The aim of this master's thesis work was to create a learning route concept for Awake.AI. The aim of this master's thesis is to create a learning paths concept for Awake.AI.
Expected Outcomes
The primary research and development goal of this thesis is to develop a framework for learning paths for Awake.AI. Another positive effect is that Awake.AI's employees, using the framework concept of learning paths, see.
Research Questions
From a larger perspective, the Best Practices Playbook is a resource for all HR professionals in self-managing organizations who want to create and develop a framework for learning paths. The chosen primary research questions seek to find the factors that promote learning in a self-managing organization and how they influence the overall design of learning paths, of which onboarding is a part.
Scope
This chapter discusses the chosen research methods and describes the development project process. At the end of this chapter, the process of the development work is presented in detail.
On the Nature of Qualitative Research
The choice of method is justified by carefully analyzing the nature of the research work and in relation to the research questions presented in the previous chapter. Stakeholders can effectively use the results achieved through the study in their organization.
Service Design and Learning Design
The interaction of an organization and a customer or user in service design can be seen in image two. The design learning cycle is very reminiscent of service design in its iterative nature.
Data Collection Methods and on the Data Collected
The transcripts of the notes followed the same pattern as above in the other interviews. The semi-structured interview framework, focused on the topic of a learning organization, was provided to the interviewees in advance.
Data Analysis Method
Data analysis methods are also used in service design, where options are created and reduced. This interplay between divergent thinking (creating solutions) and convergent thinking (decision making) is essential in service design.
Ethics, Reliability and Validity in Research
Another unethical practice to avoid is concealing the true nature of the research from the participant. Encroachment on Participant's Privacy; confidentiality and anonymity of data, is a grossly unethical practice.
The Process of the Development Project
The ethical practice requires the researcher to inform the participant about all features of the study that may have an impact on the. All phases require regular coding of data and provide notification of the progress of the study to the commissioning company.
The Concept of Learning and Learning Theories
The type of learning in constructivism is higher-level problem solving and its emphasis is on real-world scenarios. By studying different learning theories, it can be better understood in the workplace how learning takes place.
Learning Organisation
With constructivism, the emphasis is on how the student interprets new information and uses it in their reality, so it is constantly evolving. The tool reveals the strengths and weaknesses of an organization in terms of a learning organization and can be used to design a learning strategy accordingly. In an organization where it is safe to report failure, it also works better.
The closer it is to experimentation, the less room there is for the 'blame game'.
Individual, External & Motivational Factors, Learning Styles
Critical self-reflection is needed when considering an individual's learning styles, as well as the learner's ability to learn and his/her motivation. The more interested you are in learning something, the harder you work to learn it. When someone learns something new in the workplace, it usually increases his/her motivation, productivity and employee engagement.
This self-direction leads the individual to learn when he sees the need to do so.
Learning at Workplace
To be able to progress to the next level in this, at each stage a student must reflect on their learning so far. Most adult learners are autonomous and want to be responsible for their own lives and learning. This means that adults in the workplace must be involved in the planning and evaluation of their learning.
By knowing how adult learners are motivated and how they learn, learning strategy and practices can be implemented more effectively in the organization.
The Context for the Theoretical Framework
The growth in the use of self-managing teams can mainly be seen in knowledge work. Self-managing teams have more responsibility in making decisions and control over their own work and performance. Just as in self-managing teams individuals use their capacity for self-leadership, in learning they use a self-regulated learning strategy.
This results in a high speed of learning in teams in contexts such as a start-up environment or in self-managing teams.
Recap of Theoretical Framework
Experiences in experiments are shared with the whole organization and the learning cycle is applied in daily work. What is important in using the learning loop is its speed - the faster the better. First, a baseline of the current status of Awake.AI in relation to learning is formulated, then the results of the interviews and workshops are explained in detail.
A brief summary of suggested next steps is presented at the end of the chapters.
Awake.AI as a Learning Organisation – Building a Baseline
The other two building blocks, concrete learning processes and practices and leadership that enhances learning, leave some room for improvement, although the review in these areas is in the third quartile (also a good score). The biggest needs for improvement are both in concrete learning processes and in the building blocks of practices. It should also be noted that Awake.AI currently only has around 30 employees, so as the company grows, it is even more critical to improve this area for future learning needs.
Awake.AI has autonomous teams, but there are still some supervisors, for example Chief X.
First Learning Element in the Concept: Onboarding
Continuous contact was also made with the new employee from the supervisor and HR manager before the first day. There are now ongoing and frequent conversations with the supervisor and HR manager and the new employee. In the onboarding phase, a standard welcome email with small tasks such as introducing oneself on the company's platform was sent to the new employee.
Update the induction plan and the first week program and send them to the new employee in advance.
Learning Paths Concept Creation
Different learning elements were recognized for both on-the-job and self-learning and the ideas were grouped accordingly, highlighting the most important for Awake.AI in the first phase of implementing learning paths. The proposed next steps were also offered for Awake.AI as the company moves into the implementation of the learning path concept. Prototype of Learning Paths Concept at Awake.AI ('Awakians' Nautical Map') The learning path concept is inspired by the history of seafarers and it reflects the current revolution in the industry today.
In the 'Awakians' nautical chart, the autonomous vessel Awakian is a learner that explores and navigates various learning opportunities.
Main Findings of the Research
This chapter evaluates the results of the development work and discusses its benefits to the client and to a wider audience. The chapter concludes with a self-reflection of the researcher's own learning during development work. The context of the research, self-managing teams and start-up environment, was also followed and included in the development work.
The learning processes and practices developed in this study primarily reflect the company's shared vision.
Benefits of the Research
As a guiding theory in this study, the model of a learning organization consisting of three building blocks surrounded by Senge's five disciplines and new technologies was used as a guideline when conducting the research, and the findings strengthen the validity of the model. The baseline scores of a learning organization built a basis for the study, as those results showed that the greatest improvement needs are in the building blocks of learning processes and practices. For the same reason, the building block of leadership that reinforces learning was also in good status in the baseline.
With the help of the playbook, HR professionals face the task of creating and developing learning paths in their organizations in a similar context of self-management.
Further Development Suggestions
The overall concept of learning paths at Awake.AI reflects the "walk the talk" with company values. Such further development of the learning path concept can be useful for Awake.AI in a later growth phase. When it comes to numbers and statistics, learning can be used as one of the most important metrics at Awake.AI in creating the most important metrics of people's job in the company.
In this formulation, further research is needed, for example, on the effectiveness of learning in Awake.AI.
Evaluation of the Ethics, Reliability and Validity of the Research
The learning path concept can be used as a tool to create robust development plans for employees and to feed meaningful growth and development discussions. Re-scoring the building blocks of a learning organization at Awake.AI after the last implementations of this study's findings would be a great and more numerically measurable way to see the progress made.
Self-Reflection
The meetings with different people on the project journey were really pleasant, both in the onboarding interviews and in the benchmarking conversation. The benchmarking interviews in particular had a positive impact on the researcher and it was good to hear ideas from people with extensive experience in learning and development and to hear from others who think like-minded about the subject and about people. Partly because of these positive interactions, the researcher follows the topic of organizational learning and development even more in various media, especially those who are considered influencers in the field in Finland, to keep learning more about the topic.
Self-regulated learning, team learning, and project performance in entrepreneurship education: Learning in a lean startup environment.
Onboarding Interview Framework for Awake.AI
Benchmark Interview Framework Learning & Development
Idea Canvas
Playbook on Creating Learning Paths
Prototype of Learning Paths Concept at Awake.AI
Feedback will be forwarded to Awake.AI's Human Resources Manager for further collaboration. The aim of the thesis is to develop learning paths at Awake.AI, where onboarding is the first and natural step. Were you contacted by Awake.AI between signing the contract and your first day at Awake.AI?.
Did you know where to go for support on various topics if needed during your first weeks at Awake.AI?.
