Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of intergenerational learning as a way for organizations to deal with an ageing worker population in a positive and constructive way. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a thematic synthesis of qualitative literature and considers all types of sources including quantitative scientific reports, reports on case studies, practitioner reports, social program evaluations and White Papers. Findings – The paper points out that intergenerational learning is an effective way to organize learning at the workplace as it appeals to older worker motivations and learning styles, benefiting both worker and organization. Research limitations/implications – The paper leads to several testable hypotheses concerning intergenerational learning. There also needs to be more work on how cognitive differences might affect interactive processes in intergenerational learning groups. Practical implications – This paper can give managers ideas on organizing intergenerational learning as a strategy for dealing with an ageing worker population. Originality/value – This paper opens up new possibilities for both researchers and practitioners of workplace learning by using age and other concepts of diversity as a building block for organizing learning environments.
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The digital age has brought significant changes in the way organizations operate and compete. As a result of rapid technology development, many organizations are undergoing a digital transformation to stay relevant and competitive in the marketplace. This literature review aims to find future research topics by providing an overview of the current state of research on organizations in digital transformation (ODT), especially on malleable organization design and HRM aspects. The article begins by defining digital transformation (DT), and then examines how organizations change during DT, before delving into the perspectives of malleable organization design and HRM. Finally, it concludes by identifying gaps in the literature and suggesting a research agenda for future. Overall, organizational factors that need more investigation are highlighted to tackle complexities of ODT for further research.
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This empirical study investigated the relationship between the learning climate and training participation in Dutch organizations and how subsidies and the sharing of investments in time and costs between employers and employees affect this relationship. Our analyses are based on a survey of a representative sample of 512 organizations with at least five employees in a Dutch region. Respondents replied to five statements to measure the learning climate, while training was measured through participation and intensity. We found that an organization’s learning climate is positively related to participation and intensity of training in terms of hours. However, we observe that the effect of learning climate on the number of hours of training decreases when the employer pays the costs for the training and when the training takes place during working hours. When organizations can use government subsidies, participation in training increases, and the number of hours per participant increases.
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This article reports on a literature review on empirical research investigating learning for vocations in the context of vocational education. We included 36 studies in which learning for vocations is empirically studied. Learning for vocations is characterised based upon prevalent research traditions in the field and framed from the perspective of vocational education and organised learning practices. This framing and characterisation directed the search terms for the review. Results show empirical data on vocational learning and illustrate how learning processes for the functions of vocational education - vocational identity development, development of a vocational repertoire of actions, and vocational knowledge development - actually take place. The review further shows that, empirical illustrations of learning processes that occur in the context of vocational education and organised learning practices are relatively scarce. The findings can be typified in relation to our theoretical framework in terms of three learning processes, that is learning as a process of (a) belonging, becoming, and being, (b) recontextualization, and (c) negotiation of meaning and sense-making. We argue that more empirical research should be carried out, using the functions of vocational education and the three learning processes to better understand vocational learning.
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poster voor de EuSoMII Annual Meeting in Pisa, Italië in oktober 2023. PURPOSE & LEARNING OBJECTIVE Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are gaining popularity for their ability to autonomously perform tasks and mimic human reasoning [1, 2]. Especially within the medical industry, the implementation of AI solutions has seen an increasing pace [3]. However, the field of radiology is not yet transformed with the promised value of AI, as knowledge on the effective use and implementation of AI is falling behind due to a number of causes: 1) Reactive/passive modes of learning are dominant 2) Existing developments are fragmented 3) Lack of expertise and differing perspectives 4) Lack of effective learning space Learning communities can help overcome these problems and address the complexities that come with human-technology configurations [4]. As the impact of a technology is dependent on its social management and implementation processes [5], our research question then becomes: How do we design, configure, and manage a Learning Community to maximize the impact of AI solutions in medicine?
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Aging diversity in organizations creates potential challenges, particularly for knowledge management, skills update and skills obsolescence. Intergenerational learning (IGL) involves knowledge building, innovation and knowledge transfer between generations within an organization (Ropes 2011). Serious games refer to the use of computer games in raising awareness about educational topics, acquiring new knowledge and skills by enabling learners to engage and participate in situations that would otherwise be impossible to experience (Corti 2006). Although learning with the use of serious games is similar to traditional learning in several cognitive respects, there are noted differences in the learning style and structure of learning using serious games. The success of learning using serious games lies in the actual involvement of a participant playing the game, which in turn, creates increased cognitive links with real-life situations allowing the individual to make relevant associations, to use mnemonic strategies with the facilitation of multi-dimensional educational aids (e.g., visual, auditory). Some of the beneficial aspects of learning with the use of serious games include the elevation of several cognitive skills, which are directly or indirectly implicated in the learning process. Among them are attention and visuo-spatial abilities, memory and motor skills. However, several barriers have been noted that fall into two general categories: a) health issues (e.g., cognitive strain, headaches) and b) psychological issues (e.g., social isolation, emotional disturbances). Since the training conditions are learner-centered and highly determined by the individual, there is increased need for evaluating the learning outcomes using specific success indicators. Examples of games that are designed to facilitate IGL are scarce, while there are no examples of IGL games in most EU countries. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the current literature of theories on learning through serious games in adults and the elderly with reference to the cognitive mechanisms implicated, benefits and barriers in learning using new technologies in different generations. Secondly, this paper reviews the existence of serious games designed to facilitate IGL in Europe, as well as the characteristics of serious games in raising awareness that could be used to facilitate IGL. In doing so, specific focus is placed on the development of success indicators that determine the effectiveness of serious games on raising awareness on IGL.
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From the article: "The educational domain is momentarily witnessing the emergence of learning analytics – a form of data analytics within educational institutes. Implementation of learning analytics tools, however, is not a trivial process. This research-in-progress focuses on the experimental implementation of a learning analytics tool in the virtual learning environment and educational processes of a case organization – a major Dutch university of applied sciences. The experiment is performed in two phases: the first phase led to insights in the dynamics associated with implementing such tool in a practical setting. The second – yet to be conducted – phase will provide insights in the use of pedagogical interventions based on learning analytics. In the first phase, several technical issues emerged, as well as the need to include more data (sources) in order to get a more complete picture of actual learning behavior. Moreover, self-selection bias is identified as a potential threat to future learning analytics endeavors when data collection and analysis requires learners to opt in."
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Learning objects are bits of learning content. They may be reused 'as is' (simple reuse) or first be adapted to a learner's particular needs (flexible reuse). Reuse matters because it lowers the development costs of learning objects, flexible reuse matters because it allows one to address learners' needs in an affordable way. Flexible reuse is particularly important in the knowledge economy, where learners not only have very spefic demands but often also need to pay for their own further education. The technical problems to simple and flexible are rapidly being resolved in various learning technology standardisation bodies. This may suggest that a learning object economy, in which learning objects are freely exchanged, updated and adapted, is about to emerge. Such a belief, however, ignores the significant psychological, social and organizational barriers to reuse that still abound. An inventory of these problems is made and possible ways to overcome them are discussed.
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This paper lays the groundwork for a research program on the topic of how intergenerational learning can contribute to the effectiveness of organizations by capitalizing on the capacities of the ageing worker. According to innumerable studies published by policy research centers in the EU and other developed countries, the pool of available workers is diminishing at an alarming rate due to retirement and an ageing population (Bartels, 2010; Commision, 2009; Stam, 2009). Although there is quite some work on the problem of an ageing population, reports in scientific journals and practitioner, or grey, literature fail to present much empirical work on the specific topic of how organizations can capitalize on the knowledge and innovative capacities of an older worker (INNO-Grips, 2008). Mostly one finds reports and studies that further define the problem and speculate about future consequences. This latter aspect is especially evident in the grey literature.
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This paper proposes a framework for designing human resource development interventions that facilitate change in professional organizations through promoting learning at the individual and group level. The framework proposed is based on a theory of organizational learning developed by Etienne Wenger (Wenger, 1998) that proposes learning takes place in the context of communities of practice. Communities of practices (CoPs) are groups of professionals that come together in order to build knowledge and practice in their specific field (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002). At first glance CoPs might appear to be like other, more traditional groups found in organizations, but this is misleading (Bood & Coenders, 2004; Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002). The major differences between traditional groups and CoPs are that the latter are self-organizing and self-governing (Dekkers et al., 2005; Saint-Onge & Wallace, 2003). In the private sector, CoPs are recognized as an exceptional human resource development (HRD) method for organizations wishing to stimulate learning, promote innovation and facilitate change processes among its employees (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). In this paper I lay the theoretical groundwork for developing CoPs generally, using the case of higher educational organizations as an example where they could be initiated. In order to design these interventions, I propose a model that employs a multi-disciplinary, theoretical approach that bridges the context of the public and private sectors. Furthermore, I report on some preliminary observations of two communities of practice; one that formed during a HRD project specifically centered on communities of practice, and one that was formed as a result of an organization-wide initiative to stimulate employee empowerment during a merger.
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