=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=None
|storemode=property
|title=Guiding Articulation for Learning at Work: A Case of Reflection
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1047/paper9.pdf
|volume=Vol-1047
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/ectel/PrillaH13
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==Guiding Articulation for Learning at Work: A Case of Reflection==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1047/paper9.pdf
ECTEL meets ECSCW 2013: Workshop on Collaborative Technologies for Working and Learning, Sept. 21, 2013, Cyprus
Guiding Articulation for Learning at Work: A Case of Reflection
Michael Prilla, Thomas Herrmann
Information and Technology Management, Institute for Applied Work Science, University of Bochum
{michael.prilla|thomas.herrmann}@rub.de
Abstract. In this paper, we present work on implementing articulation support and means for
guiding users for integrating collaborative learning and work. We present a case from the
MIRROR project, in which we developed and piloted a tool supporting reflection as a means
for learning at work. From the insights of this study, we derive a concept of scaffolding
which prompts informal learning if the reflection of work practices is not institutionalized.
1 Collaborative Learning and Work: United, yet apart?
Collaborative work and learning have considerable overlaps in terms of methods
used to analyze and design learning and work as well as in tools and concepts to
support them. This is not grounded in the need for support of group work, but also
because (continuous) learning is an integral part of work [1–3].
Despite these overlaps communities such as CSCL, TEL and CSCW still de-
velop tools and concepts in parallel without making systematic use of conceptual
overlaps. In this paper, we focus on the challenges of integrating learning and
support of collaborative work with respect to articulation and guidance for users:
• Articulation [4]: To learn and work together, experiences, knowledge, ra-
tionales and perspectives need to be verbalized and exchanged [5].
• Guidance, scaffolding and awareness: Both in collaborative learning and
work, there has been a lot of research about how to support them and whether
this support needs strict guidance, optional scaffolds or just the possibility of
mutual awareness for freely controlled coordination [6, 7].
The challenge addressed in this paper is how to implement these concepts to
integrate working and learning, that is, how to embed learning processes mean-
ingfully in the constraints imposed by workplaces and vice versa in order to make
learning at work happen. We argue that this has to be done by combining organi-
zational measures and technical means into socio-technical processes. This paper
illustrates this argument by presenting a case from support of collaborative reflec-
tion as a learning mechanism at work taken from ongoing work in the MIRROR
research project.
2 An Example Case: Supporting Collaborative Reflection at Work
Reflection can be understood as a process of informal learning at work [1]. It in-
cludes three steps: returning to experiences, re-evaluating them in the light of cur-
rent knowledge and deriving insights for the future [8]. Although it is also inves-
Copyright © 2013 for the individual papers by the papers' authors.
ECTEL meets ECSCW 2013: Workshop on Collaborative Technologies for Working and Learning, Sept. 21, 2013, Cyprus
2
tigated in educational settings, reflection can be considered a common and indis-
pensable part of daily work [3, 9]. While individual reflection is a cognitive pro-
cess, collaborative reflection combines cognitive and social processes, and needs
support for articulating and exchanging experiences as well as various perspec-
tives on the same case, and proposals for changes of work practices [10–12].
Fig. 1. The Talk Reflection App for collaborative reflection of conversations and interactions.
In our work, we have designed the “Talk Reflection App” [12] as a tool for the
collaborative reflection of conversations and other social interaction taking place
at work – such situations can be emotionally stressful if, for example, bad news
have to be conveyed or conflicts cannot be solved. Dealing professionally with
these stressing challenges needs experience with them, an understanding of these
situations beyond what can be acquired from training and strategies to conduct
them. With the Talk Reflection App, workers can document what has happened in
such situations, assess their documented experiences with respect to feelings and
other aspects, and they can share them with their colleagues (see Fig. 1). Subse-
quently, colleagues can make comments on each other’s’ documented experienc-
es. For example, they can propose strategies of how to cope with a stressful con-
versation or similar situations as well as discuss and agree on certain changes to
be made, which are documented in the tool (see Prilla et al. 2012 for more details
on the app). This enables workers to reflect together on situations relevant in their
work, and to redesign this work according to their needs [13].
3 Structuring Collaborative Learning at Work: Balancing between
Scripting and Awareness
The Talk Reflection App pursues the implementation of processes of collabora-
tive learning, which are intertwined with a direct feedback as it is provided by
carrying out tasks during work. In particular people can directly realize the effect
of changed work practices and make them again a subject of collaborative reflec-
tion. However, establishing the usage of the app has to overcome problems with
ECTEL meets ECSCW 2013: Workshop on Collaborative Technologies for Working and Learning, Sept. 21, 2013, Cyprus
3
the adoption of the tool and with realizing its potential benefits: In initial pilots,
the app was predominantly used for documenting and sharing experiences, while
features for collaboration such as comments to exchange understanding and per-
spectives related to shared experiences and the documentation of outcome to sus-
tain and share results from reflection, were used much less [14]. We attribute this
to two constraints of integrating learning and work:
1. Establishing collaborative learning at work requires the design and implemen-
tation of socio-technical processes in which technology can support an evolu-
tion of existing practices and communication structures but not replace them. A
typical instance of this practices is that documenting experiences and sharing is
employed by workers to remember cases and make others aware of them, while
a large part of the reflective interaction will happen when people meet each
other during work, e.g., in meetings or on the hallway.
2. Reflection is a kind of meta-cognition which is in many cases not initiated by
the structure of the task itself, or by a teacher or facilitator. This a clear differ-
ence to learning at schools or universities where tasks and problems are de-
signed or introduced to trigger reflection. Since using tools such as the Talk Re-
flection App is not initiated by the actual work task itself, diverging tendencies
can be observed: On the level of their attitude, people generally agree that re-
flecting with others on past experiences can improve their work practice. How-
ever, during daily work routines they usually do not switch from their primary
work task to the usage of tools with respect to collaborative reflection and
learning. This is especially true for reflection on positive experiences, as such
good practice does not produce the pressure for change that problems cause.
We could see these effects when we piloted the Talk Reflection App in prac-
tice. For the first constraint, usage data of the app showed a low degree of collab-
orative reflection on shared content in the app. When we observed meetings
among staff and interviewed them, however, we were reported many situations in
which they had used content in the app to start reflective conversations and also
came up with ideas to change their work. In general, this means that the app al-
ready had an impact on reflective practice. However, comments and results are
only known to people being physically present during these interactions.
For the second issue, people often reported they did not have the time to use
the app or had not known what to write for example in comments. However, we
also could observe that when people understood how the app could support their
work, they started to use it more frequently. In one case, caregivers in a home for
elderly people even used the app frequently for this reason although their manager
had only allowed them to do so during their free time, e.g., in breaks and before
their shift. The challenge therefore is to motivate people initially to use the app in
order to enable them to perceive the value it can have for their work.
To deal with these constraints, we designed a concept of implementing a non-
obtrusive guidance –as it is offered via scaffolding [15]– into the socio-technical
support of collaborative reflection with the Talk Reflection App. The core mech-
ECTEL meets ECSCW 2013: Workshop on Collaborative Technologies for Working and Learning, Sept. 21, 2013, Cyprus
4
anism of this scaffold is to display prompts from time to time (with a flexible yet
fixed ratio) which actively request actions of the users (e.g., “Did you have a re-
cent conversation? Would you like to document it?”) or with questions to be an-
swered (e.g., “Have you been in a similar situation? What did you do?”). The
prompts are related to a model of possible processes which consist of core activi-
ties such as capturing data, articulation, or individual and collaborative reflection
[14]. Fig. 1 (right) shows a prompt asking for comparable situations if a user
looks at an experience documented and shared by a colleague. The displaying of
prompts can be adapted to the behavior of the users and to the course of adopting
the reflection support: At the beginning, prompting can happen frequently to offer
a relatively strict guidance; after a while it can fade out and the triggering of re-
flection relies on the users’ awareness of others’ documentation and articulation.
Besides supporting reflection in a more contextual manner, this may also avoid
people becoming annoyed by too many prompts. A central question in upcoming
work on intertwining CSCW, CSCL and TEL will have to deal with scaffolds that
(partly) replace teachers or facilitators and initiate reflection, giving learning re-
sults a sustaining impact on work practice by providing appropriate prompts.
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