Team and Leadership

Team and Leadership

Introduction

Problem identification and resolution seem to be the best teacher in life, according to Chinese philosopher, Xi Zhi. The potential of a single problem contains a great many learning points that will have an influence on the learner. The above quote also brings to light the nature of learning, which may or may not take place in a formalized and structured manner. For instance, a study by Marsick and Watkins (1990) found that only 20 percent of employees learn from structured training programs while 80 percent of workplace learning takes place through informal means. Mentoring roles would be an example of this type of learning (Stonyer and Marshall, 2002).

Purpose of the Paper

In view of this, the paper aims to explain the relationship between PBL and workplace learning by first examining PBL as an approach to learning; second by studying the influences of PBL on the workplace; and third by exploring the possible ways in which PBL can contribute to workplace learning. A fundamental explanation for these relationships is the question of who should be responsible for making PBL a useful endeavor in the workplace.

The answer lies in both trainers and employees, the former assuming the role of PBL facilitators and the latter, learners. Contrary to training practices, PBL facilitation requires an increase in the delivery power and spontaneity of the trainer by decreasing the “expertise” involvement. In a typical PBL setting, the participatory boundary between the facilitator and learner is also narrowed, providing opportunities for the learner to inquire, reflect and analyze an identified problem (Barrows, 1985; Woods, 1997). In particular, we attempt to answer the following three questions using qualitative methodology:

1. Why is PBL relevant to the workplace?

2. What are the factors that influence PBL in the workplace?

3. How can PBL be developed in the workplace?

Team and Leadership

Similar to the concept of mentoring, problem-based learning (PBL) is built on the premise that the PBL facilitator is required to develop a variety of skills to guide learners in the process of knowledge construction within an immediate context. There is some discussion on the importance of PBL to workplace learning in the recent literature. For instance, Tynjälä and Häkkinen (2005) discovered that PBL promotes adult learning by drawing on learners' experience, and involving them in reflective and social processes. This type of problem-oriented learning leads to both personal development and organizational learning. In other studies, researchers realized that learning is purposeful and less incidental if it takes place in the simultaneous context of use and of application (Poikela, 2004; Stonyer and Marshall, 2002). Learning therefore takes effect in a concrete way if learners are engaged in problem solving by examining issues that are embedded in daily workplace practices (Lohman, 2002; O'Connor, 2004).

However, the actual contribution of PBL to workplace learning has raised some discussion and debate in the last decade (Bridges and Hallinger, 1995; LaRue et al., 2004; Poell and Van der Krogt, 2003; Speck, 1999). Empirical studies have shown that cases in PBL ...