Small children ask questions: How? Why? What? Where? Who? And
question When? Children are generally encouraged to answer their
own questions by experiencing something for themselves. This
approach tends to give way to learning from theory and existing
knowledge. It is usually some time before people are considered
sufficiently well programmed with available information to start
asking questions again which will lead them to find their own
solutions to unsolved problems. Revans recognised that both modes
of learning were important, and that something happened when the
two were combined. He expressed this as follows:
L = P + Q
P = programmed knowledge (eg theory), which is an essential
ingredient of learning, but insufficient on its own.
Q = questioning insight. Concepts and theories are important but
in action learning the emphasis is on applying them. Q for Revans
is the questions that need to be asked and the experience which is
waiting to be acquired. The ability to ask the right questions at
the right time and take action is at the heart of action
learning.
By focusing on the right questions rather than the right
answers, Action learning focuses on what you do not know rather
than what you do know.
It does this by :
- Asking questions to clarify the exact nature of the
problem
- Identifying possible solutions
- Taking action
Action learning is not just about learning by doing: you need to
reflect on that experience in order to identify exactly what it is
you have learned, internalise the lessons and pragmatically devise
action plans so that you can take effective action in the future in
a new and different situation.