The Success of Apprenticeships

25Apprenticeships: Conversation as a Lever

25.1. Introduction

Commonly, when a student is asked about what he or she has learned from a work experience, the first answer is to state the different tasks performed, especially those that were vaguely new to the student. When we continue the questioning by asking what he or she has learned by performing these new tasks, the answers are often disappointing. In general, the student tells us that he or she has learned to carry them out well. Of course, not all respondents give such disappointing answers. There is even a striking contrast between respondents. From my observations, this contrast generally increases over time as if some apprentices learn a lot from their experiences and others very little. However, the same can be said in other learning contexts, such as the classroom or when carrying out projects at school, and not only in learning through professional experience. However, work experience is substantially different from classroom learning. At school, the teacher most often emphasizes the most important concepts, processes, principles and attitudes, and sometimes, which is even better, supports students in identifying them. The students’ attention is then focused on the essential points.

It is important to consider the reasons for these symptoms and the remedies available. In other words, how can we increase the benefits of the field experience or, more generally, derive greater benefits from action-based learning, ...