Work and Learning at the Boundaries of Knowledge

Societal changes, as well as changes in the nature of knowledge, mean that knowledge workers are increasingly asked to operate at the boundary of knowledge, or to source and use knowledge across different domains (Nardi et al., 2000), constantly learning as they perform their work role.

Examples include Software Engineering where technological innovation demands constant reconceptualization of knowledge, and Finance, where changing regulations and recent failures require new solutions and process innovation. Knowledge workers in such contexts must learn continually to maintain expertise. 

The Study

Work and Learning at the Boundaries of Knowledge (WLBK) is a GCU study examining the learning practices of knowledge workers.

This study aimed to surface, describe and systematise the strategies that knowledge workers use to self-regulate the learning they undertake to maintain expertise and support the generation of new knowledge.

The term self-regulation here refers to “self-generated thoughts, feelings and actions that are planned and cyclically adapted to the attainment of personal goals” (Zimmermann, 2005, p. 14).

The study examined how knowledge workers in organisations plan, implement and reflect upon their learning goals, analysing similarities and differences in the use of SRL strategies between learners who are positioned on different points on the spectrum of SRL skills.

In identifying the SRL activities and strategies used by the participants, we are specifically interested in finding out how individuals draw upon available resources, such as other people and technology, to plan and attain their learning goals, and what tools they use to do so.

Research Questions

The study was guided by the following key research questions:

1. How do professionals plan, implement, and reflect on their learning goals in the context of everyday work at the boundaries of knowledge?
2. How do individuals draw upon others (the collective) in self-regulating their learning?
3. How do professionals use technology to support their self-regulated learning?
4. What are the similarities and differences in a) the use of SRL strategies, b) strategies of drawing on the collective, and c) patterns of technology use between professionals who score high and those who score low on self-regulated learning measures?

This project was a partnership with the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment: CISI.

Charting Collective Knowledge

SRL MOOC