Some interesting thinkers

We have talked about using concepts and theories in your professional practice. Here are a few more work-based learning related thinkers who you might find helpful to look at in the context of learning and about the learning aspects developed through project proposals. These are mainly from the infed website http://www.infed.org/index.htm. I would be happy to discuss any of these concepts/theories/models in greater depth  especially if some aspects relate to what you are looking at for your project. Please comment if you find helpful.

1.Argyris and Schön
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/argyris.htm

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-schon.htm

Double loop learning is about questioning the way in which an orgnisation operates - not just your job or role (which is single loop).

"For Argyris and Schön (1978: 2) learning involves the detection and correction of error. Where something goes wrong, it is suggested, an initial port of call for many people is to look for another strategy that will address and work within the governing variables. In other words, given or chosen goals, values, plans and rules are operationalized rather than questioned. According to Argyris and Schön (1974), this is single-loop learning. An alternative response is to question to governing variables themselves, to subject them to critical scrutiny. This they describe as double-loop learning. Such learning may then lead to an alteration in the governing variables and, thus, a shift in the way in which strategies and consequences are framed. Thus, when they came to explore the nature of organizational learning." (Infed, 2010)

2. Communities of practice

These are not management groups (i.e. director, dance captain, etc.) but people who come together often informally, and could be compared to networking. 
http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm
"Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell: Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly" (Wenger circa 2007 from Infed, 2010).

3. Tacit knowledge
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/polanyi.htm

4. Kolb and experiential learning - that you already know about but might be applying in the workplace
http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm

5. learning organisations
http://www.infed.org/biblio/organizational-learning.htm