Thursday 5 May 2016

In KM, everyone is a teacher

We were discussing yesterday the difference between Knowledge Management, and Learning and Development.  Here is one difference.


There are many similarities between the two disciplines. Each is in service of organisational capability, each addresses learning, and each works with knowledge. They overlap, and in many ways the standard L&R approaches are tools of Knowledge Management.

One main difference is as follows;

In Knowledge Management, everyone is a teacher as well as a learner.

In knowledge management, knowledge flow is not entirely one-way. It's multi-way. Knowledge within a community of practice, for example, does not flow outwards from the centre, it flows also between the members of the community. Everyone can contribute, everyone can share their experience. Knowledge is not the province only of the expert, there is no distinction between teacher and learner, everyone can take either role at any given time.

That is one key difference between the two disciplines. 

1 comment:

Helen said...

I would hope that in good learning and development everyone is a learner as well - it should also be 2 way and collaborative! L&D is not about delivering knowledge as if one is the purveyor of all wisdom.

Blog Archive