E-learning Curve Blog at Edublogs

Concluding our overview of influences which are contributing to the emergence of informal and non-formal learning in the workplace.

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I’m looking at some influences which are contributing to the emergence of informal and non-formal learning in the workplace. In my previous post on this topic, I outlined five change factors:

Blended learning
Talent management
Web / Learning 2.0
Knowledge centers
Immersive learning simulations (serious gaming).

I will discuss the first three of these today. [...]

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The tender shoots of non-formal learning will inevitably be destroyed by the weeds of empire building.

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Many commentators, including Stern and Sommerlad (1999) assert that informal and non-formal learning
…have acquired visibility and saliency [because they] sit at the juncture of new thinking concerning the nature of learning about new forms of knowledge, about the transformation of the nature of work and about the modern enterprise in a globalized economy
(cited in [...]

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Learning professionals need to begin working with lines of business outside of the HR / Training orbit to provide learning opportunities for employees.

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Informal learning should no longer be regarded as an inferior form of learning whose main purpose is to act as the precursor of formal learning; it needs to be seen as fundamental, necessary and valuable in its own right, at times directly relevant to employment and at other times not relevant at all.
(Coffield 2000, [...]

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Looking specifically at learning in the workplace, Michael Eraut in Non-formal learning, implicit learning and tacit knowledge (2000) makes a clear distinction between his interpretation of the term ‘non-formal learning’ and what others including Scribner (1988), Conner (2002) and Cross (2003) would call ‘informal learning’ – what Eraut terms ‘incidental learning’ or

the acquisition of knowledge [...]

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One of the central components of the impact of learning (and specifically the development of information workers’ expertise in organizations) is the context within which the learning takes place. A central pillar of this discussion is the type or format of the learning taking place. In the literature, it is apparent that a dichotomy exists [...]

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There is a dichotomy between formal, goal-directed training programs and informal learning initiatives – “learning at the watercooler.”

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Changes in the world economy are forcing corporations to rethink how workers learn. What accounts for the interest in informal learning? Does it work?

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