ABSTRACT
This chapter begins the second iteration of our nested model of learning. Here we change our focus from the individual to the group. This adds a level of complex ity to our thinking about continuous learning from a systems perspective. Individ uals are whole systems themselves that are part of other wholes (teams or groups). Physiologically, we are an individual whole, whereas sociologically we are a part. Psychologically, we are both a whole and a part at the same time (or even a part in several instances as we are members of more than one group at work). Individ ually, we are endowed with reflective consciousness, but teams are not (Laszlo, 1996). This duality can lead to great confusion in understanding the concept of team learning. A key question in thinking about group learning is whether groups encourage and benefit from members’ learning or whether groups leam as entities in and of themselves. We believe that the answer is both. Individual learning is important to the way groups do things. However, group learning is more than the sum of the individual members.
