Workplace Learning and Literacies in Practice

This chapter addresses workplace learning by examining a job training session and an orientation session at two of our sites, Triple Z and Texco.1 Although our stories take place in formal sessions, the lessons we want to emphasize can be applied to any type of workplace learning: formal or informal, in the classroom, on the job or in meetings. By bringing a social perspective on literacy to this training and learning, we hope to show that many aspects of learning are missed when the focus is primarily on transmitting knowledge and skills without considering intervening social factors.