Learning-in-the-Flow Model
Kurt Fischer, founder of Dynamic Skill Theory at Harvard, argues that skills are not static knowledge assets but develop dynamically through action, context, and support. His work shows that people demonstrate their highest levels of thinking when learning is embedded in real tasks, scaffolded by coaching, and immediately applied—rather than taught abstractly in isolation. This reinforces the case for on-the-job learning, where capability emerges through practice in authentic environments. As Fischer explains, “Development is not a staircase of stages that people climb once and for all; it is a dynamic system that varies across contexts and tasks.”