Informal learning: Difference between revisions

'''Informal learning''' is anycharacterized learning"by thata islow notdegree [[formalof planning and organizing in terms of the learning]] orcontext, [[non-formallearning support, learning]] time, suchand aslearning selfobjectives".<ref name="kyndtbaert13">{{cite journal | last1=Kyndt | first1=Eva | last2=Baert | first2=Herman | title=Antecedents of Employees' Involvement in Work-directedRelated learningLearning or| learningjournal=Review fromof experienceEducational Research | publisher=American Educational Research Association | volume=83 | issue=2 | year=2013 | issn=0034-6543 | doi=10.3102/0034654313478021 Informal| learningpages=273–313| iss2cid=145446612 organized}}</ref> differentlyIt thandiffers from [[formal andlearning]], [[non-formal learning]], and [[self-regulated learning]], because it has no set objective in terms of learning outcomes, andbut isan intent neverto intentionalact from the learner's standpoint (e.g., Forto allsolve a problem). Typical mechanisms of informal learning include [[trial and error]] or [[learning-by-doing]], [[Modeling (psychology)|modeling]], [[Corrective feedback|feedback]], and [[Reflective practice|reflection]].<ref name="deciusetal19"/><ref name="tannenbaumetal10">Tannenbaum, S. I., Beard, R. L., McNall, L. A., & Salas, E. (2010). Informal Learning and Development in Organizations. In S. W. J. Kozlowski, & E. Salas (Eds.), ''Learning, training, and development in organizations'' (pp.&nbsp;303-332). New York: Routledge.</ref> For learners this includes heuristic language building, socialization, enculturation, and play. Informal learning is a pervasive ongoing phenomenon of learning via participation or learning via knowledge creation, in contrast with the traditional view of teacher-centered learning via knowledge acquisition. Estimates suggest that about 70-90 percent of adult learning takes place informally and outside educational institutions.<ref name="cerasolietal18">{{cite journal | last1=Cerasoli | first1=Christopher P. | last2=Alliger | first2=George M. | last3=Donsbach | first3=Jamie S. | last4=Mathieu | first4=John E. | last5=Tannenbaum | first5=Scott I. | last6=Orvis | first6=Karin A. | title=Antecedents and Outcomes of Informal Learning Behaviors: a Meta-Analysis | journal=Journal of Business and Psychology | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=33 | issue=2 | date=2017-04-26 | issn=0889-3268 | doi=10.1007/s10869-017-9492-y | pages=203–230| s2cid=53410750 }}</ref>

The term is often conflated, however, with non-formal learning, and [[self-directed learning]]. It is widely used in the context of corporate training and education in relation to return on investment (ROI), or return on learning (ROL). It is also widely used when referring to science education, in relation to citizen science, or informal science education. The conflated meaning of informal and non-formal learning explicates mechanisms of learning that organically occur outside the realm of traditional instructor-led programs, e.g., reading self-selected books, participating in self-study programs, navigating performance support materials and systems, incidental skills practice, receptivity of coaching or mentoring, seeking advice from peers, or participation in [[communities of practice]], to name a few. Informal learning is common in communities where individuals have opportunities to [[observational learning|observe]] and participate in social activities.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Paradise|first=Ruth|author2=Barbara Rogoff|title=Side by side: Learning by observing and pitching in|journal=Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology|year=2009|pages=102–138}}</ref> Advantages of informal learning cited include flexibility and adaptation to learning needs, direct transfer of learning into practice, and rapid resolution of (work-related) problems.<ref name="dalebell199">Dale, M., & Bell, J. (1999). ''Informal learning in the workplace'' (Research Report Nr. 134). London: Department for Education and Employment. Available under http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/93957 (last access: 27.03.2021)</ref> For improving employees' performance, task execution is considered the most important source of learning.<ref name="felsteadetal05">{{cite journal | last1=Felstead | first1=Alan | last2=Fuller | first2=Alison | last3=Unwin | first3=Lorna | last4=Ashton | first4=David | last5=Butler | first5=Peter | last6=Lee | first6=Tracey | title=Surveying the scene: learning metaphors, survey design and the workplace context | journal=Journal of Education and Work | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=18 | issue=4 | year=2005 | issn=1363-9080 | doi=10.1080/13639080500327857 | pages=359–383| s2cid=144788769 }}</ref>

[[File:Open House Day 2015 Long Night of Science at ESO’s Headquarters.jpg|thumb|Open House Day at [[ESO]]’s's Headquarters.<ref>{{cite web|title=Open House Day 2015 – Long Night of Science at ESO's Headquarters|url=http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1526a/|accessdateaccess-date=30 June 2015}}</ref>]]

* It is a key component to an alternative learning system coined, [[Learning by Observing and Pitching In]] (LOPI),<ref>{{cite web|last=Rogoff|first=Barbara|title=Learning by Observing and Pitching-In Overview|url=http://www.learningbyobservingandpitchingin.com/icp-overview-english|accessdateaccess-date=May 22, 2014|archive-date=October 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014001232/http://www.learningbyobservingandpitchingin.com/icp-overview-english|url-status=dead}}</ref> which is based on the learning methods observed to be common in many Indigenous American communities.

The origin of informal learning has been traced back to [[John Dewey]] through his theories about learning from experience.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Messmann |first1=Gerhard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fchHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT31&dqq=informal+learning+watkins+marsick#q&pg=informal%20learning%20watkins%20marsickPT31|title=Informal Learning at Work: Triggers, Antecedents, and Consequences |last2=Segers |first2=Mien|last3=Dochy|first3=Filip |date=2018-01-22|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-44194-8 |language=en}}</ref> The American philosopher [[Mary Parker Follett]] broadened the context of informal education from school to all areas of everyday life and described education as a continuous life task. Building on this work by Dewey and Follett, the American educator Eduard C. Lindemann first used the term "informal learning".<ref>Eduard C. Lindemann, 1926{{Full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> The term was later introduced by [[Malcolm Knowles]] when he published his work, ''Informal Adult Education'' in 1950.<ref name=":0" />

At first, informal learning was only delimited from formal school learning and [[nonformal learning]] in courses.<ref>Coombs, ([[P. H., Coombs|Coombs]]/Achmed& Ahmed, H. (1974). ''Attacking Rural Poverty: How Nonformal Education Can Help''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.</ref> Marsick and Watkins take up this approach and go one step further in their definition. They, too, begin with the organizational form of learning and call those learning processes informal which are non-formal or not formally organized and are not financed by institutions (.<ref>[[K. Watkins|Watkins, K.]]/, & [[V. Marsick|Marsick, pV.]] (1990). ''Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace''. London. pp.&nbsp;12 et sec.)seq.</ref> An example for a wider approach is Livingstone's definition which is oriented towards [[autodidactic]] and self-directed learning and places special emphasis on the self-definition of the learning process by the learner (.<ref>[[D. W. Livingstone|Livingstone]] 1999, p.&nbsp;68 et seq.).{{Full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> Livingstone explained that explicit informal learning is distinguished from tacit informal learning and socialization in the sense that the individual seeks learning in this setting and creates the conditions for it by putting himself in situations or engaging with others so that learning is possible.<ref>{{Cite book |last=English |first=Leona |title=International Encyclopedia of Adult Education|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2005 |isbn=9780230201712 |location=New York, NY|pages=311}}</ref>

As noted above, informal learning is often confused with non-formal learning. Non-formal learning has been used to often describe organized learning outside of the formal education system, either being short-term, voluntary, and having, few if any, prerequisites.<ref name="Jossey-Bass">{{cite book | last1=BaumgartnerMerriam | first1=Sharan B. Merriam,| last2=Caffarella | first2=Rosemary S. Cafarella,| last3=Baumgartner | first3=Lisa M.| title=Learning in adulthood : a comprehensive guide |date edition=20073rd | publisher=Jossey-Bass |location publication-place=San Francisco | date=2007 | isbn=978-07879758830-7879-7588-3 |edition oclc=3rd70122480}}</ref> However, they typically have a curriculum and often a facilitator.<ref>{{cite book|last1name=Baumgartner|first1=Sharan"Jossey-Bass"/> B.As Merriam,stated Rosemaryon S.the Cafarellanon-formal learning page,{{Unreliable Lisasource?|date=August M.2022|titlereason=LearningWikipedia inarticles adulthoodare :inappropriate asources. comprehensiveConsider guide|date=2007|publisher=Jossey-Bass|location=Saninstead Francisco|isbn=978-0787975883|edition=3rd}}</ref>using Asthe statedsources oncited in the non-formal learning page,article.|certain=yes}} non-formal learning can be seen in various structured learning situations, such as swimming lessons, community-based sports programs and conference style seminars.

Merriam et al. (2007) state: "{{quote|text=Informal learning, Schugurensky (2000) suggests, has its own internal forms that are important to distinguish in studying the phenomenon. He proposes three forms: [[self-directed learning]], [[incidental learning]], and [[socialization]], or tacit learning. These differ among themselves in terms of intentionality and awareness at the time of the learning experience. Self-directed learning, for example, is intentional and conscious; incidental learning, which Marsick and Watkins (1990) describe as an accidental by-product of doing something else, is unintentional but after the experience she or he becomes aware that some learning has taken place; and finally, socialization or tacit learning is neither intentional nor conscious (although we can become aware of this learning later through 'retrospective recognition') (Marsick, & Watkins, 1990, p. 6)" (|source=p.&nbsp;36). More recently, Bennett (2012) extended Schugurenksky's (2000) conceptualization of informal by recommending four modes of informal learning: a) self-directed, which is conscious and intentional, b) incidental, which is conscious and unintentional, c) tacit, which replaces socialization and is both nonconscious and unintentional, and d) integrative, which is nonconscious and intentional. Drawing upon implicit processing literature, she further defined integrative learning as "a learning process that combines intentional nonconscious processing of tacit knowledge with conscious access to learning products and mental images" (Bennett, 2012, p.&nbsp;4) and she theorized two possible sub-processes: knowledge shifting and knowledge sublimation, which describe limited access learners have to tacit knowledge.}}

People in many Indigenous communities of the Americas often learn through observation and participation in everyday life of their respective communities and families. Barbara Rogoff, a professor of psychology, and her colleagues describe the ways in which children in Indigenous communities can learn by observing and participating in community endeavors, having an eagerness to contribute, fulfilling valuable roles, and finding a sense of belonging in their community.<ref>{{citecitation journal|last=Rogoff|first=B|author2=L. Alcala |author3=A. Coppens |author4=A. Lopez |author5=O. Ruvalcaba |author6=K. Silva |title=Pitching in and catching on: Learning through intent community participation |year=2012}}</ref> These learning experiences rely on children's incorporation in the community and the child's attentiveness. This form of informal learning allows the children to collaborate in social endeavors, which grants the child the opportunity to learn by pitching in.

[[Child work in indigenous American cultures|Child work]], alongside and combined with play, occupies an important place in American Indigenous children's time and development. The interaction of a Navajo girl assisting her mother weaving and who eventually becomes a master weaver herself illustrates how the child's presence and the availability of these activities allow the child to learn through observation.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Göncü|first=A.|title=Children's and researchers' engagement in the world|journal=Library of Congress Catalog|year=1999|pages=3–23}}</ref> Children start at the periphery, observing and imitating those around them, before moving into the center of activities under supervision and guidance. An example of 2two-year-old Indigenous Mexican girl participating in digging-the-holes project with her mother highlights children's own initiation to help, after watching, and enthusiasm to share the task with family and community.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Schooling and traditional collaborative social organization of problem solving by Mayan mothers and children |journal = Developmental Psychology|pages = 55–66|volume = 38|issue = 1|doi = 10.1037/0012-1649.38.1.55|first1 = Pablo|last1 = Chavajay|first2 = Barbara|last2 = Rogoff|pmid=11806702|date=Jan 2002}}</ref> Work is part of a child's development from an early age, starting with simple tasks that merge with play and develop to various kinds of useful work.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bourdillon|first=M.|author2=D. Levison |author3=D. White |author4=W. Myers |title=A place for work in children's lives?|journal=Plan|year=2009|pages=1–37}}</ref> The circumstances of everyday routine create opportunities for the culturally meaningful activities and sensitive interactions on which a child's development depends.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Farver|first=J.A.M.|title=Activity setting analysis: A model for examining the role of culture in development|journal=Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge|year=1999|pages=99–127}}</ref> Children of the Chillihuani observe their environment as a place of respect, and learn from observation. Many of them become herders by informal learning in observation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Growing Up in a Culture of Respect|last=Bolin|first=Inge|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-292-70982-9|location=|pages=}}</ref>

Nonverbal communication in Indigenous communities creates pathways of knowledge by watching and then doing.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 3195944|title = Interactional Style and Nonverbal Meaning: Mazahua Children Learning How to be Separate-but-Together|journal = Anthropology & Education Quarterly|volume = 25|issue = 2|pages = 156–172|last1 = Paradise|first1 = Ruth|year = 1994|doi=10.1525/aeq.1994.25.2.05x0907w| s2cid=146505048 }}</ref> An example where nonverbal behavior can be used as a learning tool can be seen in Chillihuani culture. Children in this community learn about growing crops by observing the actions and respect adults have for the land. They learn that caring for their crops is vital for them to grow and in turn for the community to thrive. Similarly, when children participate in rituals, they learn the importance of being part of the community by watching how everyone interacts. This again needs no explicit verbal communication, it relies solely on observing the world around. Chillihuani culture does not explicitly verbalize expectations. Their knowledge is experienced rather than explained through modeled behavior for community benefit.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ennew | first1 = J | year = 2010 | title = Growing up in a culture of respect: child rearing in highland Peru – By Bolin, Inge | url = | journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute | volume = 16 | issue = | pages = 168–169 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2009.01604_5.x }}</ref>

To fully understand informal learning it is useful to define the terms "formal" and "informal" education. Formal education can be defined as a setting that is highly institutionalized, can be possibly bureaucratic, while being curriculum driven, and formally recognized with grades, diplomas, or other forms of certifications.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Baumgartner|first1=Sharan B. Merriam, Rosemary S. Cafarella, Lisa M.|title=Learning in adulthood : a comprehensive guide|date=2007|publishername="Jossey-Bass|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-0787975883|edition=3rd}}<"/ref> Informal education is closely tied in with informal learning, which occurs in a variety of places, such as at home, work, and through daily interactions and shared relationships among members of society. Informal learning often takes place outside educational establishments, and does not follow a specified curriculum and may originate accidentally, or sporadically, in association with certain occasions, although that is not always the case. Informal education can occur in the formal arena when concepts are adapted to the unique needs of individual students.

Merriam and others (2007) state: "studies of informal learning, especially those asking about adults' self-directed learning projects, reveal that upwards of 90 percent of adults are engaged in hundreds of hours of informal learning. It has also been estimated that the great majority (upwards of 70 percent) of learning in the workplace is informal (Kim, Collins, Hagedorn, Williamson, & Chapman, 2004),... although billions of dollars each year are spent by business and industry on formal training programs".<ref name="Merriam 2007">[[Sharan Merriam|Merriam, S. B.]], Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). ''Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide'' (3rd ed.) New York: Wiley.(p.&nbsp;35–36).</ref> Both formal and informal learning are considered integral processes for Virtual Human Resource Development,<ref>{{cite (journal | last=Bennett | first=Elisabeth E. | title=Virtual HRD: The Intersection of Knowledge Management, 2009)Culture, and Intranets | journal=Advances in Developing Human Resources | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=11 | issue=3 | year=2009 | issn=1523-4223 | doi=10.1177/1523422309339724 | pages=362–374| s2cid=145321137 }}</ref> with informal learning the stronger form.

Informal knowledge is information that has not been externalized or captured and the primary locus of the knowledge may be inside someone's head.<ref>Grebow, David, At the Water Cooler of Learning in Conner, M. L., & Clawson, J.G. (eds.), ''Transforming Culture: An Executive Briefing on the Power of Learning'', Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 2002).</ref> For example, in the cause of [[language acquisition]], a mother may teach a child basic concepts of grammar and language at home, prior to the child entering a formal education system.<ref>{{citation (|last=Eaton, |first=Sarah (|year=2011). "|title=Family Literacy and the New Canadian: Formal, Non-Formal and .Informal Learning: The Case of Literacy, Essential Skills and Language Learning in Canada"). |place=Canada |id={{ERIC|ED522574}}}}</ref> In such a case, the mother has a tacit understanding of language structures, syntax and morphology, but she may not be explicitly aware of what these are. She understands the language and passes her knowledge on to her offspring.

Experience indicates that much of the learning for performance is informal (.<ref>The Institute for Research on Learning, 2000, Menlo Park).{{Full citation needed|date=August 2022}}</ref> Those who transfer their knowledge to a learner are usually present in real time. Such learning can take place over the telephone or through the Internet, as well as in person.

In the UK, the government formally recognized the benefits of informal learning in "The Learning Revolution" White Paper published on March 23, 2009.<ref>{{citation (|title=The Learning Revolution |publisher=Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 2009(UK). |date=23 March 2009 |type=White Paper}}</ref> The Learning Revolution Festival ran in October 2009 and funding has been used by libraries—which offer a host of informal learning opportunities such as book groups, "meet the author" events and family history sessions—to run activities such as The North East Festival of Learning.<ref>[http://www.northeastlibraries.org.uk The North East Festival of Learning].</ref>

40% of adults have self-taught themselves at some point and respondents in a survey indicated that they were twice as likely to participate in independent learning as traditional learning.<ref name="Informal Learning: Conceptual Disti">{{cite journal|last1=Livingstone|first1=D.W.|title=Informal Learning: Conceptual Distinctions and Preliminary Findings|journal=Counterpoints|date=2006|volume=249|pages=203–227}}</ref>

The average adult spends 10 hours a week (500 hours a year) on informal learning practices.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Livingstone|first1=D.W.|titlename="Informal Learning: Conceptual Distinctions and Preliminary Findings|journal=Counterpoints|date=2006|volume=249|pages=203–227}}<Disti"/ref>

Although rates of formal education have increased, many adults entering the workforce are lacking the basic math, reading and [[interpersonal skills]] that the “unskilled”"unskilled" labor force requires.<ref name="The Low-Skilled Labor Market">{{cite web|last1=Lerman|first1=Robert I.|last2=Schmidt|first2=Stefanie R.|title=The Low-Skilled Labor Market|url=https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm|website=US Department of Labor|access-date=2017-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921230138/https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm|archive-date=2017-09-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> The lines between formal and informal learning have been blurred due to the higher rates of college attendance. The largest increase in population for manual or low-skilled labor is in individuals who attended college but did not receive a degree. A recent collection of cross-sectional surveys were conducted and polled employers across the United States to gauge which skills are required for jobs which do not require college degrees. These surveys concluded that 70% require some kind of customer service aspect, 61% require reading or writing paragraphs, 65% require math, 51% require the use of computers. In regards to training and academic credentials, 71% require a high school diploma, 61% require specific vocational experience.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lerman|first1=Robert I.|last2=Schmidt|first2=Stefanie R.|titlename="The Low-Skilled Labor Market|url=https:"//www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm|website=US Department of Labor|access-date=2017-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921230138/https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/trends/trendsVII.htm|archive-date=2017-09-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> The rates of men entering the low-skilled labor force have remained static over the last fifty years, indicating a shift of less than 1%. Women's participation in the unskilled labor force has steadily increased and projections indicate that this trend will continue.

* Eaton, Sarah (2010). [http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED508254 ""Formal, Non-Formal and Informal learning: The Case of Literacy, Essential Skills, and Language Learning in Canada"].

* {{cite journal | last1 = Overwien | first1 = B | year = 2000 | title = Informal Learning and the Role of Social Movements | url = | journal = International Review of Education | volume = 46 | issue = 6| pages = 621–640 | bibcode = 2000IREdu..46..621O | doi = 10.1023/A:1026578928141 | s2cid = 322024 }}