Action Reflection Learning
Encyclopedia
Action Reflection Learning is a learning methodology originated in Sweden in the late 1970s, and refined by the MiL Institute in that country and by LIM, Leadership in International Management, in the USA. It brings together a number of disciplines, such as adult learning, action learning
, behavioral and humanistic psychology
, Gestalt theory
, cybernetics
, sociology
, group dynamics
and philosophy
. Different theories and concepts from these heterogeneous disciplines are combined into 10 learning principles and 16 learning elements.
, began to question the approach and method used in management training. They formed a group with a number of managers, consultants and professionals in the HR arena working in Swedish organizations and created a movement protesting the current management development practices at the University of Lund. Out of this movement was created the MiL Institute.
At that time management training was focused on teaching concepts, techniques and theories, and the preferred method was lectures and classroom courses. As Lennart Rohlin, President of the MiL Institute explains it, “Our ambition was to put leadership (instead of merely management) and learning (instead of teaching) in the forefront". The group focused on what was taught to executives as well as on the best process to teach the new contents.
They observed that corporations needed leaders more than just managers to address the changing demands of their business context. They realized that the understanding of what it is like to work with people, not merely with processes, equipment and systems was missing from the development programs. The group reflected on what contents had to be learned, observing that it was more important to develop new behaviours and attitudes than teach facts and theories.
At the same time, they realized that developing new behaviors required that they review their values and assumptions underlying current leadership practices, assessing contradictions and addressing dilemmas: Is leadership based on authority or influence? Should we promote control or empowerment? Should majority rule or consensus be used for making decisions?
While identifying and analyzing the new competencies they thought should be learned, they realized that it required individuals to learn how to act differently, how to behave, to think differently, something for which the classical teaching model was simply inadequate. This avant-garde group came up with a different way to foster learning. They brought together groups of managers to work on real, organizationally significant projects, using the experience thus gained as the vehicles for developing new behaviours and mindsets. Attracted by this innovative approach, strategic partners like Ashridge Management College, London Business School
, INSEAD
and IMEDE (now IMD) joined MiL in the initiative.
The new model aimed at developing value-based leadership which transformed managers into strategic ‘actors’ (leaders) who could generate their own theories of leadership through individual and group reflection.
The "MiL Model" was based on the action learning approach developed by Reg Revans
in the '40s, where a group of people meet periodically to solve problems related to work. Each individual brings his own problem and the group members ask questions that help the individual to find his own answers.
1) the role of a project team advisor (later called “learning coach”), which Revans advised against;
2) the use of team projects rather than individual challenges; and
3) the duration of the sessions, which is more flexible in ARL designs.
The MiL Model evolved organically as practitioners responded to diverse needs and restrictions. In an experiential learning mode, MiL practitioners varied the number and duration of the sessions, the type of project selected, the role of the learning coach and the style of his/her interventions. By the mid '80's, this approach was called Action Reflection Learning.
“Learning is optimal when the focus of the learning is owned by, relevant to, and important and timely for, the individual.”
Principle # 2 Tacit Knowledge
“Knowledge exists within individuals in implicit, often unaware forms; it is frequently under-or not fully utilized and can be accessed through guided introspection.”
Principle # 3: Reflection
“The process of being able to thoughtfully reflect upon experience is an essential part of the learning process, which can enable greater meaning and learning to be derived from a given situation”.
Principle # 4: Uncovering, adapting and building new maps and mental models
“The most significant learning occurs when individuals are able to shift the perspective by which they habitually view the world, leading to greater understanding (of the world and of the other), self-awareness and intelligent action.”
Principle # 5: Social Learning
“Social interaction generates learning”.
Principle # 6: Integration
“People are a combination of mind, body, feelings and emotions, and respond best when all aspects of their being are considered, engaged, and valued.”
Principle # 7: Self-Awareness
“Building self-awareness through helping people understand the relation between what they feel, think, and act, and their impact on others, is a crucial step to greater personal and professional competence.”
Principle # 8: Repetition and Reinforcement
“Practice brings mastery and positive reinforcement increases the assimilation.”
Principle # 9: Facilitated learning
“A specific role exists for an expert in teaching and learning methods and techniques which can help individuals and groups best learn.”
Principle # 10: Systemic understanding and practice
“We live in a complex, interconnected, co-created world, and, in order to better understand and tackle individual and organizational issues, we have to take into account the different systems and contexts which mutually influence one another and effect these issues.”
Action learning
Action learning is an educational process whereby the participant studies their own actions and experience in order to improve performance. Learners acquire knowledge through actual actions and repetitions, rather than through traditional instruction....
, behavioral and humanistic psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Gestalt theory
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
, cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, group dynamics
Group dynamics
Group dynamics refers to a system of behaviors and psychological processes that occur within a social group , or between social groups...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. Different theories and concepts from these heterogeneous disciplines are combined into 10 learning principles and 16 learning elements.
The Origins of ARL
In the late 1970s, a group of academics from the University of Lund, SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, began to question the approach and method used in management training. They formed a group with a number of managers, consultants and professionals in the HR arena working in Swedish organizations and created a movement protesting the current management development practices at the University of Lund. Out of this movement was created the MiL Institute.
At that time management training was focused on teaching concepts, techniques and theories, and the preferred method was lectures and classroom courses. As Lennart Rohlin, President of the MiL Institute explains it, “Our ambition was to put leadership (instead of merely management) and learning (instead of teaching) in the forefront". The group focused on what was taught to executives as well as on the best process to teach the new contents.
They observed that corporations needed leaders more than just managers to address the changing demands of their business context. They realized that the understanding of what it is like to work with people, not merely with processes, equipment and systems was missing from the development programs. The group reflected on what contents had to be learned, observing that it was more important to develop new behaviours and attitudes than teach facts and theories.
At the same time, they realized that developing new behaviors required that they review their values and assumptions underlying current leadership practices, assessing contradictions and addressing dilemmas: Is leadership based on authority or influence? Should we promote control or empowerment? Should majority rule or consensus be used for making decisions?
While identifying and analyzing the new competencies they thought should be learned, they realized that it required individuals to learn how to act differently, how to behave, to think differently, something for which the classical teaching model was simply inadequate. This avant-garde group came up with a different way to foster learning. They brought together groups of managers to work on real, organizationally significant projects, using the experience thus gained as the vehicles for developing new behaviours and mindsets. Attracted by this innovative approach, strategic partners like Ashridge Management College, London Business School
London Business School
London Business School is an international business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located in central London, beside Regent's Park...
, INSEAD
INSEAD
INSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
and IMEDE (now IMD) joined MiL in the initiative.
The new model aimed at developing value-based leadership which transformed managers into strategic ‘actors’ (leaders) who could generate their own theories of leadership through individual and group reflection.
The "MiL Model" was based on the action learning approach developed by Reg Revans
Reg Revans
Reginald "Reg" William Revans was an academic professor, administrator and management consultant who pioneered the use of Action learning. He was also a long jumper who represented Britain at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam where he finished 32nd in the long jump event...
in the '40s, where a group of people meet periodically to solve problems related to work. Each individual brings his own problem and the group members ask questions that help the individual to find his own answers.
Differences between action learning and the MiL Model
The main differences between Revans’ approach to action learning and the ‘MiL Model’ in the ‘80s were:1) the role of a project team advisor (later called “learning coach”), which Revans advised against;
2) the use of team projects rather than individual challenges; and
3) the duration of the sessions, which is more flexible in ARL designs.
The MiL Model evolved organically as practitioners responded to diverse needs and restrictions. In an experiential learning mode, MiL practitioners varied the number and duration of the sessions, the type of project selected, the role of the learning coach and the style of his/her interventions. By the mid '80's, this approach was called Action Reflection Learning.
ARL: A learning methodology
ARL evolved organically through the choices and savvy intuitions of practitioners, who informally exchanged their experiences with each other. It became a somewhat shared practice, which incorporated elements of design and intervention that the practitioners adopted because of their efficacy. In 2004, Rimanoczy researched and coded the ARL methodology, identifying 16 elements and 10 underlying principles.The Sixteen Elements of ARL
- Taking ownership for one’s learning
- Just in Time intervention
- Linking
- Balance Task/Learning
- Guided Reflection
- Feedback
- Unfamiliar Environments
- Exchange of Learnings
- Appreciative Approach
- Safe environments
- Holistic involvement of the individual
- Learning and Personality Styles
- Coaching one on one
- Sequenced Learning
- Learning coach
- Five System Levels
The Ten Learning Principles
Principle # 1: Relevance“Learning is optimal when the focus of the learning is owned by, relevant to, and important and timely for, the individual.”
Principle # 2 Tacit Knowledge
“Knowledge exists within individuals in implicit, often unaware forms; it is frequently under-or not fully utilized and can be accessed through guided introspection.”
Principle # 3: Reflection
“The process of being able to thoughtfully reflect upon experience is an essential part of the learning process, which can enable greater meaning and learning to be derived from a given situation”.
Principle # 4: Uncovering, adapting and building new maps and mental models
“The most significant learning occurs when individuals are able to shift the perspective by which they habitually view the world, leading to greater understanding (of the world and of the other), self-awareness and intelligent action.”
Principle # 5: Social Learning
“Social interaction generates learning”.
Principle # 6: Integration
“People are a combination of mind, body, feelings and emotions, and respond best when all aspects of their being are considered, engaged, and valued.”
Principle # 7: Self-Awareness
“Building self-awareness through helping people understand the relation between what they feel, think, and act, and their impact on others, is a crucial step to greater personal and professional competence.”
Principle # 8: Repetition and Reinforcement
“Practice brings mastery and positive reinforcement increases the assimilation.”
Principle # 9: Facilitated learning
“A specific role exists for an expert in teaching and learning methods and techniques which can help individuals and groups best learn.”
Principle # 10: Systemic understanding and practice
“We live in a complex, interconnected, co-created world, and, in order to better understand and tackle individual and organizational issues, we have to take into account the different systems and contexts which mutually influence one another and effect these issues.”
External links
- Action Reflection Learning: http://www.actionreflectionlearning.com
- International Foundation for Action Learning - USA: http://www.ifal-usa.org
- International Foundation for Action Learning: http://www.ifal.org.uk
- The MiL Institute: http://www.milinstitute.se/pub/home.php
- LIM Leadership in International Management: http://www.LIMglobal.net