Learningful work: Learning to work and learning to learn

Abstract

Victoria University, like many other educational institutions, has recently nominated workplace learning as an essential feature of all its courses. As a contribution to the framing of this shift in an educationally responsible way, this article explores the question: How can tertiary education organisations design on-campus work-based experience programs that support students to learn to become a new kind of learner, learners able to engage with a world of change, complexity and contingency? The article comprises two main sections, commencing with a contextualising overview of current thinking in the field of workplace learning theory and research and proceeding into the description and documentation of a new student mentoring program at Victoria University – the Student Rover program – where more experienced students support other students in learning to learn. Drawing on excerpts taken from reflective ‘end of shift’ reports written by student rovers themselves, the article points to the possibility of finding a balance in work-based learning in which students can be accountable to both learning to work and learning a new kind of learning.

Keywords:

• workplace learning
• practical judgement
• situated knowledge
• adult learning
• mentoring
• student volunteers