Are academic credentials broken?

(This article is part 2 of "Unlearn" - a series about Professional Learning & Development in the Future of Work by?Curieous. See part 1 "Is curriculum broken in the future of work?" here)

Kind vs wicked learning environment

Learning is easy and straightforward if there is a close well-defined link between applied action and results. There is a close link if the setting for learning is the same as the one faced when a learner applies his or her learning into solving a problem.?

Unfortunately, learning is hard because the environment for application, making decisions, or solving problems is often unique, complex, and very different from the learning environment most people acquire their knowledge and skills.?

This learning problem is placed in a useful framework by one of the most eminent professors in decision science, Robin Hogarth in the paper, “The Two Settings of Kind and Wicked Learning Environments”. See demonstration below:

The two-settings framework: six ways in which the elements of information in the learning setting (L) and the target setting (T ) where learning is applied

Are academic credentials broken?

In the context of modern professional learning and development, we are most likely to see case E and F above.? This is why experience has been proven to be a terrible predictor of success or performance of a new hire. Academic credentials even from prestigious institution can’t predict performance or success either, hence Google, Apple, and a dozen of Fortune 500 companies have ditched college degree requirements for their hiring process.?

The great mismatch

There is a clear mismatch between how we learn (with standardized curriculum, in kind learning environment), and how we apply our knowledge or skills (in wicked learning environment) as demonstrated below:

Standardized curriculum is still great for learning procedural skills and knowledge. But we all know that pure procedural skills are guaranteed to be replaced or beaten by automation. It's already happening at scale at great speed!

Follow Curieous for more on-the-job learning and development.