Abstract
Most learning in the workplace occurs while pursuing working rather than learning goals. The studies at hand aimed to identify task characteristics that foster learning in the workplace. Task characteristics are supposed to exert a major effect on the learning potential. However, the fact that learning is more often than not a rather unconscious by-product of working poses methodological challenges because respondents might not be capable of accurately recalling daily work experiences. Diaries were applied in order to bring measurement closer to the processes. Three diary studies were conducted in the field of office work within vocational education and training, with trainees requested to record particular work tasks several times a day. Each diary record, i.e., each work task, required a rating of ten standardized items relating to task characteristics including the perceived learning potential of the present task. Eighteen trainees aiming to become retail salespersons recorded 488 work tasks, 10 trainees aiming to become bank clerks recorded 1,113 work tasks, and 20 trainees aiming to become industrial clerks recorded 573 work tasks. The aim of these studies was to explain the variance in the perceived learning potentials from further task characteristics using regression analyses. The extent of the explained variance ranged from 46.6 % in study 1 to 77.8 % in study 3. Interestingness, novelty, assistance from others, and feedback turned out to be the best predictors, whereas scope of action even showed negative influences. Practical implications for workplace learning as well as methodological recommendations for using diary methods in the workplace are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achtenhagen, F., Tramm, T., Preiß, P., Seemann-Weymar, H., John, E., & Schunck, A. (1992). Lernhandeln in komplexen Situationen. [Learning in complex situations]. Wiesbaden: Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler GmbH.
Baard, P., Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (2004). Intrinsic need satisfaction: A motivational basis of performance and well-being in two work settings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 34(10), 2045–2068.
Backhaus, K., Erichson, B., Plinke, W., & Weiber, R. (2003). Multivariate Analysemethoden [Multivariate analysis] (10th ed.). Heidelberg: Springer.
Berings, M. G. M. C., Poell, R. F., & Simons, P. R.-J. (2005). Conceptualizing on-the-job learning styles. Human Resource Development Review, 4(4), 373–400.
Berings, M. G. M. C., Doornbos, A. J., & Simons, P. R.-J. (2006). Methodological practices in on-the-job learning research. Human Resource Development International, 9(3), 333–363.
Billett, S. (1995). Workplace learning: Its potential and limitations. Education and Training, 37(5), 20–27.
Billett, S. (1996). Towards a model of workplace learning: The learning curriculum. Studies in Continuing Education, 18(1), 43–58.
Billett, S. (2011). Workplace curriculum: Practice and propositions. In F. Dochy, D. Gijbels, M. Segers, & P. Van den Bossche (Eds.), Theories of learning for the workplace. Building blocks for training and professional development programs (pp. 17–36). London: Routledge.
Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 579–616.
Bortz, J. (2005). Statistik für Human- und Sozialwissenschaftler [Statistics in human and social sciences] (6th ed.). Heidelberg: Springer.
Brandstätter, H. (1981). Time sampling of subjective well-being. In W. Molt, H. A. Hartmann, & P. Stringer (Eds.), Advances in economic psychology. Third European Colloquium on Economics and Psychology, 1978 (pp. 63–76). Heidelberg: Meyn.
Brandstätter, H. (2001). Time sampling diary: An ecological approach to the study of emotions in everyday life situations. In H. Brandstätter & A. Eliasz (Eds.), Persons, situations, and emotions (pp. 20–52). Oxford: University Press.
Brandstätter, H. (2007). The time sampling diary (TSD) of emotional experience in everyday life situations. In J. A. Coan & J. J. B. Allen (Eds.), Handbook of emotion elicitation and assessment (pp. 318–331). Oxford: University Press.
Brosius, F. (2008). SPSS 16. Heidelberg: mitp.
Carmeli, A., Brueller, D., & Dutton, J. E. (2009). Learning behaviours in the workplace. The role of high-quality interpersonal relationships and psychological safety. System Research and Behavioral Science, 26, 81–98.
Cohen, J. D., Dunbar, K., & McClelland, J. L. (1990). On the control of automatic processes: A parallel distributed processing account of the Stroop effect. Psychological Review, 97(3), 332–361.
Dochy, F., Gijbels, D., Segers, M., & Van den Bossche, P. (2011). Theories of learning for the workplace. In F. Dochy, D. Gijbels, M. Segers, & P. Van den Bossche (Eds.), Building blocks for training and professional development programs. London: Routledge.
Dörner, D. (1997). The logic of failure: Recognizing and avoiding error in complex situations. Cambridge: Perseus.
Dörner, D. (2008). Bauplan für eine Seele [Blueprint for a soul]. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Dörner, D., & Schaub, H. (1994). Errors in planning and decision-making and the nature of human information processing. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 43(4), 433–453.
Elliott, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(1), 5–12.
Ellström, P.-E. (2006). The meaning and role of reflection in informal learning at work. In D. Boud, P. Cressey, & P. Docherty (Eds.), Productive reflection at work (pp. 43–53). London: Routledge.
Ellström, P.-E. (2011). Informal learning at work: Conditions, processes and logics. In M. Malloch, L. Cairns, K. Evans, & B. N. O’Connor (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of workplace learning (pp. 105–119). London: Sage.
Eraut, M. (2000). Non-formal learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 113–136.
Eraut, M. (2004). Informal learning in the workplace. Studies in Continuing Education, 26(2), 247–273.
Fahrenberg, J. (1996). Ambulatory assessment: Issues and perspectives. In J. Fahrenberg & M. Myrtek (Eds.), Ambulatory assessment: Computer-assisted psychological and psychophysiological methods in monitoring and field studies (pp. 3–20). Seattle: Hogrefe.
Felstead, A., Fuller, A., Unwin, L., Ashton, D., Butler, P., Lee, T., et al. (2004). Applying the survey method to learning at work: A recent UK experience. Leicester: Centre for Labour Market Studies, University of Leicester.
Filliettaz, L., De Saint-Georges, I., & Duc, B. (2010). Skiing, cheese fondue and Swiss watches: Analogical discourse in vocational training interactions. Vocations and Learning, 2010(3), 117–140.
Frensch, P. A., & Rünger, D. (2003). Implicit learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(13), 13–19.
Frese, M. (2007). The psychological actions and the entrepreneurial success. An action theory approach. In J. R. Baum, R. A. Barin, & M. Frese (Eds.), The psychology of entrepreneurship (pp. 151–188). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Frese, M., & Zapf, D. (1994). Action as the core of work psychology: A German approach. In H. C. Triandis, M. D. Dunnette, & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 271–340). Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2011). Workplace learning and the organization. In M. Malloch, L. Cairns, K. Evans, & B. N. O’Connor (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of workplace learning (pp. 46–59). London: Sage.
Gijbels, D., Raemdonck, I., & Vervecken, D. (2010). Influencing work-related learning: The role of job characteristics and self-directed learning orientation in part-time vocational education. Vocations and Learning, 2010(3), 239–255.
Gruber, H. (1999). Erfahrung als Grundlage kompetenten Handelns [Experience as basis for professional competence]. Bern: Hans Huber.
Gruber, H., Harteis, C., & Rehrl, M. (2006). Professional Learning: Erfahrung als Grundlage von Handlungskompetenz [Experience as basis for professional competence]. Bildung und Erziehung, 59(2), 193–203.
Gurtner, J.-L., Cattaneo, A., Motta, E., & Mauroux, L. (2011). How often and for what purposes apprentices seek help in workplaces: A mobile technology-assisted study. Vocations and Learning, 2010(4), 113–131.
Hacker, W. (2005). Allgemeine Arbeitspsychologie. Psychische Regulation von Wissens-, Denk- und körperlicher Arbeit [General work psychology. Psychological regulation of knowledge, intellectual and physical work] (2nd ed.). Bern: Hans Huber.
Hackman, J. R. (1969). Toward understanding the role of tasks in behavioral research. Acta Psychologica, 31, 97–128.
Hager, P. (2011). Theories of workplace learning. In M. Malloch, L. Cairns, K. Evans, & B. N. O’Connor (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of workplace learning (pp. 17–31). London: Sage.
Hascher, T., & Edlinger, H. (2009). Positive Emotionen und Wohlbefinden in der Schule—ein Überblick über Forschungszugänge und Erkenntnisse [Positive emotion and well-being in school. An overview of empirical accesses and findings]. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 56, 105–122.
Hektner, J. M., Schmidt, J. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2007). Experience sampling method—Measuring the quality of everyday life. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Keck, A. (1995). Zum Lernpotential kaufmännischer Arbeitssituationen [On the learning potential of commercial work situations]. Goettingen: University Press.
Kell, A. (1989). Berufspädagogische Überlegungen zu den Beziehungen zwischen Lernen und Arbeiten [Vocational educational considerations on the relationship of learning and working]. In A. Kell & A. Lipsmeier (Eds.), Lernen und Arbeiten [Learning and working] (8. Beiheft der Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftspädagogik) (pp. 9–25). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
Klumb, P. L., & Perrez, M. (2004). Why time-sampling studies can enrich work–leisure research. Social Indicators Research, 67, 1–10.
Koestner, R., & McClelland, D. C. (1990). Perspectives on competence motivation. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Handbook of personality. Theory and research (pp. 527–548). New York: Guilford.
Kohn, M. L., & Schooler, C. (1983). Work and personality: An inquiry into the impact of social stratification. Norwood: Ablex.
Laireiter, A.-R., & Thiele, C. (1995). Psychologische Soziodiagnostik: Tagebuchverfahren zur Erfassung sozialer Beziehungen, sozialer Interaktionen und sozialer Unterstützung [Psychological socio-diagnostics: Diary methods for the measurement of social relations, social interactions and social support]. Diagnostica, 16(3), 125–151.
Landmann, M., & Schmidt, M. (2010). Tagebuch [Diary]. In H. Holling & B. Schmitz (Eds.), Handbuch Statistik, Methoden und Evaluation (pp. 165–172). Göttingen: Hofrege.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning—Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: University Press.
Lempert, W. (1979). Zur theoretischen und empirischen Analyse von Beziehungen zwischen Arbeiten und Lernen. Grundprobleme und Lösungsstrategien [On the theoretical and empirical analysis of the relationship between working and learning]. In P. Groskurth (Ed.), Arbeit und Persönlichkeit: berufliche Sozialisation in der arbeitsteiligen Gesellschaft [Work and personality: Occupational socialisation in a work-sharing society] (pp. 87–111). Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt.
Marsick, V., & Watkins, K. (1990). Informal and incidental learning in the workplace. London: Routledge.
Mauss, I. B., & Robinson, M. D. (2009). Measures of emotion: A review. Cognition and Emotion, 23(2), 209–237.
Myers, C., & Davids, K. (1993). Tacit skill and performance at work. Applied Psychology, 42(2), 117–137.
Nieuwenhuis, L. F. M., & van Woerkom, M. (2007). Goal rationalities as a framework for evaluating the learning potential of the workplace. Human Resource Development Review, 6(1), 64–83.
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford: University Press.
Noss, M., & Achtenhagen, F. (2002). Opportunities of supporting self-directed learning at the workplace—An empirical research on the training of bank employees. In K. Beck (Ed.), Teaching–learning processes in vocational education. Foundations of modern training programmes (pp. 225–247). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Ohly, S., Sonnentag, S., Niessen, C., & Zapf, D. (2010). Diary studies in organizational research. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9(2), 79–93.
Rasmussen, J. (1983). Skills, rules, and knowledge—Signals, signs, and symbols, and other distinctions in human performance models. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 13(3), 257–266.
Rausch, A. (2011a). Erleben und Lernen am Arbeitsplatz in der betrieblichen Ausbildung [Emotions and learning in the workplace within in-firm vocational education and training]. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.
Rausch, A. (2011b). Errors, emotions, and learning in the workplace—Findings from a diary study within VET. In E. Wuttke & J. Seifried (Eds.), Learning from errors (pp. 111–126). Opladen: Barbara Budrich.
Rausch, A. (2012). Prozessnahe und retrospektive Erhebungsmethoden der Arbeitsanalyse in der betrieblichen Ausbildung [In situ and retrospective data collection in work analysis within in-firm vocational education and training]. In A. Rausch, K. Kögler, & A.-R. Laireiter (Eds.), Tagebücher als prozessnahe Erhebungsinstrumente in der Feldforschung [Diaries as methods for in situ data collection within field research]. (Themenheft der Empirischen Pädagogik) (pp. 247–270). Landau: VEP.
Rausch, A., & Schley, T. (2011). Fostering workplace learning within vocational education and training—Subjective theories of trainees, workplace mentors, and full-time trainers. Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Researching Work and Learning (RWL7, 2011), Shanghai, China.
Reis, H. T., & Wheeler, L. (1991). Studying social interaction with the Rochester interaction record. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 24, 269–318.
Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2002). An overview of self-determination theory: An organismic-dialectical perspective. In E. Deci & R. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3–36). Rochester: University Press.
Sawchuk, P. H. (2009). Informal learning and work: From genealogy and definitions to contemporary methods and findings. In R. Maclean, D. Wilson, & C. Chinien (Eds.), International handbook of education for the changing world of work (pp. 319–331). Berlin: Springer.
Schendera, C. F. G. (2008). Regressionsanalyse mit SPSS [Regression analysis with SPSS]. München: Oldenbourg.
Shiffman, S., Stone, A., & Hufford, M. (2008). Ecological momentary assessment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 1–32.
Simons, R.-J. (2000). Various kinds of lifelong learning. In F. Achtenhagen & W. Lempert (Eds.), Lebenslanges Lernen im Beruf—seine Grundlegung im Kindes- und Jugendalter [Lifelong learning in the vocations. Its foundations in infancy and adolescence] (Vol. 4, pp. 23–38). Opladen: Leske und Budrich.
Simons, R.-J. (2004). Sechs Wege, die Kluft zwischen Lernen und Arbeiten zu überwinden [Six ways to overcome the gap between learning and working]. In H. Gruber, C. Harteis, H. Heid, & B. Meier (Eds.), Kapital und Kompetenz. Veränderungen der Arbeitswelt und ihre Auswirkungen aus erziehungswissenschaftlicher Sicht [Capital and competence. Changes in the working world and consequences from an educational point of view] (pp. 93–110). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag.
Simons, R.-J. (2005). Theories of unconscious learning confronted. European Journal of School Psychology, 3(1), 41–55.
Taylor, F. W. (1911). The principles of scientific management. New York: Cosimo.
Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error in psychological rating. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4, 25–29.
Tomaszewski, T. (1968). Schema einer psychologischen Analyse der Berufe [Scheme for a psychological analysis of vocations]. In W. Hacker, W. Skell, & W. Straub (Eds.), Arbeitspsychologie und wissenschaftlich-technische Revolution [Work psychology and scientific-technical revolution] (pp. 139–152). Berlin: Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften.
Tynjälä, P. (2008). Perspectives into learning at the workplace. Educational Research Review, 3(2), 130–154.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Each task record in study 1 required the completion of the following items. Each item started with the clause “Now we would like to know …” and was continued by the respective question. For an overview of the standardized items applied in study 1, see Table 10.
For an overview of the standardized items applied in study 2, see Table 11. The items were formulated to be shorter but there was more detailed explanation given in a manual.
For an overview of the standardized items applied in study 3, see Table 12. The items were formulated to be shorter but there was more detailed explanation given in a manual.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rausch, A. Task Characteristics and Learning Potentials—Empirical Results of Three Diary Studies on Workplace Learning. Vocations and Learning 6, 55–79 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-012-9086-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-012-9086-9