A taxonomy of social embedding - A systematic review of virtual learning simulations in vocational and professional learning

Abstract

Vocational and professional learning largely occurs in social situations as an interaction between learners and their occupational environment. Due to the increasing digitization of work and learning, virtual learning simulations (VLS) have been on the rise. Yet, it is unclear to which degree VLS can adequately simulate and foster the social dimension of work-related learning. Drawing on different streams of assessment-related authenticity research, we present a five-level taxonomy of social embedding as an evaluative framework: (1) social placement, (2) social action, (3) social reaction, (4) social interaction, (5) collaborative interaction. We then conduct a systematic review and categorize 23 available VLS regarding their degree of social embedding. The results reveal a large variety of social interaction opportunities with a clear focus on social action, social reaction and social interaction. We recommend increasing social immersion in VLS, particularly by combining them with external communication platforms.

Introduction

Digitization’s impact on professional training and vocational education is receiving increasing attention, with digitization playing a twofold role. First, the digitization of occupational activities leads to the automation of routine activities, and the remaining work tasks become more complex. Hence, the respective domain-specific problem-solving skills gain in importance. Second, the digitization of teaching and learning processes can help to meet these changed requirements. There is broad evidence that the importance and necessity of digitization has been recognized by companies, and digitization is already widespread at the individual and strategic level (see also the “skill shift debate”, e.g., Bughin et al., 2018; Lund et al., 2021). It involves replacing routine processes that were previously performed by human workers with new technologies (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014; Frey & Osborne, 2017; Morgeson & Humphrey, 2006). At the same time, the workplace is also becoming increasingly digital through the use of digital technologies in communication, coordination and collaboration.

The changes arising from this digital transformation have not been limited to working processes themselves; they can potentially also dramatically alter learning processes for work. Digital learning environments (DLE) based on learning platforms or on online- and virtual learning are on the rise and open up new opportunities. Particularly, virtual learning simulations (VLS) are seen as highly authentic learning experiences for professional and vocational learners as they imitate real workplaces and offer numerous technical opportunities to learn (Barkley, Major, & Cross, 2014). However, since the development of VLS is time- and work-intensive and also usually domain-specific, it remains to be seen how these new technical possibilities will affect the nature of work-related learning, especially as the degree of digitization varies greatly at individual workplaces. To justify their high development cost, VLS must offer particularly rich learning experiences in the workplace context in order to compete with learning options that are more favorable from a financial perspective.

A defining aspect regarding the quality of vocational and professional learning is its occurrence in social situations in which learning takes place as an interaction between an individual and the occupational environment. In this context, social interaction is important in two ways. Social interaction at the workplace helps satisfy social needs (Lave & Wenger, 1991), which can be considered crucial for well-being as well as for employee engagement and commitment (Cornelissen, 2016). Simultaneously, it supports the development of knowledge and skills. Here, research has emphasized the relevance of learning through social interactions (e.g., Lave & Wenger, 1991; Tynjälä, 2013) as well as the positive impact of social interactions on knowledge and productivity (Cornelissen, 2016). However, it remains unclear to which degree DLE, and in our context VLS as a particular subcategory of DLE, can adequately simulate social dimensions of occupational situations and foster social interaction in vocational and professional learning. Although social and collaborative learning is an ever-growing field of research and practice, there is a particular lack of theoretical frameworks to conceptualize social embeddedness within DLE. Social embedding in this context is understood as the degree to which characteristics of real-world social interactions are simulated during task solving (Gulikers, Bastiaens, & Kirschner, 2004). Although social embedding can be implemented in various ways into VLS, no systematic framework for analyzing approaches to social embedding in VLS is known to the authors.

The goals of this paper are, therefore, (1) to develop a theoretical framework to evaluate social embedding in learning environments i.e., a framework that focuses on interaction with humans or systems during task solving, and (2) to conduct a systematic review to find existing VLS in vocational and professional learning and categorize them according to the framework.

For this purpose, we first outline the theoretical foundations of social interactions, workplace characteristics, learning in authentic environments and classroom interaction. Based on this outline, we describe the development of a taxonomy of social embedding, which is based on the work of Deutscher and Winther (2019) and was adapted and extended for our aim. To make the levels of the taxonomy of social embedding more tangible and to give technical application examples, we then apply it to a newly developed virtual learning simulation (LUCA) and illustrate the degree of learner social embedding within that simulation. Subsequently, the steps of a systematic review are outlined. We then describe the identified VLS, categorize them within the adapted taxonomy and discuss our findings.