Browsing by Author "Springborg, Claus"

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    Art-based Methods in Management Education
    (Cranfield University, 2014-12) Springborg, Claus; Ladkin, Donna; Turnbull James, Kim
    The purpose of this dissertation is to develop explanatory theory for the learning processes facilitated by art-­‐based methods in management education (ABMs). Such theory is important because managerial educators increasingly use ABMs, and without a well-­‐developed theory it may be difficult to realise these methods’ full potential. Current research on ABMs uses theories from other fields but generally sees ABMs as methods for making important information available for reflection, e.g. information about unconscious assumptions, aesthetic experience, or non-­‐propositional or tacit knowledge. This shows that the field is grounded in a representationalist view of cognition. This view of cognition makes it difficult to explain certain themes in the research field, such as, the importance of staying with the senses without reflecting, aesthetic agency, and the process of making. I therefore asked: What insights can be gained from exploring ABMs, using theories grounded in the embodied view of cognition, in particular Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999) and simulation theories (Barsalou, 2008). For the empirical work, I used an experimental design with 60 managers from Danish companies. All participants selected problems from their work they perceived as important, yet unsolvable. They were randomly divided into three groups: Two groups using different ABMs to address problems and a comparison group where no ABM was used. The experiment indicated that 1) creating new metaphors for a problem based on different sensory metaphors enabled the participants to import behaviour from contexts unrelated to the problematic situation, and 2) focusing on sensory experience enabled participants to remove judgments about self or others. Furthermore, the experiment indicated that learning outcomes reflected participants’ experience of the concrete learning intervention. These findings contribute to CMT by suggesting that it is possible to formulate relationships between changes in metaphors and specific learning outcomes. They contribute to ABM by suggesting that experiences that participants have during ABMs are later used as tools for structuring other experiences – not merely as data for reflection.
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    Arts-based methods for facilitating meta-level learning in management education: Making and expressing refined perceptual distinctions
    (Cranfield University, 2011) Springborg, Claus; Ladkin, Donna
    Arts-based methods are increasingly used to facilitate meta-level learning in management education. Such increased use suggests that these methods are relevant and offer a unique contribution meeting a need in today’s management education. Yet, the literature is not clear on what this unique contribution may be even though it abounds with suggestions of varying quality. To explore this matter, I conduct a systematic literature review focused on arts-based methods, management education, and meta-level learning. I find that the unique contribution of arts-based methods is to foreground the process of making and expressing more refined perceptual distinctions, not to get accurate data, but as integral to our thinking/learning. This finding is important, because it imply that certain (commonly applied) ways of using arts-based methods may limit their potential. Finally, I suggest that future research regarding arts-based methods should focus on exploring the impact the process of learning to make and express more refined perceptual distinctions may have on managerial practice to further understand the relevance of these methods to managers.
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    Realising the potential of art-based methods in managerial learning: embodied cognition as an explanatory view of knowledge
    (Academy of Management, 2014-12-31) Springborg, Claus; Ladkin, Donna
    Although art-based methods are increasingly being used in management learning interventions (Taylor & Ladkin, 2009) there is little understanding about the means by which these methods foster particular learning outcomes. This conceptually-based paper addresses this concern through revisiting the philosophy of art and education (Arnheim, 1969; Dewey, 1934; Eisner, 2002; Langer, 1951) in light of recent theoretical developments in neuroscience known as embodied cognition (Niedenthal, Barsalou, Winkielman, Krauth- Gruber, & Ric, 2005; Rohrer, 2007; Wilson, 2002). We propose that embodied cognition’s recognition of the central role played by ‘simulation’ (Barsalou 1999, 2008) in learning processes offers unique insights into the mechanisms through which arts-based methods work and how they differ from (other) experiential learning interventions. This exploration leads to two propositions, a) stimulating new activation patterns in the way the brain engages with a phenomenon enables new possibilities for dealing with that phenomenon; and b) making art is a means by which those new activation patterns can be created. The paper concludes by demonstrating the power of this understanding by re-interpreting three scholarly accounts of the use of art-based methods within manager development, and suggesting implications for how such interventions can more fully realise their developmental potential.