Adaptability and responsiveness: The case for dynamic learning

Dynamic learning provides a way of expanding and making more robust the scope and impact of learning agendas. Regardless of the focus of current programs and efforts, five other states of learning can be considered. Often, recognizing the ongoing process of performance and building more linkages to other states of learning can enhance the effectiveness of any given program. Training programs that build skills to help people perform can be enhanced if they are combined with efforts to help people learn while they are performing. Action learning programs designed to help people learn while performing can be enhanced if they are linked to efforts to help them know how to learn from performance before they ever begin performing. And most importantly, those who are entering uncharted territory, where they do not know what needs to be learned, can be given tools to help them prepare for the ambiguity and learn very valuable lessons as they experiment and discover new knowledge, skills, and abilities. The framework of dynamic learning also has significant implications for research. To date, research has tended to be fragmented, focusing on specific stages of the performance process or specific types of environments. Dynamic learning provides a framework for integrating and leveraging this research. Dynamic learning extends the scope of a learning agenda by defining each stage in the process and how the stages can be linked together. Most importantly, it provides a way of focusing on the interactions and leverage possibilities across a wide range of learning opportunities. And, as we must respond and adjust in a world where less and less is predictable, we will need the tools and techniques for learning when we really do not know what we need to learn. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.