Action Learning

People undertaking action learning work in small groups to tackle organisational and social problems, and learn from their experience of working together to bring about change. Having a dedicated facilitator or a coach for a group can make the process more effective and rewarding. This book provides examples and analyses of effective behaviours of action learning facilitators and coaches.

Action learning is an approach to individual, team and organisational learning where people work in small groups to tackle organisational and social problems, and learn from their experience of trying to bring about change. In an action learning group, people work collaboratively to make sense of the problems that they are addressing, to devise plans to bring about improvements, and to reflect on their progress and on what they have learned. Having someone act as a facilitator or a coach for an action learning group is often necessary to ensure that the group finds a helpful balance between solving the immediate problems that face them and achieving genuine learning, not just about the problem, but also about themselves as individuals and about the group as a dynamic unit. In this book, experienced practitioners of action learning provide a rich range of examples of the use of facilitators and coaches in action learning groups. Contributors from the UK, the USA, Thailand, Taiwan, the Caribbean and the Netherlands offer case studies, reflections, advice, and the fruits of their research into this important topic.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Action Learning: Research and Practice.