Importance of Metacognition for Employee Training
Importance of Metacognition for Employee Training
In the context of modern workplace learning it is imperative to have an innovative learning management system wherein the thought leaders also must evolve themselves according to the changing needs of the learners. It is, in such situations, that the idea of metacognition becomes necessary.
Chris Craddock, in his article, wonderfully, describes the idea of metacognition as a process of improving the interpersonal skills of the leaders of the organization. Now if we consider it in the spectrum of online learning this skill becomes all the more necessary.
Metacognition in Online Training
If we look at the works of Munby, Versnel, Hutchinson, Chin, & Berg (2003) we will observe the importance of strategic leadership in the formation of several learning routines which are sensitive enough to understand the altering needs of the learners.
Now this becomes very vital when it comes to the matter of online learning. The lack of physical presence of both the trainer and the learners make it essential that the training modules are sensitive enough to accommodate the changing lifestyle and habits of the learners.
Assessing Changing Needs During the Pandemic
Craddock, in his article, stresses on the importance of emotional intelligence of the online teachers and their overall scope of adaptability when it comes to teaching to a large number of learners.
Due to the recent pandemic and the overstretched lockdowns the employees are mostly stuck at home, alienated from the normal life they used to lead before. That is why it is not surprising that their learning needs ( along with their consumption habits) have changed by a great deal. In these circumstances, innovative thought leadership becomes so important.
The idea of metacognition evokes the need of assessing the changing requirements of the employees (in this case learners) in advance. So, as we go further into the pandemic it is vital that the organisational leaders take into account the emotional stress and anxiety that the online learners are facing.
Including the Learners in the Process
It is vital here to understand that the idea of metacognition is not a one way process. It definitely involves the learners as well. It is more of a cyclic and agile system wherein the learners, teachers, and the thought leaders should work together.
The process starts with the acknowledgement of the importance of metacognition. Until and unless the organisational leaders feel the need of metacognition nothing spectacular is expected to take place. Then in the next level the learners should be provided with practical metacognition practices to give enough inputs for the trainers to design their respective course curriculum. So, this is more of a learner centric process than the traditional workplace training.
Metacognition for Remote Workers
Now as we have already established the importance of learner inclusion in the context it becomes more relevant when we consider the remote workers of the industry.
The current global pandemic has forced many people to seek remote working routines and that has brought in a massive change in their learning habits. The employees who regularly visited work are now being forced to stay within the confinement of their homes.
In such situations it is vital that the organisations also consider the mental stress that their employees are currently experiencing. Based on such assumptions and constant employee feedback, the online training modules should be designed.
So, taking an overview of the issue we can certainly claim that metacognition is necessary when we are dealing with rapidly changing lifestyles of the employees of the organisation. It becomes all the more poignant since remote working and distance learning practices are more prevalent under the current situation. The pandemic has certainly impacted the overall mental well-being of the global employees and for that reason the thought leaders of the organisations should be more sensitive whilst designing the training and development programs.
Reference
https://projectionsinc.com/abetterleader/leadership-metacognition/
Munby, H., Versnel, J., Hutchinson, N.L., Chin, P. and Berg, D.H. (2003), "Workplace learning and the metacognitive functions of routines", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 94-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620310468432