Is this how you learn?
Informal and ‘other’ learning
Informal learning as a style of discovery has existed for as long as people have taught themselves how to perform work-related tasks. You do this too, by observing and interacting with others. An individual usually does not recognise that informal learning is taking place and there is often no set objective in terms of learning outcomes.
“Learning outcomes are statements of what a learner knows, understands or is able to do at the end of a learning process.” UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning
Informal learning is also unintentional from the learner’s standpoint. For example, someone reading routes and times in a train timetable may not realise they are actually interpreting a data table.
People informally acquire the skills they use by talking, observing others, trial-and-error and simply working with people in the know. This is known to provide far more long term skill acquisition and deeper understanding of the fundamentals of concepts.
“Formal learning is like riding a bus: the driver decides where the bus is going; the passengers are along for the ride. Informal learning is like riding a bike: the rider chooses the destination, the speed, and the route.” Jay Cross
Formal learning fails to fulfill the real needs of the community
We have become obsessed with formal learning in society and in the workplace. In our zeal to learn, we have transferred the formal model of learning into the collective mind of our corporations. Our obsession began when we decided we were in the knowledge economy. We concluded that human assets are the most important element of our collective P&L. The only way to attract, improve, and retain those assets is to offer learning.
Common myths associated with this hypothesis are that learning makes brains physically bigger. Learning also makes them smarter. Smarter translates into faster, newer, better, and more competitive. And the competitive advantage of smarter in a Darwinian business ecosystem eventually leads to more profits.
In formal education you receive a degree or diploma on completion but teachers often neglect to clearly establish desired behavioural objectives during the course of learning, and this can render a certification useless. Assessments have a disciplinary, obeying and one-directional methodology, repeatedly failing to stimulate the students. It also discounts to provide for their active participation.
The cut-throat competitiveness of today’s formal learning environments is incredibly isolating for individuals in a world that is counting on interdependence and collaboration for survival.
Informal learning spaces in the 21st century
People’s learning styles are as varied as their individual cognitive styles. The understanding and research into different learning styles began in the 1970’s and has gained attention increasingly in the last two decades.
The growing recognition has been attributed largely to the ubiquity of technology and the world wide web in our modern lives. It is now more clear than ever before that a unified approach to instruction and transference of knowledge is incomplete without inclusion of an informal space in which learners can immerse themselves and autonomously absorb information.
Individuals everywhere are choosing to take learning into their own hands. Homeschooling, systems of alternate education and unschooling are revolutionising how children engage with learning (subject to a nurturing home environment and parents that are involved and committed). There are studies that point to the benefits — promoting an individual’s sense of personal responsibility, self-motivation and desire to learn.
