Reflection Paper
4/2/13
Introduction
There are many different theories of how people learn. What follows is a variety of them, and it is useful to consider their application to how someone may learn and also how to teach in an organizational setting . It is interesting to think about an individual's own particular way of learning and to recognize that everyone does not learn the way you do. Learning theories are essential for effective teaching in that they shed light on different aspects of the learning process. The spectrum of learning theo-ries can be categorized into three main areas: behav- iorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Behaviorism as a teacher-centered instructional framework for a long time dominated educational settings, shaping every different learning abilities.In contrast to behaviorism, cognitivism is a relatively recent learning theory and its features are not well known or are confused with constructivism by teachers (Yilmaz, 2011). Nothing feels better than a an enviroment where everyone is willing to learn new content.
When a person is allowed to apply what they have learned it creates an opportunity for furthered organizational success as that employee understands the importance of there job duties and the organization values the employee and gives the employee the tools needed to promote productivity. Not all organization's use the same learning theories to apply towards it's employees while other organization's may believe that there method of training or teaching has been a proven success. We will dicuss the following questions . First, the obiligation an organization has to understanding an employees learning habits and whether or not it is conducive to the workplace enviroment? Followed by, whether the training process should always be a part of a organization's strucure? Lastly, what learning theories the organization for which I am employed utilizes for it's employees, and it's effectiveness?
Types of Learning Theories Understanding any theory requires a clear idea of what the theory is trying to explain. When a particular word is used, people usually assume everyone has a common understanding of what the word means. Unfortunately, such is not always the case. In trying to understand the various theories of learning and their implications for education, it is helpful to realize that the term “learning” means different things to different people and is used in different theories. As theories of learning evolved over the past half-century, definitions of learning shifted from changes that occur in the mind or behavior of an individual, to changes in participation in ongoing activities with other individuals to changes in a person's identity within a group. Many consultants and organizations have recognized the commercial significance of organizational learning.Two important things result from this. First, while there has been a lot of talk about learning organizations it is very difficult to identify real-life examples. This might be because the vision is ‘too ideal’ or because it isn’t relevant to the requirements and dynamics of organizations.
According to Sandra Kerka (1995) most conceptualizations of the learning organizations seem to work on the assumption that learning is valuable, continuous, and most effective when shared and that every experience is an opportunity to learn (Kerka 1995). The following characteristics appear in some form in the more popular conceptions. Learning organizations can provide continuous learning opportunities. My organization has been able to allow for employees to use learning to reach the company's productivity goals. There is close link between individual performance and organizational performance. An individuals naturally ability to learn and embrace the