A cross-level investigation of informal field-based learning and performance improvements.

Abstract

Organizations often operate in complex and dynamic environments which place a premium on employees' ongoing learning and acquisition of new competencies. Additionally, the majority of learning in organizations does not take place in formal training settings, but we know relatively little about how informal field-based learning (IFBL) behaviors relate to changes in job performance. In this study, we first clarified the construct of IFBL as a subset of informal learning. Second, on the basis of this clarified construct definition, we developed a measure of IFBL behaviors and demonstrated its psychometric properties using (a) a sample of subject matter experts who made item content validity judgments and (b) both an Amazon Mechanical Turk sample (N = 400) and a sample of 1,707 healthcare employees. Third, we advanced a grounded theory of IFBL in healthcare, and related it to individuals' regulatory foci and contextual moderators of IFBL behaviors-job performance relationships using a cross-level design and lagged nonmethod bound measures. Specifically, using a sample of 407 healthcare workers from 49 hospital units, our results suggested that promotion-focused individuals, especially in well-staffed units, readily engage in IFBL behaviors. Additionally, we found that the IFBL-changes in job performance relationship was strengthened to the extent that individuals worked in units with relatively nonpunitive climates. Interestingly, staffing levels had a weakening moderating effect on the positive IFBL-performance improvements relationship. Detailed follow-up analyses revealed that the peculiar effect was attributable to differential relationships from IFBL subdimensions. Implications for future theory building, research, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Work-Related Learning

“…Informal learning is often discussed in contrast to formal learning (Marsick and Watkins, 2001): It can be described as less restricted in terms of learning support, learning context, learning time, and learning objectives (Kyndt and Baert, 2013). Informal learning is embedded in daily work-related activities and is learner-initiated, without an intervention of an instructor (Livingstone, 2001;Noe, Tews, and Marand, 2013;Wolfson et al, 2017). Different types fall under the heading of informal workrelated learning: interpersonal learning, intrapersonal learning, and learning from non-interpersonal sources (Choi and Jacobs, 2011;Lohman and Woolf, 2001;Noe et al, 2013).…”

“…Intrapersonal learning includes reflecting upon one's behaviour and exploring new ways of working. Synonyms are individual learning, experimenting, or learning from oneself (Choi and Jacobs, 2011;Lohman and Woolf, 2001;Noe et al, 2013, Wolfson et al, 2017. Learning from non-interpersonal sources implies that one develops competences through scanning external sources, such as the Internet, books, and pictorial material (Lohman and Woolf, 2001).…”

Understanding Factors That Enable and Inhibit Assessment of Outcomes of Competence Development

“…Meanwhile, those who adopt a situated and relational perspective on learning emphasize the importance of viewing competence development as an informal process of participation in task-based and social interaction activities at a workplace (Billett, 2004;Evans et al, 2006). Studies that have examined the outcomes of employee participation in informal learning activities are sparse (Wolfson et al, 2018). This is understandable, since informal learning is unstructured and largely invisible, and learners often lack awareness of such learning (Kyndt et al, 2014).…”

Informal learning during the standardized residency training in the context of “Internet plus:" an empirical research

“…American adult education specialists Victoria J.Marsick and Karen E.Watkins pointed out in their book Informal and Incidental Learning: informal learning is a learning pattern which could happen in public institution, and classrooms sometimes are not a must and it is free from distinct organization and system as well [1]. In 2018, Wolfson interpreted it furtherly to make a clear definition that informal learning is a new, work-oriented learning pattern and its essential factor is that it is beyond programs of formal learning and it is a self-organized intentional learning behavior [2].…”