Develop new knowledge and practical tools - paradigm shift in the delivery of workplace skills development to meta-skills development

我作为学生的广泛目标是开发新的知识和实用工具，使工作场所技能开发的交付模式转变为专注于元技能开发的元认知过程。我将调查基于工作/体验式学习者如何发展他们的元认知知识，学习他们的元认知经验，并自我调节他们的元认知发展；需要采取什么干预措施来促进和发展个人基于工作/体验式学习者的元技能；个人基于工作/体验式学习者的元技能的测量/评估/评估作为元技能成熟度的指标，以及它们对教育提供者、雇主和社区的潜在价值(和负担)，以确保所开发的方法在经济上是可行的。在他们为英国政府的展望未来技能和终身学习项目所做的评估中，Green等人(2016)确定了“向创新经济的转变，以及相应的技能和培训需求的增加，以确保英国经济在全球市场中具有竞争力和增长能力，正如欧洲新技能议程所述”。然而，尽管推动这一转变的技术和组织变革的步伐迅速加快，但目前和预计未来为企业和社会企业提供创新以获得经济成功和竞争优势的技能供应是有限的(Gunson&Thomas，2017)。为了解决发展中的劳动力市场的需求和适当技能工人的供应之间的差距，研究工作需要针对将提高劳动力未来就业能力的举措，以及设计促进工作场所学习的工作环境。元技能的发展已被确定为就业能力的重要预测因素(Finch等人，2016)，以及表现出反思型学习者/实践者所希望的属性的员工的标志(Saunia&Ukko，2015)。因此，以创造性的方式提供高层次认知策略来处理新信息的人，作为适应能力强、懂信息的员工来说很有吸引力，尤其是因为他们的元技能使他们能够积极地颠覆企业和社区，从而推动创新和生产力以获得经济效益。一个关键的辩论集中在元技能在多大程度上是可以通过经验增强的固有个人属性，而不是通过教育或培训培养的一套能力。例如，Mang，Brown和Paper(2017)认为元技能是不能“教”的。相比之下，Wiebe(2016)指出，有可能通过具体方案发展某些能力，例如信息素养。另一个问题涉及评估这种能力的手段。例如，Akturk和Sahin(2011)在对元认知研究方法的回顾中指出了设计反思能力评估工具的挑战。基于(A)元认知对研究者来说并不是直接可见的，(B)学习者并不总是有意识地意识到自己的元技能，这些作者还提出了关于特定研究方法是否适合于分析内部的、通常是无意识的行为的问题。因此，我将进行研究，以便(1)探索元技能的发展和衡量(包括创建可长期用于评估未来干预措施的元技能成熟度的工具)，以及(2)开发将元技能发展纳入正规教育和以工作为基础的/社区学习环境的新方法。

The broad aim of my studentship is to develop new knowledge and practical tools that will produce a paradigm shift in the delivery of workplace skills development to one that focuses on metacognitive processes for meta-skills development. I will investigate the means by which work-based/experiential learners develop their metacognitive knowledge, learn from their metacognitive experiences, and self-regulate their metacognitive development; The interventions required to prompt and develop meta-skills in individual work-based/experiential learners; The measurement/evaluation/assessment of the meta-skills of individual work-based/experiential learners as indicators of meta-skills 'maturity', and their potential value (and burden) for educational providers, employers and communities to ensure that the developed approach is economically feasible. In their review for the UK government's Foresight future of skills and lifelong learning project, Green et al, 2016) identify 'a shift to an innovation economy, with its corresponding increased skill and training needs, to ensure a competitive and growing UK economy in a global marketplace as set out in the New skills agenda for Europe'. However, while the pace of technological and organisational change that prompts this shift rapidly accelerates, the current and projected future supply of skills to deliver innovation in business and social enterprises for economic success and competitive advantage is limited (Gunson & Thomas, 2017). To address the gap between the demands of the developing labour market and the supply of suitably skilled workers, research efforts need to be directed towards initiatives that will improve the future employability of the labour force, as well as the design of work environments to promote workplace learning.The development of meta-skills has been identified as an important predictor of employability (Finch et al, 2016), and a marker of employees who exhibit the desirable attributes of reflective learners/practitioners (Saunila & Ukko, 2015). Individuals who offer high-order cognitive strategies for the processing of new information in creative ways are thus attractive as adaptable, information literate employees, not least because their meta-skills enable them to positively disrupt enterprises and communities, and thus drive innovation and productivity for economic benefit.A key debate centres on the extent to which meta-skills are inherent personal attributes that may be enhanced by experience, rather than a set of competences developed through education or training. For example Mang, Brown and Paper (2017) argue that meta-skills cannot be 'taught'. In contrast Wiebe (2016) identifies that it is possible to develop certain competences, such as information literacy, through specific programmes. A further issue relates to the means by which such competencies are evaluated. For example, in their review of metacognitive research methods, Akturk and Sahin (2011) identify the challenges of designing tools for the assessment of reflective competencies. On the basis that (a) metacognition is not directly visible to researchers and (b) learners are not always consciously aware of their own meta-skills, these authors also raise questions about the suitability of particular research methods for the analysis of internal, and often unconscious, behaviours. I will thus be conducting research in order to (1) explore the development, and measurement of meta-skills (including the creation of tools to measure meta-skill maturity that can be used in the long-term for the evaluation of future interventions), and (2) develop novel approaches for the incorporation of meta-skills development into formal education and work-based/community learning settings.