Creativity and the Design Process

This research examined the role of creativity in the process of designing human resource development (HRD) interventions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to study the preferences and practices of ten experienced HRD practitioners. Results include a comparison of the subjects' creativity styles/preferences using the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator and the Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory as well as a model derived from the data, which describes the creative process used by the subjects. The phases include: 1) diagnosis, 2) immersion, 3) percolation, 4) “aha,” and 5) checking. This model focuses on how creativity is used to make design decisions. The design process used by the subjects in this research is similar to a generic creativity model. However, it includes an extensive preliminary diagnostic phase in which the HRD practitioner explores the business need, searches for the root cause of the problem, and establishes a collaborative relationship with stakeholders in the organization.     

Open educational practices for curriculum enhancement

Open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) are relatively new areas in educational research. How OER and OEP can help practitioners enhance curricula is one of a number of under-researched topics. This article aims to enable practitioners to identify and implement appropriate open practices to enhance higher education curricula. To that aim, we put forward a framework of four open educational practices based on patterns of OER reuse (‘as is’ or adapted), mapped against the processes of curriculum design and delivery. The framework was developed from the in-depth analysis of 20 cases of higher education practitioners, which revealed patterns of OER reuse across disciplines, institutions and needs. For each open practice we offer evidence, examples and ideas for application by practitioners. We also put forward recommendations for institutional policies on OER and OEP.     

Challenges in Human Resource Development Practitioner Preparation

This article describes some of the challenges that confront designers of programs which prepare or upskill Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners. It surfaces varying perspectives of human resource development and some of the issues that confront organisations in the post-industrial economy which have implications for HRD practice. It also surfaces some tensions and areas of convergence that can be seen in recent studies which have investigated the role of HRD practitioners. The final section recommends some substantive areas that should be addressed within HRD preparation programs which are designed to equip learners for practice in the current organisational context.     

What can be learned from action learning coaching? Learnings of novice action learners and their coach

Action learning coaching (ALC), a form of action learning that integrates leadership coaching, is suggested as a method and ethos to build future capacity, specifically in novice HRD practitioners. The purpose of this article is to offer an account of learning from the perspectives of novice action learners, who were new to the field of human resource development (HRD) and to the concept of ALC, as well as their similarly noviced coach. Data from budding practitioners and their coach, participants in an action learning action research (ALAR) study, are analyzed to show how they used action and generative learning through ambiguity to apply learning to their new roles. Action learning coaching elevated participants’ skills, self-concept, efficaciousness, professionalism, commitment to action, and capacity for learning and growth. Participants changed themselves, their practice, and ultimately the way they approached human resource development as novices.     

Ethical Applications of Technology in HRD

Human resource development (HRD) professionals are increasingly incorporating technology into their work activities. However, research that examines the ethics in the use of technology by HRD professionals is still underrepresented in the literature. This article first conducts a PEST (political, economic, social‐cultural, and technological) analysis by examining a number of important general and specific trends that affect the use of technology in HRD. It then discusses some implications with regard to these trends and their impacts on HRD practices.     

The Role of Educational Research in Educational Improvements

Educational research is an undertaking to review and improve educational practice. In one case, educational practitioners conduct research by themselves in order to review their own practices, while in another, non-practitioners undertake the research. Educational practice here will refer to the individual instructional activities of school teachers on the one hand and the organized activities or programmes of educational institutions or educational systems on the other.     

工作场所学习与绩效:整合教学、研究与咨询的实践领域——访罗纳德·雅各布斯教授

在终身学习理念的影响下,工作场所自然成为学习的重要空间。一般而言,工作场所学习的时间比学校学习的时间还要漫长,因此,对工作场所学习这一研究领域的重要性怎么强调也不为过。个体可以通过工作场所学习实现自我价值、促进其生涯的发展;组织可以通过工作场所学习提升整体的竞争力和实现其持续性发展;当社会的经济和结构处于转型阶段,工作场所学习更成为促进个体和组织适应环境变化和主动创新的重要措施。借在美国学习的机会,笔者访谈了人力资源开发领域的著名学者雅各布斯(Ronald L.Jacobs)博士,他在访谈中论述了多个与人力资源开发专业相关的问题,并认为工作场所学习与绩效咨询是人力资源开发重要的实践领域,他整合了在该领域的教学经验、研究主题和咨询项目,实现了三者的互动和连通,多维度地促进该领域的发展。雅各布斯博士,美国伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,简称UIUC)人力资源开发专业教授,另外还担任该校教育学院国际事务处主任一职,他在各类期刊发表了百余篇论文,出版了六本人力资源开发方面的书籍。1994年,雅各布斯博士获得了由美国培训与开发协会(ASTD)颁发的教学科技研究奖;1995年,人力资源开发学会(AHRD)表彰了他在学术上对人力资源开发领域的卓越贡献。从1998年到2001年,他担任《人力资源开发季刊》(Human Resource Development Quarterly)(SSCI来源期刊,且为人力资源开发领域的主要学术期刊)的主编,现在仍担任该杂志的客座编辑。雅各布斯博士还担任ASTD工作场所学习与绩效(Workplace Learning and Performance)认证机构的顾问委员,并于2012年当选为新一届人力资源开发学会主席。雅各布斯博士早在1987年就提出"结构化在职培训"这一概念,并著有《员工岗位培训手册》(StructuredOn-the-Job Training),该书成为很多人力资源开发实践者和培训师的参考书,且被翻译为简体中文、繁体中文、韩文与阿拉伯文等多种语言,他早期的研究着重于研究结构化在职培训的经济效益,协助组织做出与培训相关的决定。目前,韩国就业及劳动部已在全国范围内实施大规模"结构化在职培训"试行计划,以帮助本国中小型企业提高竞争力。雅各布斯博士在人力资源开发领域整合了系统理论、工作场所学习、绩效咨询等理念,并在ISO10015培训质量标准中完善了绩效分析与投资报酬率等概念。雅各布斯博士曾受邀至荷兰乌特列支大学、台湾师范大学、新加坡南洋理工大学、华东师范大学等高校担任客座教授或特聘教授。他有三十多位博士学生现供职于全球各大学人力资源开发及相关领域的教授。雅各布斯博士多年来积极参与对实践的指导工作,他为许多企业组织与政府机构提供过咨询,包括通用汽车、荷兰航空公司、雅培、现代汽车、希捷、莫顿盐业、科威特国家石油公司、沙特阿拉伯国家石油公司等。雅各布斯博士参与的咨询项目通过开发工作场所绩效系统来满足对员工的能力需求,擅长采用合作研究整合其咨询活动、学术研究和教学为一体。雅各布斯博士喜欢航海、高尔夫,以及他在伊利湖畔别墅的夏日时光。     

西部地区人力资源开发对策探析

西部大开发，主要是开发两方面的资源：一方面是物质资源，另一方面是人力资源。其中，人力资源的开发为物质资源的开发提供人力和智力支持，是物质资源得到全面，高效、合理开发的重要前提。人力资源不同于物质资源的特性，决定了人力资源素质的高低对经济发展所产生的决定性影响。本拟在人力资源开发的重要性和紧迫性的基础上，对人力资源开发的对策进行探讨，以期引起人们对这方面同题的关注。     

假象与真实:合作研究中教育理论与教育实践的关系

“教育理论与教育实践的关系”问题是以理论研究者和实践工作者构成的合作研究方式中无法避免的问题,而且这种研究方式更能表现这一问题的本真状态,它是教育理论研究者与实践工作者进行的面对面的直接交锋,这种交锋在一定程度上说也是教育理论与教育实践的交锋。在这种研究方式中,由于合作主体“生活世界”的差异,无法避免在视域上的难以融合,而实际存在的对合作研究的实践性和主体关系本质的不同预设,最终产生了一系列在理论研究者和实践工作者的主体中所表现出来的各种 “假象”,破除这些假象只有依靠对教育实践的历史性的充分尊重和对话的主体间性的回归。     

Evaluation Research: A Pragmatic,Program-Focused,Research Strategy for Decision-Makers

Human resource development (HRD) practitioners frequently need to gather and organize data to support decisions about programs. Unfortunately, in many work environments there is a short time available to gather data in support of the decision-making process. Yet the ability to develop or use data or to convince others to use data has become the prime concern of decisionmakers. The evaluation research strategy contains four primary features—utility, feasibility, proprietorship, and accuracy. With a philosophical foundation grounded in pragmatism, evaluation research follows a four-level decision-making hierarchy: purpose, techniques, plan, and implementation. In addition, there are nine major purposes. There are two primary participants in evaluation research: the researcher and the stakeholder group. The stakeholder group is included because of the belief that people who have a stake in an evaluation research outcome should be actively and meaningfully involved in shaping that research effort, thus increasing the likelihood of utilization. Evaluation research may be goal-driven; or it may focus on evaluation questions, concerns and issues, program rationales, decisions or problems, or organization (client) needs.     

The backyard human performance technologist: Applying the development research methodology to develop and validate a new instructional design framework

Development research methodology (DRM) has been recommended as a viable research approach to expand the practice‐to‐theory/theory‐to‐practice literature that human performance technology (HPT) practitioners can integrate into the day‐to‐day work flow they already use to develop instructional products. However, little has been written about how it can be applied in a workplace setting to allow HPT practitioners to consider this research approach for adoption into their own activities. This article provides a real‐world application of the DRM to help close this literature gap. After providing background information to establish the case context, the article presents an overview of how this research approach was applied to an effort to develop and validate a new instructional design framework for potentially training National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts for deep space exploration missions. The result of this case indicates that this research methodology provides a viable approach that HPT practitioners can integrate into their current practices to provide a practice‐based research baseline to contribute to the practice‐to‐theory/theory‐to‐practice literature.     

Understanding the impact of organizational power on evaluation outcomes

The purpose of this study is to examine how power relations among stakeholders, especially between the human resource development (HRD) practitioners and others, affect evaluation outcomes. Using a qualitative case study design, a managerial leadership development programme in a Korean company is analysed. This study shows that the HRD practitioners’ interests in securing their status within the organization governed shaping the evaluation outcomes. The evaluation report was produced and reported portraying mostly the positive aspects of the programme. However, while going through the evaluation, the HRD practitioners felt constrained, and considered themselves as the powerless in terms of the organizational strategic needs and expectations, both of which pertain to the characteristics of the organizational culture. Instead of attempting to alter the organizational culture, which was unfavourable to HRD functions, they are acquiesced to the culture.     

Remedial Education: An Area in Need of Scholar-Practitioner Collaboration

Much has been written about the disappointing record of remedial education. At least 40% percent of students never complete their remedial courses, hindering their access to college-level courses. Amid the clamor for reform, new programs are emerging in which scholars and practitioners collaborate on the development of models of instruction that hold promise for improving the college readiness of underprepared students. Scholar-practitioner collaboration requires a reconception of the research process and the meaning of practice. It also requires practitioners to reflect on their practice as partners in the research process. We conclude that the voices of those teaching and managing remedial education, not just those of researchers, are necessary to arrive at remedial education policies and practices that are effective and sustainable.     

Training Older Workers: Implications for HRD/HPT Professionals

In corporations across America, a race is on to find new ways to maximize human capital. An emphasis on lifelong learning will be vital for the success of our future workforce. As demographic shifts occur, the “older worker” will emerge as a primary target for this human development effort. This article explores the implications of this demographic shift for the human resource development and human performance technology (HRD/HPT) professional and recommends strategies for meeting this business need. First, we discuss the realities of this demographic shift and compare our current workforce demographics to those of the future. Next, we examine the common myths about the “older worker,” as well as what current research reports about this special population. Finally, we examine the impact of this trend on our profession. We discuss strategies for modifying the workplace environment, reassessing workforce motivational strategies, and altering training practices in order to serve this older worker population. In conclusion, we look at the implications for the future in HRD/HPT research.     

Facilitating teachers as action researchers and reflective practitioners: new issues and proposals

ABSTRACT

In this article I reflect on my experiences facilitating teachers as researchers and reflective practitioners and the importance of enhancing the dynamic and complementary relationship between theory, research, practice and reflection at every step of action research. Given the complexity of teachers’ participation in action research, I drew on a reflexive research-based account within a second-order process of action research to support a group of teacher-researchers to rethink their understanding of participatory education and transform their own practices. This research-based account describes the challenges faced, the decisions made, and the actions taken, all shaped by ongoing dialogues with teachers’ beliefs and practices, with the goals of action research, and with the processes of gradual transformations observed in both the teachers’ thinking and practice and in my own as a facilitator. The present study adds to the discussion of the interrelationships between theory, research, practice and reflection by providing an example of their enactment at every step of action research in order to support participatory education.     

Reframing HRD: insights from research on the development of exemplary managers

This article questions the common wisdom of the HRD profession by comparing it to the results from six studies on the important developmental and learning experiences of successful managers. Managers in the studies tell us that although planned formal and informal employer‐based training and school‐based training contributed to their development, much of their learning occurred outside of the areas of planned institutional control. Instead such factors as challenging job experiences and assignments, relationships with peers and bosses, learning in the community, family upbringing, personal life experiences, characteristics of the organisational environment, and specific strategies for learning from experience were named as contributors. According to these findings, we are investing all of our targeted resources in only apart of managerial learning and development. Weargue that it is difficult to address these other areas because we view humans as a resource to control for the purpose of maximising profit and enhancing economic development. The result of this reductionistic view of human resources is that our practice is neither cost nor time effective. The implications for HRD practice and research are discussed.     

Planning and Doing in Professional Teaching Practice. A Study with Early Childhood Education Teachers Working with ICT (3–6 years)

Planning is one of the professional tasks teachers have to carry out before their direct action in the classrooms. This planning is closely interrelated to the way teachers teach. The question about how and why teachers reach their decisions in their pre-class planning is a classical one in the research into curricular design and development. The aim of this paper will therefore be to establish whether there is a relationship between curricular planning and curricular practices, studying how nine early childhood education teachers using an ICT resource plan their actions and execute them. For the research, we obtained video recordings of classroom practices and interviewed the teachers just before they went into class. By applying qualitative data analysis, we have been able to identify the elements taken into consideration when the teachers make decisions in lesson, their conceptions about ICT, and the types of activity that are held in all the classes. The results confirm the conclusions reached by previous studies on the relationships between planning and doing, in the sense that the activities, understood to be teaching strategies, are the ones that link the design of what is to be done and direct action. Likewise, the results ratify prior research on the role of materials and resources as aspects that teachers can rely on for support in the management and presentation of classroom tasks and content. The introduction of ICT does not modify the teachers’ curricular planning and development.     

Using the 6S Pyramid to Identify Research‐Based Instructional Practices for Students with Learning Disabilities

To optimize students’ learning outcomes, educators are increasingly expected to use instructional practices shown to be effective by credible research. To help make this possible, organizations and scholars are producing resources that summarize research related to various instructional practices. However, as the collection of resources grows in size and complexity, it can be difficult and frustrating for practitioners to locate and utilize this information. In this article, we describe the 6S Pyramid (DiCenso, Bayley, & Haynes, 2009), a framework for efficiently and accurately prioritizing different types of research evidence. We also identify and briefly summarize Internet resources corresponding with each level of the Pyramid that can be used to identify research‐based practices for students with learning disabilities. To illustrate how the 6S Pyramid can be used in school and classroom settings, we begin and end the article with vignettes featuring a pair of co‐teachers seeking to improve instruction for their students who struggle with reading.