Nowadays the business world is characterized by vertiginous changes making work environments more complex and uncertain. This scenario requires professionals with practical experience. While students and new graduates often gain practical experience through internships or part-time jobs, universities can play an active role in developing the…

Learning complex skills is driven by reinforcement, which facilitates both online within-session gains and retention of the acquired skills. Yet, in ecologically relevant situations, skills are often acquired when mapping between actions and rewarding outcomes is unknown to the learning agent, resulting in reinforcement schedules of a stochastic…

This paper explores the management and outcomes of a specific model of intergenerational learning, concerned with student digital leader support in a number of secondary schools in England. A local educational partnership set up a student digital leader project late in 2011, which aimed to develop a range of skills and outcomes for both the…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to reveal and analyse dominant learning processes in emergency response work from the fire-fighters' point of view, and how fire-fighters develop their competence. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted an explorative approach using participant observation. The objective of this open-minded approach…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to give a critical assessment of a study designed to investigate the potential of a new method for teaching HRD students about performance appraisal. It is argued that this approach is in the vanguard of developments in IT and learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes the form of an explorative study…

The wide range of practical thinking skills are teachable and learnable. By treating thinking as a teachable subject, trainers can help people develop and increase their brain power. (SK)

Based on the premise that changes in technology and organizational development suggest that 75% of people working today are likely to need training within the next 10 years, this book addresses training as one of the most effective ways to learn the new skills and knowledge needed for the future. The book sees opportunities for outstanding…

Discusses issues related to training and performance improvement, including practice required for skill learning; knowledge versus skills; core skills; competence; learning to learn; team orientation; enabling business results; interpersonal and conceptual skills; timing; focusing on priorities; organizational learning and management…

This paper proposes that interpersonal skills be developed through the use of a skill/subskill strategy which is effected by means of an Experiential Training Unit (ETU), or series of sequential training activities. Specifically, ETU training activities focus on the development of several skills: cognitive, transformation, activation, preliminary…

The authors present an alternative model for training in organizational development (OD) which differs from other such models by being eclectic, inexpensive, and applicable to participants with varying degrees of experience. A design for a training laboratory is elaborated and related to theories about OD and about learning processes. (SK)

A training course for negotiators is presented, based upon models of learning processes, negotiation behaviors, and learner expectations. Course structure, the importance of practice and feedback, the place of concept formation, and evaluation are discussed. (SK)

The performance of a 3-year-old with Rett Syndrome in a Contingency Intervention Program using head and hand switches and adapted toys was assessed over 18 months. Learning contingent control of the stimuli positively motivated the child, promoted attention to toys and objects, and generalized to the classroom. (SW)

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the nature of learning discovered by recent graduates participating in a symphony orchestra-initiated development program that is designed to nurture them through the transition to becoming professional orchestral musicians. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative case study approach, the authors…

This paper proposes a definition of social skills in order to operationalize the components that need to be considered when teaching social skills to individuals with mental retardation in employment settings. It also presents current approaches to teaching social skills in employment settings. Social skills are defined as goal-oriented,…

A research study was initiated to (1) identify and compare the effectiveness of alternative learning strategies upon learner performance, (2) incorporate effective strategies and interactive practice materials within a systematic training program, and (3) empirically validate the performance of strategies-trained and untrained students. To…