On the weblog of Mindleaders I read a post by Beth Griese . She stated that one of the popular topics at the ASTD conference 2007 was International learning and diversity. This is no big surprise with the increased globalisation in mind (25% of ASTD’s audience from outside the US). So far I haven’t been able to find much research into this specific area. Strange, since it is a subject that seems to interest a lot of people, including me.

Questions like: “How to manage learning on a global scale (e.g. sourcing, delivery, reporting)? What is the impact of local culture on preferred learning styles? And, what didactical approaches fit these different cultures?” are absolutely relevant for enterprise organisations operating on a global scale. On this subject I want to write an article. Specific issues that interest me are the following:

• Linking learning styles to the attributes of National cultures as defined by Hofstede.
• Management issues that International HRD and training departments or Corporate Universities are facing.
• Balancing of centralisation and decentralisation in global learning (and the rollout of learning programs).

If you have any suggested readings, links or other references, please e-mail them to me or comment on this post. Your help is much appreciated. When I have finished my article this, of course, is the first place where you will find it!

A trend in outsourcing is one-on-one outsourcing of services. This is nothing new of course, since when you hire a painter to paint your house, you are already in an outsourcing relationship. New is the fact that internet technology paves the path for new kinds of outsourced services. One-on-one tutoring via the web is such an example. You can hire a tutor to explain different concepts and subject matters. Sometimes with an Indian accent according to CNet News.

One example of these tutoring services is TutorVista.com. This website offers 24-hour online tutoring services for students in all grades through high school. The programs cover a wide variety of regular school subjects and also provides standard tests. I wonder if there also are free peer-to-peer tutoring websites besides these commercial offerings. The main challenge will be the indication of the quality of the tutoring, since you don’t know what you don’t know!

As a part of the eLearning 2.0 toolset Wiki’s are often mentioned as a powerful instrument for collaborative learning. Until now limited information has become available on the pedagogical potential of Wiki’s. One of the first articles I have come across is by Renee Fountain. It is quite interesting how he lists the pedagogical power of this tool. In wiki format of course!

According to a study of the UK National Institute of Continuing Adult Education workers in the UK prefer informal learning to improve work performance. In the study 2,057 workers were asked what ways of learning are useful in learning to do a job better. In total 10 interventions were presented. Learning by doing was the favourite method with an 82% finding it helpful. This was followed by being shown how to do things by others (62%), and watching and listening to others (56%). Just 54% felt that taking a course paid for by the employer or the worker was helpful, followed closely by reflecting on your own performance (53%). Reading books and manuals (39%), using trial and error (38%) and using the internet (29%) were the least favourite methods.

I have been thinking if I should be surprised by this outcome. I think the question of workers preference is only interesting to a certain extent. I prefer to learn via trial and error, but know that in some case a more structured approach can be helpful and more efficient although not preferred by myself. Also when you compare something formal with something informal there might be a tendency to prefer the informal.

Another interesting part of the research attacked the question where the responsibility for professional training & development lies. Just over one in five workers (21%) said that their employer was mainly responsible for their learning at work, whilst more than one in three (36%) accepted that it was mainly their responsibility, with the balance of 39% reporting that it was a shared responsibility. Fewer (28%) of the youngest workers, aged 17-19, felt the main responsibility lay with themselves, whilst 41% of 55 plus employees thought they bore the main responsibility.

A recent study by the University of Maastricht has shown that working is a good form of learning. Although both government and corporate policies regarding learning mainly address formal learning (like training courses), informal learning has a lot to offer.

Researchers De Grip, Golsteyn and Borghans mapped out the knowledge development and learning processes of the Dutch workforce (16 years and older). They found that during work 31% of the time is spent on activities employees can learn from. Considering a fulltime job of 1740 hours per year, employees spend 540 hours on activities they learn from. This is a massive amount compared to the average 37 hours per employee that are spent on formal learning activities. This represents only 6% of the total learning time. This means that an estimated 94% of the learning an employee handles per year is informal, work-based learning. 

Working more is learning more, so let’s get back to work!