i ndividual learning. Sadler-Smith (2006) argues that learning takes place within a social framework of participation hence the need to learn as a group and work collectively to achieve a common objective. Since, employees learn from each other in the group, the group should comprise of individuals with different skills and are willing to share knowledge with other members (Fenwick, 2008). The teams should be committed, collaborative, and have good communication skills. However, the management has the role to keep the groups motivated so as to gain commitment and success by giving feedback, recognizing and rewarding performance and letting the group formulate its objectives.