Comments on: Is “Workflow Learning” a myth?

By: Christopher Riesbeck

Christopher Riesbeck — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 22:33:51 +0000

I want to agree that “workflow leasrning” is an oxymoron for exactly the reason you give. Incorporating reflection is more post-workflow learning.

But what about apprenticeship? Isn’t that workflow learning? Doesn’t that suggest the kinds of learning events that are appropriate to consider still in the flow?

By: Chad Lowry

Chad Lowry — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 17:43:39 +0000

In my opinion, you’re right to raise the question of whether “learning” is a misnomer here, and what we should do about it. I wonder what would happen if we rephrased “workflow learning” and instead told the business that we’re going to enable “doing without remembering.” Would they care about the “not remembering” part, or would they instead focus on the fact that someone was able to do something, at however minimal or incomplete level? I fear it’s more likely the latter, which is why we should be clear when offering workflow learning about exactly what its limitations are, and what the likely business consequences and outcomes could be from trying to take this shortcut.

By: Harold Jarche

Harold Jarche — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 15:31:48 +0000

As Jay Cross noted many years ago, “Visualize the workflow of a physical job: produce, produce, produce, produce, produce, produce, produce, produce, produce.

Now visualize the workflow of a creative knowledge worker: nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, flash of brilliance, nothing, nothing, nothing.”

All that nothing time should be for reflection, not for meaningless busy work, or as David Graeber called them — bullshit jobs — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs