Browsing by Subject "muutoslaboratorio"

Objectives: The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health has developed a method of Change Workshop to promote occupational well-being in organizations. Change Workshop is based on the activity theory and developmental work research methodology. The aim of this study was to analyse the emergence of an expansive learning cycle in the Change Workshop and to ascertain what share interventionists and participants have in the learning process. The second objective was to analyse the developmental cycle of one developmental project called "Annual Clock" during the different phases of the Change Workshop. The Annual Clock was developed as a tool to distribute work load among persons in different Services. Methods: The research data was from a Change Workshop conducted for the Finnish Forest Centre during 2012-2013. The Change Workshop consisted of five sessions each lasting about three hours and which were attended by 12-25 persons and 2-3 interventionists. The Change Workshop sessions were videotaped and audio-recorded. Transcriptions were made from video and audio recordings. There were a total of 1,190 speaking turns. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the transcriptions. Since the first objective of the study was to examine the emergence of an expansive learning cycle (questioning, historical- and actual - empirical analysis, modelling, examination of the new model, implementation of the new model, reflection on the process and consolidating the new practice), so these formed part of the coding. This was supplemented by some additional codes based on the data: non-expansive learning, organizational issue, Change Workshop method and off-topic or non-related issue. Each speaking turn was first analysed to ascertain if it could represent any phase of the expansive learning cycle. If this was the case, a closer analysis was made to decide which phase in the expansive learning cycle. Quite a number of speaking turns were classified into several classes of expansive learning cycle, e.g. including elements of questioning, the prevailing situation, analysing the actual empirical situation and modelling. If the speaking turn did not indicate any traces of expansive learning, it was coded under the other headings: non-expansive learning, organizational issue, Change Workshop method or off topic (non-related) issue, and only in one of these headings. Since one speaking turn could be coded under several subcategories of expansive learning actions, the number of discursive elements was 1,378. In addition, a distinction in coding was made between interventionists and participants (except for the off-topic). For the analysis of the developmental cycle of the Annual Clock, a separate table was constructed by collecting all the speaking turns including the word "Annual Clock" and all such disturbances expressed in which the Annual Clock provided a solution. Results and conclusions: Expansive learning comprised 52% of the discursive elements. The learning process proceeded mainly according to the expansive learning cycle, but some of the learning actions, such as questioning, historical, actual-empirical and modelling, appeared throughout the Change Workshop process. The consolidating phase was not discovered during the Change Workshop, but was discussed in an evaluation meeting of the Change Workshop process two months later. The share of participants in discursive elements was 60% and the share of interventionists 37%. In the expansive learning category, the share of discursive elements by the participants was 81% and the share of interventionist was 19%. The Annual Clock as a germ cell appeared already during the first Change Workshop meeting, but it was mentioned not at all in the assignment for the second Change Workshop meeting, whereas afterwards the Annual Clock was again appearing in the discussions and the development of the idea continued according the expansive learning cycle until the 5th Change Workshop meeting.

The study analyzed the types and development of transformative agency of teachers in a Change Laboratory intervention in a teacher training school. Theoretical framework is based on activity theoretical research on transformative agency to which the study aims to add new knowledge. Change Laboratory is an activity theoretical method for developing work and organizations. The data for the study consists of three Change Laboratory intervention meetings conducted at the Viikki teacher training school in spring 2015. There were six meetings out of which this study focuses on the first, third and sixth meeting. The transcribed data was analyzed by using qualitative techniques, namely thematic analysis and activity theoretical framework for the identification of the types and development of transformative agency (Haapasaari, Engeström & Kerosuo, 2014). The analysis was enriched by depicting tensions in the development of transformative agency reflecting the dialectics of agency (Rainio & Hilppö, 2016). Quantification was also used to describe the data. Five types of transformative agency depicted by Haapasaari et al. (2014) were found in this data: resisting the change and initiatives, critical analysis of the current activity, explicating new possibilities in the activity, envisioning and developing new models or patterns in the activity, and committing to concrete actions. In the first meeting the most common types were resistance and critical analysis, in the third meeting there were high amount of explicating new possibilities in the activity and envisioning and developing new models or patterns in the activity, and in the sixth meeting the most common type was envisioning and developing new models or patterns in the activity. Based on the data, a new type of transformative agency was also proposed: casting faith in the joint developing. In the speaking turns representing transformative agency, the amount of collectively produced turns increased during the process being highest in the sixth meeting where the participants collectively visualized a new compass model of shared pedagogical leadership. The tensions in the speech reflected the dialectics of agency between the need of belonging and separability and between the need of autonomity and control. The compass model was interpreted to be an attempt to seek for a solution to these tensions.

The objective of this Master’s thesis is to depict the expansive learning actions found in a change laboratory intervention process. The intervention method was based on developmental work research and the activity theory and these are also the premise of this study. The objective in the change laboratory is a comprehensive understanding of activity and collaborative redesign of activity. In expansive learning participants collectively create something for which there are no pre-existing models and the process of expansive learning is supposed to start in the change laboratory. The methodical selections for the study where qualitative research setting and abductive content analysis. The study material was a complete set of material consisting of conversation transcripts of change laboratory sessions executed in a hospital. Nine meetings where held and each had a varying number of participants. Hospital staff extensively from several specialties participated in the change laboratory process. Developmental intervention corresponded to the need for reorganizing activities in connection with a hospital fusion. Nearly all kinds of expansive learning actions where observed in the change laboratory process, except the last one about consolidating and generalizing the new practice. Several objects of development where worked on and they progressed at different paces. Therefore in the material a variation of progress of learning activities was observed. In the beginning of the process participants quickly got to the point of analyzing the activities and at the end of the process almost all kinds of learning activities where observed. It was interesting how the diversity of the participants from different units of the hospital could have affected the progress of development targets identified in the process and how they progressed in different paces. In terms of expansive learning activities this presented itself as multiple expansive learning cycles simultaneously progressing at different paces.