I really enjoy listening to children talk about learning. Their simple, enthusiastic descriptions indict the academic dross we professionals have layered onto a natural process.

I think we need to look at the quality of ‘informal learning’ and not just its occurrence before we can have grounds for productive discussion.

I’m not denying that it happens – far from it. But simply saying that activities that challenge or appear to engender confidence constitute useful learning seems a bit less than useful.

There are many examples of children and young adults who have benefited informal learning to a very high degree, and this learning continued throughout their lives in many cases. Thomas Edison is such an example – a boy who had much ‘informal learning’ and became legendary as one of the world’s greatest inventors. Norman Kirk, who became Prime Minister of New Zealand late in the 20th century likewise was an example of one who succeeded through informal learning he received as a child and I’ve no doubt his informal learning continued until his untimely death in 1974.

Clearly these examples among others indicate that informal learning can be gained and from an early age in ways that show its power and potential to be beneficial to its recipients.

My candid feeling is that what the individual makes of informal learning is as much to do with its success as does what the individual makes of formal learning. I guess it comes down to what the individual can make of life experience in terms of learning from it.

If we examine the evidence closely, I posit that there would be much evidence to show that success and usefulness of an individual’s learning lay with the individual and what they took out of it, no matter how they acquired the learning, formal or informal.

Ka kite

I’m not sure though whether informal learning is a useful term, as it sounds as if we may be considering every experience outside of a formal setting as informal learning; that is a very wide definition.

Your point about challenge is well made. The level of challenge has to be correlated to an individuals willingness and motivation to take risks and pursue personal or social goals. It is likely to be very individual and personalised.

Creating or linking real life experiences and activities to formal learning should of course be at the core of teaching practice.