Team Learning and Metacognition: A Neglected Area of HRD Research and Practice

The problem and the solution. An important and somewhat neglected level of analysis in human resource development research and practice is learning and development that occurs within a team. Increasingly, teams are required to make important decisions in organizations. Employees must learn to be team members and to function not merely as a collective of individuals, but rather as a cohesive team that learns to learn. A key component of team learning concerns metacognitive processes. Although metacognition has been established as an important aspect of individual level learning, there is a paucity of research exploring how metacognition can impact learning at a team and collective level. We propose a conceptual model of team learning and metacognition and discuss the implications for research and practice.