Why Action Learning Groups?
An Action Learning Group, as the name suggests, links actions with learning - allowing participants to actively test out new learning
in the group and outside the group, back in their respective organisations.
We chose an "Action Learning Group" approach for the pilot of EtD for two reasons:
Firstly we thought we would get a better "model" to describe our outcomes if we worked collectively through action learning, rather than through more traditional research methods. We wanted to build a model around the existing work of organisations, starting from the ground up. We wanted participants to shape the model, based on their experiences and their understanding of "what explanations would work" in the contexts in which they worked.
Secondly we wanted individuals to learn from the process of developing the model and for their organisations to benefit as a result.
Action Learning Groups are effective routes for learning for the following reasons:
Focus on practice - this way of working focuses on the issues and solutions that participants bring to the table and enables them to plan and develop organisational practice.
Peer support - it's useful to test out ideas, methods and actions among your peers and have them challenged, supported and refined within the group. The Action Learning Group provides a supportive structure to work collaboratively. The learning is contextualised for participants as it centres on their own work and life experiences.
Confidence building - the Action Learning Group supports the development of confidence of participants.
Leadership - at different times, different participants can take on leadership roles.
How we set up an Action Learning Group for EtD
Involvement in the Group required a real time commitment, not just to attend the meetings but also to do the required homework. We needed to ensure that participants would have the time and the motivation to attend. As part of the recruitment process we considered the skills, knowledge and experience that we wanted participants to bring with them.
We carefully thought through why we wanted to run such a Group. We intended it to be about personal development, collective understanding and organisational change, so it was important to decide the level at which we wanted to pitch the learning. We recruited people for our Action Learning Group who represented a range of organisations and who had the authority and power to make organisational changes.
Ideal numbers for an Action Learning Group are between 5 and 10 participants and for the pilot of EtD we recruited 6 participants through our learning community network of adult learning organisations. We highlighted the key benefits* of using EtD to evidence outcomes and impact:
- Peer support to develop real actions and fun and enjoyment in the process
- Increased ability to provide your own evidence against National Outcomes
- Be seen as an innovative champion of evaluation
- An opportunity to bring your own evaluation needs to the table and find solutions
- Develop your own systems and processes
- Be better prepared to engage with Single Outcome Agreements
- Be able to measure the quality and impacts of your own work
- Gain valuable experience of developing a new model
- Build sustainability through being able to convince funders of your impact
- Increased skills, understanding and confidence
The Action Learning Group came together for 6 group sessions. In between the sessions, participants undertook individual work and also had a one to one support session. As a result, learning happened at two levels, the collective and the organisational; with each feeding into the other.
- The collective model was drawn from the work of individual organisations.
- Participants were asked to check the model with their colleagues and others, to make sure it captured what was important to them.
- Participants were also asked to develop models, indicators and methods for their own organisations. This gave us some good case studies, but more importantly, it allowed individuals to "take the learning home".
We had opportunities to disseminate the work, with a reference group and at Learning Link Scotland's national conference. This proved invaluable, assisting participants to improve how we evidenced the outcomes and impact of our work.