Metaphors of learning at work and the role of ICT

Abstract

In the present article, we will argue that a non-educational perspective needs to be adopted to understand work-related learning complexity because such learning typically occurs implicitly via work activities and not as a result of formally organized learning programs or events. From an educational point of view, the distinction between guided, experiential and selfdirected learning is an attractive one that is often used. These can be described as follows: For guided learning, a trainer or teacher makes all of the relevant decisions and the learner follows these. The trainer or teacher decides on the learning goals, the learning strategies, and how to measure learning outcomes. The trainer or teacher also provides evaluation, feedback, and rewards. The learner commits himself to the decisions made and follows the trainer or teacher. For experiential learning, it is not so much a teacher or trainer or even predetermined goals that control the learning, but circumstances, personal motives, the ideas of others, discoveries, experiments, and so forth. Learning is a side effect of the activities one undertakes, and an explicit set of learning goals simply does not exist. For self-directed learning, the learner plays an active and explicit role in the