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The New Triple-Loop Learning Approach, and the Peer Learning Group Model

By | Aimee Laurence

A new learning approach is revolutionizing adults’ effectiveness to learn, and driving significant behavioral change in the workplace.

Single- and double-loop learning

Traditionally, businesses have focused upon a single-loop learning strategy in their approach to work practices. In a single-loop approach, strict policies and procedures are drawn up in order to structure staff’s processes: each employee is therefore able to adapt their behavior to one, single means of completing the task. This is an efficient method by way of dealing with day-to-day activities and normal processes within the working environment, say on a production line, for example.

However, the issue with single-loop learning is that it only works to complete set, standard tasks, and therefore will never be successful in solving the inevitable issues which arrive outside of the normal processes. The only question employees can ask in that strict structure is “are we doing the task right?” If the answer is “yes” but there is still an issue, in theory you are stuck. That’s where the second-loop comes in because it encourages employees to think for themselves: now the questions becomes “are we doing the right thing?” Now an individual develops the ability to adapt behavior to best suit the issue at hand, and a solution can be found.

“Double-loop learning changed the game because it became more about what was needed to be learnt in order to problem-solve. It was a major step forward from the single-loop strategy applied for so long,” states Kim Polanski, a project manager at OXEssays and UKWritings.

Triple-loop learning

 And yet with double-loop learning there were still limitations: learning still needed to be facilitated and structured in a way to focus on the means of problem-solving. In other words, although individuals would have the capacity to evolve, the learning intervention itself still needed to be identified and prescribed. It was a major improvement from the way things were done before, but we were still a long way from autonomous problem-solving behavior.

Step forward triple-loop learning. Now the question became “how do I learn?” as individuals fundamentally start questioning the rules themselves – anarchy is not the objective here, efficiency is. And that all begins with instilling in individuals the capacity to analyze the problem themselves, then coming up with the solution that best fits. But it is more than just about finding individual solutions, it is about changing the way in which the business operates and the way people think, which traditionally was an incredibly difficult thing to do, mostly due to employee resistance.

“This is the level of learning which results in maximum impact on behavior, and ultimately the bottom line of the business due to individuals’ aptitude to find the solutions which best fits the needs of the business. In quickly-adapting environments, that is incredibly valuable,” enthuses Kit Lansbury, an HR Manager at Essayroo and Revieweal.

The Peer Learning Group Model

As the title suggests, peer learning is an educational framework in which individuals interact and share knowledge in order to facilitate learning needs and objectives. For example, in a management context, a group of managers, perhaps from different backgrounds, would identify a problem that they have experienced and seek to solve that issue by sharing re levant experience in tackling similar challenges. From there a new strategy can be devised, with the group then practicing that strategy to see if it results in a better outcome.

Next the group must share how that strategy ultimately worked, and what they have learnt from the experience. This is a fundamentally new way of learning and empowers individuals to seek a new learning process, rather than simply accepting that which is prescribed to them, as in the double-loop learning approach. It is all about finding the strategy which works best for them, adapting and evolving it to suit their needs.”

In summary

Triple-loop learning and the Peer Learning Group Model are transforming the way people learn and also allowing businesses to change behavior in a way that facilitates success and continual improvement across industries. Typically these strategies are employed in fast-paced sectors such as tech, but there is no limit to where and when these interventions can be employed in order to seek organizational change and effective employee behaviors which foster success.

Wit triple-loop learning processes employees grow to see the bigger picture, and can understand the importance of change both at a micro and macro level in order to facilitate the direction in which the company needs to move in order to survive and thrive in the modern business landscape. It benefits individuals, who see the rewards in their professional development curve, and also the business too, and is the reason why it is now the accepted approach for a growing number of businesses.


Author Bio:

Specialist email marketer Aimee Laurence is also a major contributor to Adelaide Assignment Help and Eliteassignmenthelp.com. When she isn’t developing effecting marketing approaches, she turns her attention to the editing, and she also enjoys blogging on these topics at CV Writing.

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