Kupers, W. (2008). Embodied “inter-learning” – an integral phenomenology of learning in and by organizations

Kupers, W. (2008).  Embodied “inter-learning” – an integral phenomenology of learning in and by organizations.  The Learning Organization, 15(5) , pp. 388 - 408.  Retrieved on June 5, 2010 from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/1190150503.pdf


Introduction
Globalisation has made apparent the need for continuous and connected learning to stay abreast of ongoing practice.  Gathering the knowledge required to maintain strong external links also initiates insight for forward thinking practice. Insight developed from archived artefacts has been widely recognised as a means for investigating adaptability and transformation.  Kupers suggests that one perspective is to view organisational learning as gestalt.


Investigations into gestalt unveils the relation the body plays in individual and collective learning.  Rational strategies are often unaccommodating of human behaviour.  Inclusive practice integrates mind and body, and offers an alternative.


A phenomenology of embodied learning
Phenomenology is the science of observation made popular in the 19th century.  Its foundation lies in an ecological balance of rational thought and embodied learning (e.g. living knowledge).  It proposes that all thought must first be lived in order to process knowledge.  Embodied learning is therefore the result of behavioural processes that facilitate individual meaning-making.  Tacit knowledge is the daily encounters an individual has that bring about holistic meaning.  The four categories that represent embodied learning are:

• experiential;
• presentational;
• propositional; and
• practical knowing.

Without embodiment, an individual is unable to communicate.  Paideia is the phenomenon that results in prior learning.  It facilitates in knowing why we behave the way we do.  Kinaesthetic learning addresses individual behavioural output in relation to social connections, artefacts and communities.

Learning as embodied responsive practice in organisations

Organisational literature has been critiqued for not applying the value of kinaesthesis as a link to learning and organisational practice.  The reconnection of cognitive capacity with corporeal presence.  Phenomenology can be used to view the re-integration of a learning body and mind.

Social connections are not based on the idea that individuals think about projected behaviour.  There is a link between what is done and what is felt.  A logical starting point is when the individual makes a choice between what can be done and what cannot.  This stage of learning precedes what is known, indicating a learning process that occurs between choice and acquiring knowledge.  Correspondingly, there is a strong connection to intention, context, and performance.  Individuals who embody knowledge are inclined to engage in active participation, where active participation encapsulates the study of organisational process and meaning-making.

Diversity in learning occurs as a result of differences in historical, cultural, and media exposure.  Specifically, it is how these aspects of an individual create patterns and ways of living that relate to context.  Praxis constitutes the embodied knowledge of individual and group that is enacted on a daily basis.  Transactive memory guides members to make community-centric decisions based on experience and learning.

An outline of an integral framework of learning

The domains of learning within a community focus on the individual (e.g. internal reality), group (e.g. competency, ability) and necessary external relations.  The design of organisational framework and culture enable multi-level learning.  All these components together rely on the other to sustain development, or delay progress.

Developmental level and lines within an integral cycle of learning

Psychological theory has identified stages of development in human growth (e.g. matter, body, mind, soul and spirit), and the capacity for awareness and complexity at each given stage.  Transformation from one stage to the next is defined by an increase in skill and performance, and each individual attains these stages according to need and environmental pressure.

Learning trajectories develop according to motivational needs that emerge from personal capability to transform.  Maturity leads to more responsible acceptance of function and role that benefits group and community.  While the strength of knowledge acquisition propels learning trajectories and ongoing developmental lines, weak areas become apparent and may hinder performance  or further learning.  For example, an individual may have attained a high cognitive stage of development, but have low to weak stages of development in self-verification processes.

Processional turn towards 'inter-learning'

In applying phenomenology to the sequence of organisational learning, dysfunction is identified and addressed as an outcome of kinaesthetic limitations.  This perspective indicates that learning occurs indiscriminately throughout the community, and self-configures.  Turning focus from activity to intention, phenomenology highlights the interaction between group members and the artefacts-in-use. Learning is based on experience that has been performed by the individual.  Each time an individual has cause to use artefacts and interact with other members is an opportunity to embed the activity.

Asynchronous communication creates a space between postings that identifies bifurcated lines of development.  On one hand, response to communication may be viewed as instructional or constructive, or it may be looked upon as a source of conflict (e.g. irritation or tension caused by missive).  It is a stage of development that embodies creativity and identity as individuals adapt and learn together.

Conclusion - implications and perspectives

Phenomenology has an integral approach to analysing and understanding coherent discourse in learning.  Embodied learning stabilises cognitive and behavioural methods of delivery.  As sentient beings, humans embed what they have learned by performing daily activities until it is an habitual and unconscious process.  Kupers proposes that inter-learning is the nexus for considered learning methods that add to, increase, or replace epistemic philosophy.

Dysfunction lies in tacit knowledge that accurately defines what has been learned and what is known.  Emotional interpretation of experience has a powerful effect on learning.  Power-relations within the community have causal links to micro-politics and resistance, and further investigation may reveal the correlation between conflict and the reality of learning.  Role models, or individuals of authority, may then be seen as unconscious instigators of tension as learning itself exposes change and the unresolved issues of transformational behaviour.

As phenomenology considers individuals in the first person singular, it is required that research extend to investigate the dimensions of plurality to re-frame the complexity of inter-learning.  A common language to interpret and analyse discourse suggests the need for an integral methodology.  Results emphasise the areas of weakness that improve with reflexion.  To bridge the link between cognition and embodiment of learning, adopting a gestalt perspective underscores the value of integrated practice.


Imagination Is Everything