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Learning from practice

By: Saima Feroz Ali Virani
Karachi

Learning is a continuous process and mirror image with the intention of getting something done. Scripture says that “When a truth is learned, it must be practiced. Indeed, knowledge that is not put into practice is not truly learned; it soon fades away like a mirage”. Wenger (1998) describes “Practice as about meaning as an experience of everyday life”. (p. 52). Learning from practice (LFP) is another most important dimension towards education. It is a project oriented approach for staff development through which practitioners become researchers, learners, and reformers. According to Pennsylvania (2001) “Its purpose is to have practitioners actually "put into practice" the information, materials, and techniques they’ve acquired through attendance at a particular training or through their own research and document the results”. In LFP, practitioners generate valuable knowledge for themselves and for the broader field. It gives participant a point for exploration, provides effective practice based small group learning program, and the support to carry out a data based projects.

LFP is a big challenge for professional development. It focuses mainly on the concern that participants raise about their own practice. Participants identify the problems, issues, or activities in order to learn and explore them. As a result of this discussion, relevant changes should be done. Besides this, participants try to identify specific barriers to these practice changes and to formulate implementation strategies to facilitate desired changes. Furthermore, they also explore what questions to investigate and how to conduct their research. They decide what the appropriate outcomes for the work might be, given the constraints or demands in their working contexts. Another most significant challenge is theoretical basis for changing practice begins with the individual’s experience. Through reflection, a gap between current practice and best practice is recognized. Distinguishing this gap represents an opportunity to identify learning objectives. The acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and approaches can be follow and bridge this gap. However, access to new information alone is not sufficient. Therefore, reflections and discussions are necessary to help participant in identifying areas where current practice requires change and develop strategies in order to integrate this new approach.

One of the best strategies for LFP is to develop practice based small group learning programs for members. One of the objectives of this program is to encourage members to reflect on their individual practices and identify any break between current practice and the best available evidence. This can accomplished through discussion of real life medical and patient problems in small groups. Previously common approaches like lectures and handouts were ineffective in changing applicant behavior. However, it can be effective, particularly when they involve in small groups of peer through which it foster trust, promote discussion of evidence relevant to real cases, provide feedback on performance, and offer opportunities for practicing newly learned skills. Moreover, practitioners can meet to discuss and share ideas of procedures and problems in their own practices. On the other hand, group activities encourage meaningful critique of classroom and program based needs and challenges as participants build a professional community in which successes, struggles, and new methods of teaching (or directing or counseling, etc) can be shared and discussed. Another most important objective is to encourage group members to initiate, as a result of this discussion, relevant changes to patient care. Within the group, members endeavor to identify specific barriers to these practice changes and to formulate implementation strategies to facilitate desired changes.

Learning from practice offers a relatively high level of support in the form of periodic, small group meetings and a mentor who will guide practitioners through the process. LFP participants become member of a learning community, which develops as their work does. In addition, according to Wenger (1998) “a community is constituted by mutual engagement, joint enterprise and a shared repertoire”. (p.73). All three dimensions are both subject to, and influence, the negotiation of meaning in the community. On the other hand, it give participants an opportunity to share their research as it unfolds, to focus on individual and group issues, and create strategies for dealing with issues at various stages of the research work. Moreover, practitioners may also tie in continuous program improvement efforts to a LFP project, using their program improvement team as a sounding board and support system for addressing agency issues and concerns.

Based on above discussion, I conclude, that learning is a purposeful activity. In the world of work, there are enormous opportunities to learn which support knowledge from experiences and practices. Learning creates emergent structures. Wenger (1998) best be supported in an environment where these structures are allowed to grow according to the needs and goals of the learners. (p.53). In addition, learning from practice offer an opportunity to participants a point for exploration, provides effective practice based small group learning program, and the support to carry out a data based projects. These all strategies have evolved steadily in response to feedback of members and reflection of each participant which enhance their implementation of new knowledge in to real setting. Atherton (2005) suggested that “the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning was one of the defining characteristics of professional practice”.