Learners’ questions and requests for help at the workplace Jean-Luc Gurtner, Anya Hitz, Dept of...

Learners’ questions and requests for help at the workplace

Jean-Luc Gurtner, Anya Hitz, Dept of Education, University of Fribourg

Elisa Motta, Alberto CattaneoSwiss Federal Institute for Vocational

Education and Training

A comparison between two waysto capture these behaviours

using mobile technologies

ICM - Porto Sept. 2010 2

Asking questions, seeking help and self-regulated learning

• Asking questions and Help seeking as important self-regulated learning strategies (Newman, 1994; Karabenick, 2006)

• Instrumental (adaptive) help seeking vs executive (expedient) help seeking (Karabenick, 2004)

• At the confluence of motivation, cognition and metacognition

• Help-seeking vs help-avoiding behaviours (Butler, 1998; Ryan & Pintrich, 1997)


Methodological concerns

• Almost all the studies on help-seeking behaviours have been conducted in general academic contexts

• Almost all the studies on help-seeking behaviours have been conducted with questionnaires and have used self-reported data

• Few exceptions: – Webb, Ing, Kersting & Nemer’s study on cooperation in small

groups (2006). – Kempler & Linnenbrink (2006) study on group interactions in

collaborative groups in math.


At school

• Teachers are there to answer students’ questions

• But asking questions may make you look stupid (Karabenick & Newmann, 2006)

• Students are reluctant to ask for help even if they need it (Butler, 1998)

At the workplace

• Nobody is there just to answer your questions

• Not asking when needed may have funest consequences

• Are apprentices as reluctant to seek help in action?

Different contexts - different methodologies?


Live collection

• Apprentices are equipped with mobile phones, headset and microphones

• Researcher calls apprentice at work for one hour and asks him or she to comment “live” what he/she is doing

• Focus on each (meaningful) interaction with another person at the WP

A posteriori collection

• Mobile phones “off” while working

• Researcher sends a signal and apprentice calls back after completion of duties

• He/she comments on what he/she has been doing recently and answers specific questions

One tool, two conditions


Participants in the research and corpus

• 28 volunteer apprentices in car mechanics from 10 different garages (dual track system)

• Between 15 and 19 years oldIn year 1 through 4 of their vocational training

• 72 one hour records of work (live collection)(800 questions or requests)

• 71 “a posteriori“ interviews (119 questions or requests)


Overall frequency and nature of requests observed

• On average, apprentices introduce one question or request every 5’ 47“ at the workplace

• More advanced apprentices ask twice as many questions as beginners

• Instrumental requests are approx. 50 times more frequent than expedient ones (Karabenick, 2004)

• Only one out of four requests brings the helper to stay aside the helpee for more than one minute


Percentages of help-requests according to the social configuration of work (working alone vs. collaboratively) and data collection technique (live vs. a posteriori calls)

Live calls A posteriori calls

Training year Working alone Collaboratively Working alone Collaboratively

Year 1 79.16 20.84 87.50 12.50

Year 2 33.33 66.67 100 0

Year 3 43.39 56.61 91.67 8.33

Year 4 37.95 62.05 100 0

Social Contexts in which questions or requests are introduced


Types of questions and help-requests (1)

Category / Examples Subcategory

Information

Apprentice does not know which type of screws is needed for that type of wheels

Technical

I did not know where to begin Procedural

“Shall I drive the car to the parking lot?“ Organisational

“Is there any more practical way to do it?“ Complementary




Intervention

Apprentice does not know how to reinstall a brake disk; asks a colleague to do it with (or for) him

Collaboration/ Substitution

“Could you come here, please… I want to show you the pipe… and the leak”

Problem/ Advice

“The casing was damaged… so I replace it” Authorisation / Validation

I asked him to check my work Control / Evaluation




Phsysical Help

“Could you come and help me remove the front part of it? I can’t do it by myself”

Cooperation

“Could you check the lights at the front of the car while I am activating them from inside the car?”

Substitution




Requests for material

“Could you hand me a new pair of wipers?” Acquisition

I asked him if he could let me use the PC to check the emissions

Borrow


Live collection

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4

Material Physical Intervention Information

A posteriori collection

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


Material Physical Intervention Information

Frequencies of types of questions according to collection technique


To whom do they ask questions?

A Posteriori collection

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


head mechanic apprentice store dept other outsiders undefined

Live collection

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Year 1 Year 2 large garage

Year 2 small garage

Year 3 Year 4

head mechanic apprentice store dept other outsiders undefined


• Apprentices introduce questions and requests more often when they are already working collaboratively (live collection)

• But they are not aware of this (a posteriori collection) or..• They appreciate to see themselves as autonomous

Summary of results


• Apprentices requests are mainly introduced for information purposes (live collection)

• They underestimate however the frequency of such requests and overestimate the frequency of requests for intervention (a posteriori collection) or ….

• They (deliberately) minimize the importance of (simple) questions in order to feel more competent

Summary of results


• Apprentices make use of a large variety of “helpers“ (live collection)

• They underestimate however the support they get from other apprentices or persons outside of the workshop (a posteriori collection) or …

• They value becoming more central (and recognized) in their professional environment (LPP: Lave & Wenger, 1991).

Summary of results


• Mobile technologies offer good opportunities to approach apprentices self-regulated learning strategies at the WP

• The way these technologies are used might however introduce some “noise“ into the data or …

• Give valuable insights into the construction of apprentices’ professional identities.

Conclusions


Thank you

for your attention!

Learners’ questions and requests for help at the workplace Jean-Luc Gurtner, Anya Hitz, Dept of...

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