Informal learning has traditionally been associated with adults and the workplace. It is the kind of learning that happens through experience – outside of classroom walls. Experiential learning is a fundamental of andragogy (Malcolm Knowles,) but the lines between pedagogy and andragogy are becoming blurred. Informal learning is equally powerful for all ages. This article from TeachThought addresses a concept easily adapted to higher ed or workplace learning environments.
“Experiential learning and constructivism, among other ways of thinking of how students learn, hold that learning is not only available outside of the confines of the iconic teacher-student relationship, but perhaps most powerful there as well. There is nothing (that isn’t removable) within the walls of a typical school that make deep thinking and enduring inquiry impossible, so certainly it’s possible that extraordinary learning can happen there. But often, in spite of Herculean effort by teachers and administrators, it does not.”
via The Quickly Narrowing Gap Between Formal & Informal Learning.
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