An Inductive Study Of Experiential Workplace Learning And Peer Coaching: Participant Perceptions Of Early Childhood Intervention Professional Induction

This six-chapter dissertation is a grounded theory investigation of the perceptions and reflections of four novice practitioners as they traversed their orientation process at an early intervention agency in Western North Carolina. The dissertation presents the data in two formats. An illustrative case study (Chapter 4) describes a process for experiential workplace learning (EWL) and discusses how it was applied to a small early childhood intervention program’s professional induction process for four novice practitioners. The paper concludes that EWL was an efficient method for ensuring orientation to the use of evidence based early intervention pedagogical practice by novice practitioners. The dissertation also presents an exploratory case study (Chapter 5) employing a collaborative approach to grounded theory methods to explore the experiences and perceptions of four novice early intervention practitioners who participated in an experiential learning process facilitated by peer coaches. Grounded theory methods were used to construct a framework for considering adult learning process within the context of experiential workplace learning mediated by peer coaching.