Leveraging the Power of Diversity in Workplace Learning Strategies

Just as adult learning strategies can be categorized into three major learning strategy preference groups (Conti & Kolody, 1998), workplace learning events can also be similarly categorized into a spectrum containing three major clusters: (a) the Navigation Cluster, containing those tasks that require planning, organizing, and structuring of content; (b) the Problem-Solving Cluster, containing those tasks that require innovative creativity or critical thinking skills; and (c) the Engagement Cluster, containing those tasks that require inter- and intra-personal skills required when working in situations that involve others. The purpose of this chapter is to propose an emerging 4-step framework that can be used to guide individuals, educators, and workplace trainers through a process to assist learners in identifying their learning strategies preferences and in leveraging these individual metacognitive processes in order to achieve specific workplace learning objectives.