Personal Quarterly 3/2021

8 SCHWERPUNKT _INTERVIEW PERSONALquarterly 03 / 21 and whether they are familiar or novel to them will likely shape whether that learning is the reinforcement and refinement of what they know, or else developing new knowledge. The kinds and extent of interactions individuals have will also shape their ability to access direct and indirect guidance, which can be par- ticularly important when what needs to be learnt can’t be learnt through discovery alone. For instance, the PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) data indicates that adults engaged in work activities reported lear- ning mainly through their own efforts and how they engage in learning (Billett, 2015). They also report slightly higher fre- quencies of learning through their own efforts than when it is derived from interactions with more experienced or expert co- workers. So, the sequencing and engagement in activities that are associated with desired learning outcomes (i. e. the practice curriculum) and the degree and quality of support that workers can secure from more experienced co-workers (i. e. practice pedagogies) can be used to guide and direct the learning that arises. That is, to use HRM language: to manage it. Yet, beyond what experiences (i. e. activities and interactions) are provided by work settings, these will always be subject to the individual’s process of experiencing. That is, ultimately, individuals will mediate and construct knowledge on the basis of their personal epistemologies that shape how they construe and construct (i. e. the process of experiencing) what the workplace is suggesting to them through these activities and interactions (Billett, 2017). Consequently, the importance of learner engagement is quite central to the management of learning in work settings and else- where. Hence, the alignments between what workers encounter in work settings and their personal capacities and/or interests are central here. In a number of projects, I have gathered data indicating that despite workplaces having a very positive and inclusive work environment and are supportive of workers’ learning, the workers report limited engagement. Unless those workers have the readiness (i. e. the existing knowledge) to engage effectively, they are not able to optimise the learning ex- perience. Also, unless workers concluded that the experiences being provided were worthy of engagement and in their interest to do so, their engagement and learning might be superficial. So, the management or mediation of that learning is likely to be premised on a duality comprising the kinds of activities and interactions being provided to workers that are aligned with the kinds of knowledge they need to learn, on the one hand, and their interest in and capacities to effectively engage with those experiences and learn through and from them, on the other (Billett 2002). PERSONALquarterly: Hence, workplace learning can be ‘managed’ and indeed, in many of your publications, you provide conclu- ding remarks on how to foster workplace learning. What are your recommendations? Stephen Billett: Yes, whilst much of the evidence, my own and others’, suggests that workers learn much through their every- day activities and interactions in the workplace, but there is still a need to promote, support and guide that learning to opti- mise the pedagogic potential of work activities and interactions. This is particularly true when the knowledge that needs to be learnt is unlikely to be secured through individuals’ discovery efforts alone. Sometimes, this relates to inaccessible forms of knowledge, such as abstracted conceptual knowledge, which is not able to be directly experienced. Consider here the need for symbols or images to represent this kind of knowledge to help understand and explain things, such as those used in plans, diagrams, flowcharts or, as is recently the case, to explain what a virus looks like and how vaccines can work against it. Then, there is also strategic knowledge that is best derived through particular kinds of episodic experiences that allows learners to access work activities of an entire process (i. e. from conception to completion) and opportunities for the kinds of knowledge that experts possess and utilise to be made accessible to and appropriated by novices. So, in these circumstances, guidance from more experienced co-workers is helpful. Broadly, there seems to be three key bases for fostering ef- fective learning through work: (1) the practice curriculum, (2) practice pedagogies and (3) learners personal epistemologies (Billett, 2014). (1) The practice curriculum refers to the kinds and sequen- cing of activities that workers are able to engage in and the kinds of interactions that occur through those activities which can assist their learning. The original meaning of the word ‘curriculum’ is the pathway of experiences, and that seems particularly applicable to providing learning experiences in workplaces. In some work settings, there is a well-established pathway of progressing workers from activities in which, if they make mistakes, the error cost is low and then progres- sively engaging in more demanding and multi-parted tasks as they become more competent. This is referred to as the learning curriculum. There are a range of different models of workplace curriculum that are shaped by the requirements of practice. When, for instance, there is a piece of equipment that needs to be engaged with, arrangements have to be made to provide ac- cess and engagement when production requirements permit. Then, when dealing with particular perilous work situations, simulations or practice examples are used before the worker progressively engages with work tasks. (2) Practice pedagogies are activities and interactions that can enrich the experiences provided in the workplace. Impor- tantly, these pedagogies are often different than those used in classrooms. Sometimes they provide models and examples, but principally, they are processes that occur as part of everyday work activities and positions the worker as an active construc- tion of knowledge. For instance, the use of narratives or stories