Early Bird

How do you define learning?

Step inside the Learning Nook and a new Discussions channel to talk organizational learning.

By Rebecca Reid

May 21, 2019

What does learning mean at Metropolitan State University of Denver?

For our students, perhaps it is the acquisition of knowledge. For faculty, possibly the transfer of knowledge to students through pedagogical practice. For staff, perhaps learning is training for job skills.

Now what about for the organization as a whole? What does it mean for learning to occur on the organizational level? If you have thoughts on the subject, MSU Denver’s Learning and Development team invites you to join the Learning and Development Discussions channel to continue the conversation.

Visit the Discussions channel to explore conversation prompts, share your knowledge and perspectives, and help drive the learning conversation. Conversations are designed to be ongoing and engage employees in a learning mindset.

Not sure how to begin? Check out the following thoughts on organizational learning from prominent researchers and thought leaders.   

“Learning may be defined as the detection and correction of error.” 

- Chris Argyris, Double-Loop Learning, Teaching and Research 

“Single-loop learning occurs when errors are corrected without altering the underlying governing values.” 

- Chris Argyris, Double-Loop Learning, Teaching and Research 

“Double-loop learning not only detects the errors of an action but also goes to change the strategies, norms and values that guide the actions, in order to achieve the goals.” 

- Huang & Shih, A New Mode of Learning Organization 

“The organizational learning process begins with questioning past assumptions about learning that may no longer be appropriate at present and in the future.”  

- McGill & Slocum, Unlearning the Organization 

"A Learning Organization is one “where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together.”  

- Peter Singe, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization 

“A learning culture is characterized by its clear and consistent (1) openness to experience; (2) encouragement of responsible risk-taking; and (3) willingness to acknowledge failures and learn from them.” 

- McGill & Slocum, Unlearning the Organization 

Join the Learning and Development Discussions channel to continue the conversation.