Design Knowledge on Work-Process-Integrated Microlearnings

Abstract

Purpose: Work-process-integrated learning is of central importance for the training and education of employees. Although it has always been a primary task of every company, the increasing digitalization and automation of manufacturing processes are placing new demands on employees' skills and knowledge. These intense dynamics are changing about one-third of all manufacturing jobs to such an extent that employees need to be educated and trained to continue participating in the labor market. Existing research is responding to these challenges with an increasing emphasis on the importance of work-process-integrated learning to provide employees with the necessary expertise while they work. Although new concepts such as microlearning offer possibilities to facilitate learning in the work process, developing such learning materials still poses a challenge for employees. The rapid changes associated with automation and digitization require frequent and rapid adaptation of learning materials to be used effectively in everyday work, which requires the direct involvement of production employees. Against this background, information technology (IT)-supported co-creation systems can support employees in developing high-quality learning materials. However, when integrating such systems into the work process, challenges arise in supporting employees while creating learning materials. However, these learning materials can be used not only in training and further education, but also in university teaching to support self-directed learning processes. The goal of developing design knowledge for the development of learning applications that enable work-process-integrated design and use of learning materials through co-creation was accompanied by several scientific challenges, which this dissertation addresses: 1) Ambiguous research findings exist regarding the development of co-creation systems that can support microlearning development in the work process. 2) Although a body of research exists for the design of such systems, it does not focus on their use in the work process or for use in general vocational education and training (VET). 3) In addition, the design of video-based interactive microlearning for the use in other contexts like higher education and VET is challenging because there are missing design guidelines which could support instructional co-creators. 3) There are unclear research results regarding the personal effects of co-creation processes on the co-creators and learners involved.

Methodology: As a consequence, this dissertation addresses the above research challenges. It aims to enable the development of effective work-process-integrated learning and development applications that take into account the challenges of learning on the job, promote the development of new skills and knowledge in the creation process, and enable the development of high-quality microlearning. To achieve this goal, I conduct a systematic literature review to develop a theoretical model that identifies the different influencing contextual factors in work-processintegrated learning. Based on this, the following design-oriented approach focuses on developing a co-creation system, which considers these factors and enables the development of work-process-integrated learning material. In doing so, the system is designed and implemented within three evaluation cycles to allow the development of microlearning in the production of a healthcare supplier. Since the system users are constantly distracted by the work process, the system is evaluated directly in production in China and Germany and a vocational school using a mixed-method approach based on the Cognitive Load Theory. To facilitate work-process-integrated learning, I develop a 360-degree learning module in the context of another design science research approach, which enables the integration of microlearnings into a virtual learning environment. For this purpose, the iterative development of the module was continuously evaluated in a three-part workshop series using interviews, video analyses, and concept maps. To discuss the development of microlearning in a university context in more depth, a pattern-based development process is created within the framework of a design science research approach to enable the development of interactive learning videos. The usefulness of the process is demonstrated in a two-step iterative design approach using focus group workshops and pre-post experiments. To investigate the effects of the IT-supported co-creation process in more depth, the concept maps developed during the evaluation of the cocreation system are examined for their semantic weight and density to obtain changes in the knowledge elicitation and elaboration skills of the co-creators involved.

Findings: This dissertation has five major core outcomes, among others. First, this dissertation shows how context factors can influence co-creation processes for workprocess-integrated learning. In doing so, it highlights a framework that explains value generation in context-sensitive learning service systems. Second, this dissertation presents findings on the design of co-creation systems for microlearning development considering the circumstances of work-process-integrated learning in manufacturing companies. Due to the environmental high basic cognitive load, the importance of a systematic development process of microlearnings is emphasized to support employees in designing high-quality learning materials. Third, the dissertation provides guidelines to situationally integrate microlearning in a 360-degree virtual learning environment. By deriving requirements from theory and practice and translating them into design elements, a positive effect on the learning process could be demonstrated, thus showing the suitability of this approach for use in workprocess-integrated learning. Fourth, this dissertation demonstrates that microlearning can also have a positive impact on student learning outcomes in a higher education context. For this purpose, the developed process model with integrated design patterns offers a structured way how interactive learning videos can be developed as a kind of microlearning in order to support learning video developers during the development as well as students during the use of the interactive learning videos. Finally, the evaluations reveal that the co-creation processes and systems developed in this dissertation positively influence the co-creators' knowledge elicitation and elaboration skills.

Theoretical Contribution: Related to these five core results, this dissertation has four contributions to theory. The first contribution presents a categorization of contextual factors for the individualization of learning applications. Thus, an understanding of the impact of context-sensitive learning services on learning processes in work-process-integrated learning is given. The second theoretical contribution relates to a design research approach and a corresponding theory of design and action. Thereby, well-known guidelines for the instructional design of learning applications are extended to the domain of the co-creation of learning materials in work-process-integrated learning. Building on the results of studies 2 and 3, design guidelines are presented that provide concrete solutions for addressing the cognitive load in work processes to promote situational learning. At the same time, the results show that existing guidelines for instructional design face the challenges in complex learning environments, such as in work-process-integrated learning, based on the environmental cognitive load of work processes. Third, this dissertation demonstrates design knowledge for a design-oriented process for developing interactive microlearning videos, which is supported and enriched using design patterns. As a final contribution, the results indicate a positive effect on employees' knowledge elicitation skills in the co-creation process and a general increase of knowledge elaboration of expert knowledge.

Practical Contribution: This dissertation makes four main contributions from a practical perspective. First, the developed model shows different ways of considering contextual factors in professional learning processes and services and thus provides a starting point for explaining the influence of these factors on value co-creation. At the same time, the relevant contextual factors presented provide an overview for practitioners on which contextual factors they should consider in work-processintegrated learning to individualize learning processes. Second, this dissertation offers detailed insights into the design of co-creation systems and corresponding learning systems that have been adapted to the realities of learning during work to enrich existing learning environments and enhance learning outcomes. This includes the provision of starting points that show how the integration of such systems into the work process of employees can succeed without cognitively overloading them. Furthermore, the thesis shows how learning materials developed through co-creation can be integrated into everyday work, e.g., through virtual learning environments, to promote and facilitate work-process-integrated learning. Third, this dissertation demonstrates a concrete design process for microlearning in a higher education context. By adding design patterns, the process enables the development of highquality interactive learning videos. Fourth, this dissertation shows VET professionals that co-creation systems that are systematically adapted to work processes positively affect the learning process of the employees involved. This positive effect supports providers of such systems in integrating co-creation systems into practice, which aims to integrate employees into learning processes during work.

Outlook: This dissertation offers several directions for future research. First, the theories developed around cognitive load in work-process-integrated learning should be specified in more detail. While the presented design principles offer a starting point for the development of a concrete instructional design for work-process-integrated learning, there is a lack of guidelines for designing learning environments characterized by a high inherent cognitive load. On the other hand, this issue should be addressed by looking at different contextual factors in detail, as a fuller consideration of these factors can create an individualizable learning experience that is even more adaptable to the work context of employees as well as the learning process of students. Furthermore, using new technologies such as conversational agents could promote the development of more complex microlearning in the work process, by considering the employees' cognitive abilities.