Chapter Six: Learning Environments and Learning Concepts

Lauren Hanna11/23/2011

Landscapes of Learning Opportunities

• There are four different settings that create learning opportunities. Each category is of equal importance:

Formal Learning• Highly institutionalized• Bureaucratic• Curriculum driven• Rewarded with grades, certifications, diplomas, etc.

Examples: Texas A&M University, Secondary Education, PHR Certification

Formal Learning

Positive Feedback:

• Well organized• Knowledgeable• Caring instructors• Participatory instructional

method and well crafted lectures

• Relevant resources and materials

Negative Feedback:

• Arrogant instructors• Taught audience as if they had

no recollection of the materials

• Irrelevant resources, methods and materials

• Poor delivery method• Poor organization

Nonformal Learning

• Learning opportunities outside the formal education system

• Short Term and voluntary• Consists of hands on activities• Few, if any, prerequisites• Consists of curriculum and facilitator

Examples: Video games, Field trips, libraries, homeowners association meetings, Bugle Call, religious gatherings, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xjCdN_rWCE Here is a video of the trailer for Call of Duty. There is a narrator (instructor) that tells you the type of missions and how to get to the next mission.

Open hyperlink below:

Brennan’s Three Subtypes of Nonformal Education

• Education for those who failed to gain basic skills from a formal institution

• Education that is quick to cater to someone’s specific need. Examples include community colleges, curriculums for persons who are illiterate, etc.

• Education programs that react to social and economical situations. Examples would be creating forums that ate focused on issues such as healthcare, immigration, etc.

Additional Facts:• Nonformal is inexpensive compared to formal education systems• Nonformal systems assist with individual’s personal needs such as international

development programs or home schooling

Informal Learning

• Also known as “everyday learning”• Unstructured• Spontaneous• Unorganized• Learners seek information on their own

i.e. surfing the Internet on websites such as Google or YouTube

Where does informal learning occur?

Schugurensky’s Three Forms of Informal Learning

Informal Learning

Self-directedSocialization/ tacit learning

Incidental learning

Informal Learning• Here is a perfect example of informal

learning and how it occurs in our everyday lives. Think about when you get in the car, you automatically will recognize a song on your favorite radio station and begin to sing it. Do you ever think about how you learned the words?

• Open the hyperlink on the arrow image.• The video proves how others are

constantly learning off of others. Nicki Minaj sings the song “Super Bass” and the little girl Sophia has learned how to sound just like her. Then at the end Minaj mentions to formal learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhmsGV0AmIg

Open Hyperlink above

Online Learning

• Technology-based learning

Benefits:• Quick access to learning material• Provides audiovisual and multimedia

activities • Provides quick rate of change in

formation• Learners stay engaged• Allows unlimited amount of time to

complete tasks • Flexibility • Location

Online Opportunities

• One of the greatest advantages of online learning is its flexibility.

• Online flexibility provides opportunities for:– Teleconferencing– Allowing individuals to work

from home– Employees are not required

to attend training at a specific time (unlimited timing)

Click Play

Online opportunities created a way for former Aggie and present astronaut, Mike Fossum, to speak to the crowd and give a pregame speech all the way from outer space!

Organizational Learning/ Learning Organizations

• Terms are often used to explain one another

• Organizational Learning- when employees learn about where their organization stands internally, learn about their organization compared to competitors and employees develop frameworks on their direct experiences to solve organizational issues

• Learning Organization- employees are encouraged to learn new information about their subject matter as much as possible, the more the organization continues to learn, the more successful the organization will be

Click below:

The cellular phone industry is very competitive. Apple does an outstanding job staying ahead of its competitors by being a learning organization.

Key Elements of Organizational Learning/ Learning Organizations

• Participation is key• Encourage and enhance teamwork • Create proactive performance• Strengthens quality assurance• All employees act as “Learning Agents” where they seek new

innovative ways to improve learning experience• Knowledge Management (KM) and Organizational Development

(OD) intersect when organizations are trying to incorporate learning into frequently changing organizations and cultures and how to engage the knowledge through group and individual learning

Life Long Learning Vs.

Life Long Education

• Life long learning- broad, where a person is encouraged to continue learning in any of the three settings: informal, nonformal or formal

• Life long education- Specific, where a person is encouraged to proceed with their education through a formal learning setting

References:• Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in

adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Wiley & Sons.• Anderson, T. (2008). The theory and practice of online learning. Edmont: AU

Press, Athabasca University. • Kedrayate, A. (1997) The conceptualisation of non-formal education (19).

Retreived from: http://www.directions.usp.ac.fj/collect/direct/index/assoc/D770130.dir/ doc.pdf

• Easterby-Smith, M., Araujo, L. & Burgoyne, J.G (1999). Organizational learning and the learning organization: developments in theory and practice. London, UK: Sage Publications.

• Levitt, B. & March, J. G. (1988) Organizational learning. Annual Review of Sociology, 14, 319-340.

• YouTube.com- videos• Google.com- images

Thanks and Gig ‘em