Aligning workplace pedagogies with learners : what do they need to know?

Abstract

Recent research and understandings about the significance of work integrated and work based learning endorses the need to include workplace pedagogies as useful epistemological tools. Personal epistemological practices in navigating and mediating between the classroom and the workplace play a significant part yet are not fully acknowledged. The workplace provides various pedagogies that facilitate and support learning. Key dimensions of workplace pedagogies include daily work practices; coaching; other workers; questioning; observing and listening; modelling; and workplace document procedures. Academic learning skills alone are not adequate for optimising the potential of the dimensions of workplace pedagogies. The role of learners in the process and management of learning in the workplace becomes more salient and requires a set of distinct skills. These skills include: analysing work experiences; learning from others; functioning with incomplete information; contemplating multiple courses of action to decide on the most appropriate action at a given moment; learning about organizational cultures and sub-cultures; expanding learning opportunities by using a range of resources and activities; and understanding various competing interests in the profession. These skills serve well the acquisition of competence to meet the specific needs of particular worksites (situational performance) as well as the wide-ranging needs of similar occupations. This paper synthesises the key dimensions of workplace pedagogies and their efficacies. Learning skills that support pedagogies in classrooms and the workplace are discussed. Extensive desktop research conducted to prepare this article forms the basis for a project to examine how students conceptualise workplace pedagogies and understand their applications to achieve learning outcomes during workplacement.

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