2016 Annual Conference

Archeologists have developed an image of life in Neolithic Ireland. Groups of 3-5 families lived communally, cultivated fields and raised livestock. These communities learned to survive harsh conditions without written language. Social network theories have been applied to these communities and can apply to workgroup design to support situated learning.

The target audience is any person working in organizations that can impact the structure of self-directed work groups or communities of practice. This includes administrators, HR managers or workplace trainers. Since most workplace learning is informal, the structure of organizations can do much to facilitate or hinder that learning. Conversations need to take place between those responsible for workplace learning and those that set the structure to the organizations.

The session will begin with a description of life in Neolithic Ireland. The structure of society at the time mirrors some flattened organizational structures today. Key parts of this discussion will focus on factors that relate to informal learning. Second, I will review some of the literature that discusses social group sizes. Much of this literature has not been applied to adult education yet so this is an emerging topic in our field. Finally, I will review some literature (ranging back to the 1950s up to today) that shows that larger work groups require more "direct supervision." The conclusion will show that self-directed work groups need to be small enough that they do not form factions, cliques, or subgroups.