Informal+Learning

= Informal Learning =

// Argument for: //
The definition of Informal learning refers to learning that results from daily work-related, social, family, hobby or leisure activities e.g. the acquisition of interpersonal skills developed through the experience of working (Misko 2008, p.2) and interaction with real life. Informal learning is the primary way we learn, it is how babies and children learn, it is how tribal people (Senge, 2000 p.24) learnt since the dawn of time and it continues today in all the activities where we engage in the practice of gaining knowledge and skills. Informal learning in the workplace has been identified as crucial strategy for "increasing national competitiveness and addressing skills shortages" (Bolt 2008, p.57) and is responsible for 75% of the learning that occurs in the workplace ( Halliday-Wynes, 2009 p.5).

Informal learning is the "heart of adult education because of its learner-centered focus and the lessons that can be learnt from life experience (Taylor 2006, p.501). Informal "adult learning programs used today were influenced by liberalism, Taylorism and the philosophies of Dewey and Lindeman" (Bolt 2008, p.1). Dewey first proposed school-based experiential learning using active learning principles where "individuals or groups encountered situations, made observations, reflected on their experiences, generalised and tested their hypotheses" and Lindeman extended this into adult learning with a "reflective-intuitive" approach (ibid, p.58) where adults are self-directed learners who are intrisically motivated to learn, particularly for the workplace (ibid, p.63).

From the 1980's informal learning grew exponentially with the development of the personal computer, the knowledge economy and information and communications technology inherent in the internet (Kilpatrick 2003 P.2). In 2007 the Australian Bureau of Statisitics reported that "using the internet and reading were identified as the most universal types of informal learning" ( Halliday-Wynes, 2009 p.2). These developments also had a dramatic affect in the workplace, requiring workers to update their skills to maintain employment. At the same time knowledge management: the capture, storgage and retrival of information often gained through informal learning, was acknowledged as essential to business success and "Companies at the forefront of the knowledge economy were succeeding on the basis of communities of practice" (Wenger et al, 2002 p.3). In 2010, web 2.0 technologies began to be developed providing interactive and collaborative functionality for users. Again, it was crucial for workers to maintain pace with technology and participate in the collaborative working opportunities supported by the web. These technologies facilitiated learning, enabling it to be owned and directed by the learner, to undertake independant studies often in non-formal educational settings and to access formal learning without the learning being acknowledged. Technology based informal learning was also envisaged as 'the hook for the learner to pursue more formal tuition" ( Halliday-Wynes, 2009 p.).

The twenty-first century has structurally altered the way we learn, shifting the "focus on the individual to learning as part of a community" (Kilpatrick 2003 P.1). Everyday learning in the workplace is an informal activity and is "usually social rather than an individual activity with people working and learning in partnership" (Halliday-Wynes 2009) or in teams. Research by Burns (2008) identified the isolation teachers experience in their workplace as they invariable work alone in the class and this may "restrict their opportunities for informal learning in the workplace" but highlighted the peripheral learning that related to day-to-day administration, classroom management, policy and procedures and communication strategies etc "learned informally were perceived to be used more often" (ibid, p.21). Professional/personal learning communities (PLCs) are based on social constructivst theories and the connected nature of learning networks. This is a key factor for implementing change in schools where the informal learning can be shared and utilised both within and with other schools. Cowan, (2005 p.3) a firm a proponent of PLC's, states that "Educators must stop working in isolation and hoarding their ideas, materials and strategies and begin to work together to meet the needs of all students." The aim is to "improve student learning" and shift the ownership of school decision making to staff to create "a stronger commitment to the mission and goals of the school, improved teaching and learning through locally driven professional development, and greater job satisfaction and morale" (ibid, p.3-4).

People choose to enagage and actively seek to participate in informal learning when the learning is relevant, focused on immediate needs and is "situated" in a specific context such as a school or a particular type of business. The collaborative development of open source software is an example of informal learning in a loosely formed community of practice where the stated objective is that the source code must be shared and the "technology continues to be shaped and reconfigured beyond its design" (Paragas 2010). This type of learning follows the classic learning spiral of develop, implement, evaluate, revise and share. The nexus between “technology determinism and social constructivism are often invoked as equally myopic opposites” (Flyverbom, 2005, p.226). This restrictive argument states that it is either technology that determines social change or social pressures determine the direction of technological development. Participants in this community of practice are seeking to foster continual change through a process "called "structurational", that supposes an "interplay between technology and human action" (ibid, p.10). This approach argues that technology provides opportunities for people to control the direction of social change by altering the technology that provides opportunities to implement change, again in a spiral of interconnected interrelationships.

The argument that "essential skills can also be acquired through informal learning has been gaining momentum", particularly literacy skills driven by the workplace that "involve constructions of literacy, discourses of literacy and how people talk about and make sense of literacy" (Taylor 2006, p.500-1). Hall (2009 p.29) contends that "extending environments for situated, informal education and for addressing the blurring of the boundaries between personal, social spaces and formal learning contexts". This is a powerful argument as workplace informal learning is a "very social phenomenon and often involves more social interaction than there is in classroom learning" (Bolt 2008, p.502). Taylor cites social cognition theory that states "knowledge is communal and is shared through social practices using various tools and technologies" and it is this distribution of knowledge that enables the systems thinking required for a community of practice to think holistically and carry out informal learning activities (Taylor 2006, p.501) and implement new developments.

Capturing informal learning and making it obvious and available for formal recognition is now possible through the use of electronic portfolios or e-portfolios. Again this is an example of open source software development being designed to control the direction of social change by providing the means for people to proactively manage and record their learning to be used for formal competency based accreditation, workplace promotion or future employment etc. Flyverbom (2005) argues that if we "investigate the technology-society nexus in terms of "actionable properties" we enable a more flexible solutions to the debate. If technology becomes a "communications environment" (Flyverbom, 2005, p.227) instead of a machine, we progress from a modernist to a postmodernist (Paragas 2010) perspective that enables technology to become a "new medium [which] allows us to store, transmit and distribute information in new ways" (Flyverbom, 2005, p.228). In addition, if we acknowledge "communicative affordances", new opportunities open for "objects and the possibilities that they offer for action" (ibid, p.227), this facilitates a more spohisticated understanding of the potential for "interactional space" (ibid p.228). The capture of informal learning in a digital format and the interactive presentation to selected bodies such as employers or training providers for recognition.

The new challenge will be "based on the realisation of the importance of this new medium for social, economic and political change" (ibid p.228). This change is already impacting on the workplace and the vocational education and training sector where the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) or the new Recognition of Current Competencies (RCC) are legal legitimate practices to acknowledge informal learning, with the aim of saving both time and money for employers and employees. Further significant social change will be required before informal learning is widely recognised in formal academic learning environments such as schools and higher education. Recogonition impacts on the ultimate control of formal learning: the affect on teachers and teaching, the provision of funding, how the work is validated as authentic and ultimately acknowledged as partial or full completion of a formal qualification.

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// Argument against: //
As stated above, informal learning is best described as learning that results from daily work-related, social, family, hobby or leisure activities e.g. the acquisition of interpersonal skills developed through the experience of working (Misko 2008, p.2) and interaction with real life. The arguments put forward above, supporting the positive effects of informal learning cannot be refuted - informal learning makes up a significant proportion of the workplace learning enterprise ( Halliday-Wynes, 2009 p.5) and can be inclusive of up to 90% of all workplace learning ( http://www.entreprisecollaborative.com/index.php/en/articles/187-impact-of-informal-learning). There is however, a number of considerations that are noteworthy in regards to the acceptance of knowledge acquired informally.

__Connection to community - crucial for informal learning to occur__

The premise of informal learning rests upon the social nature of learning - social constructivist and connectivist learning theories (Mackey & Evans, 2011). Taylor (2006, p.502) highlights that the social aspects of informal learning are often a deterrent due to "personal and social barriers, contextual factors, employers' perceptions and recognition of learning and policies that do not allow space for valuing informal learning". Informal learning, in an online environment, therefore requires, implies and assumes a number of critical socio-cultural factors be in place, functioning and accepted within the constraints and confines of the personal/professional learning environment. Issues of digital literacy, social connectivity and access to technological infrastructure can all pose significant threats to the quality and viability for informal learning to take place. Further, issues of socio-economic status may also impact accessibility to information and knowledge networks.

__Knowledge credibility__

How do we know what we learn informally is valid, applicable or relevant, without some sense of formal recognition of its quality? Davies (2008) highlights the importance of this 'credibility checking' for knowledge that is learnt and shared informally. Credibility checking questions the process or gestalt required to assess the quality of the information or knowledge shared and the methods one undertakes to determine the information 'makes sense' and how the conclusions drawn from the shared experience informs the basis for future actions. The issue here is how do we make sense of our informal learning experiences and on what basis can we make these conclusion on? Where is the information being sourced? If we include the social constructivist nature of informal learning to be the major tenant of knowledge acquisition, who makes up these social communities? Is there a moderating body behind the knowledge or information shared? What is the creditability of the communities that generate the artefacts or information? What is our own 'quality assurance process' on the information we read on the web - how do we determine the quality of the informal information we acquire?

__Lack of formal recognition of learning__

While research on the validity for informal learning surges ahead (Gray, 2004; Salavuo, 2008), one of the big questions is how do we assess informal learning to ensure recognition or gain acknowledgement for the knowledge we receive informally. As argued affirmatively, RPL or RCC are bridging this gap, but this does not access the represented knowledge acquired, only the fact that one has recorded a recognition of prior experience with the knowledge. One of the challenges of assessing informal learning is there are no standards on which to base the evaluation (Smith, 2006). Smith states and quotes from researchers looking at ways to structure informal learning assessment, that assessment of informal learning is in its infancy and while a programmatic approach is postulated, there are still pitfalls into this methodology.

Informal learning is gaining momentum in the area of situated learning and workplace knowledge expansion. If we are to validate this form of learning as part of our professional development, it is important that some measures are established to not only assess the quality of knowledge acquired, but to ensure that creditable communities are administrated to facilitate this unique and progressive form of knowledge sharing activity.