Profiling Individual Learning Strategies Used to Reinforce Formal Training in Computer Systems
Abstract
This study identified the relationships between employee awareness, use, and perceived usefulness of fourteen learning strategies used to reinforce formal training in computer systems and six demographic and twelve situational variables.
Data were collected by means of a questionnaire survey instrument from 588 employees who had been trained to use a new maintenance management system. This represented a 75 percent return rate.
Chi-square and Kendall's tau-b tests of significance were used to test the hypotheses. Statistically significant relationships were found between employee awareness, use, and usefulness of learning strategies and demographic and situational variables.
Patterns of learning strategy use emerged from the findings and suggested that certain learning strategies are used differently. Employees' assessment of competence with system use, changes in perceived competence, and frequency of system use appeared to represent the most important associations with the use of specific learning strategies.
Findings in the study have implications for organizations desiring to provide better training and support to employees engaged in learning how to use computer systems. Findings also identified the self-directed nature of learning how to use computer systems.