Simons, P.R.J., & Ruijters, M.P.C (2008). Varieties of work related learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 47, 241-251.

Based on 30 interviews with and observations of professionals, 5 prototypical metaphors of learning are described and related to existing theories about learning. Two of the metaphors were previously described by Sfard: the acquisition and participation metaphors. As well, three new metaphors were found: the discovery metaphor, the apperception metaphor and the exercising metaphor. In an initial study, a newly devised questionnaire was tested with 713 elementary teachers, 92 principals and 33 support people. The five learning metaphors could be distinguished and proved to be reliable, although improvements were necessary. The correlations between the scales were as expected. Meaningful relations were found with the variables of the educational system, age, experience and educational level. In a second study, a revised questionnaire was tested with 556 professionals from 12 different organisations. The five learning metaphors proved to be more reliable than in the first study. The correlations between the scales were in line with expected patterns of correlations: implicit, explicit and social preferences correlated more with each other than with the other preferences. The expected differences between organisations, professions and groups were apparent and could be interpreted meaningfully. The discussion describes the practical use of the metaphors and suggestions for further research.

Self-study questions

Question 1

In the article you can read about five metaphors of learning. Which of the metaphors describes best of how you prefer to learn in work-related settings? Include in your answer a concrete example of how you applied this way of learning in the past. What is according to you the value of these learning metaphors for the HRD practice? In other words: how could an HRD-professional use this theory in order to support employees’ learning and development?

Question 2

If you want to become a teacher for upper secondary education in The Netherlands, you first have to obtain your Master’s degree in a specific subject, such as Mathematics or French language. After that, students have to follow a one-year post-graduate teacher education programme in order to learn how to teach this subject to adolescents at secondary school. During this teacher education programme – as how they are designed now - students learn at the university as well as in a secondary school from practice. Imagine that you are in charge of designing a teacher education programme that consists of five tracks, each based on one of the five learning metaphors. Describe what the key features would be for each of these tracks.

Question 3

If you have never been working yet or done any internships, think of other outside-school-settings, such as during hobbies, sports, music, or other situations in which learning is not prescribed, or choose to write down what you think that you preference would be.