Work-based learning represents a novel approach to meeting labor force needs in health care as well as in other fields. It harnesses the untapped potential for instruction and skill development inherent in the job itself, using job tasks and responsibilities to teach both clinical and academic skills. And it changes the way instruction is delivered, with the goal of making it more effective for and accessible to workers and more efficient for employers.
In Jobs to Careers, the promise of work-based learning is to improve employee performance and, ultimately, the quality of care by enhancing the ability of frontline workers to apply the content knowledge inherent in tending to patient and client needs. Better-skilled, better-educated caregivers commit fewer errors and understand why they carry out certain tasks, not just how to do them. Instead of learning from informal instruction by peers, supplemented by occasional “in service” sessions on required topics, employees learn through formal, competency-based instruction based on real job responsibilities. When tied to career advancement and educational opportunities, work-based learning has the potential to turn dead-end jobs into career opportunities, thereby improving morale and commitment and reducing turnover and disruptions in caregiving.
Work-based learning offers improvements on traditional, classroom-focused learning in the following areas:
Work-based learning differs from traditional instruction in its methods for promoting learning and its theories about the learning process. Work-based learning supplements—but does not replace—traditional classroom learning and experience-based teaching methods, such as on-the-job training, internships or apprenticeships.
Work-based learning draws on a rich tradition of educational theory and practice, including John Dewey’s insights about the importance of learning from experience and practice and later educators’ understanding about the distinctive ways that adults learn. Adults, in particular, learn best when acquiring knowledge they can use—through projects and other collective activities. As self-motivated learners, their need is less for traditional teachers, who transmit content, than for facilitators, who guide the learning process for both individuals and teams.
Work-based learning is particularly effective for frontline health workers. They tend to earn low wages and are in some cases the sole wage earners for their families; paying college tuition or attending college classes outside of work hours can present significant challenges. Work-based learning also benefits nontraditional learners who may be less successful with traditional classroom modes of learning, due to low levels of formal education, limited English proficiency, negative experiences with school, or long gaps in educational experience.
Philadelphia Project: How work-based learning achieves better results
In this video, Cheryl Feldman, 1199C Training & Upgrading Fund, explains why work-based learning and other project innovations have improved education and career outcomes for frontline behavioral health workers:
Work-based learning has the potential to benefit a wide variety of stakeholders in our nation's health care system: