(Julia Shuck is a student intern at The Xplanation, writing a regular column on education and working behind the scenes in our research department.)
Informal learning. It’s something I do as a university student everyday but never imagined it had an actual name until I heard Michael Feldstein, member of the Sakai Foundation, speak at our annual Xplana event. Feldstein’s presentation focused on the importance of informal learning at the secondary education level and the need for these institutions to tap into informal learning opportunities. The problem is that there aren’t many examples of how to blend the two and universities don’t know where to start. So, I’m going to do it; I’m going to be the snitch that talks about how college students learn informally. (No worries, I’m the youngest child so I’m good at snitching.)
Before embarking, I think it’s best to make sure we’re on the same page. According towww.mariaconner.com, learning happens on a spectrum with four areas:
- Formal learning- taking classes or attending work meetings
- Intentional learning- reading, studying
- Unexpected learning- social media, internet surfing
- Informal learning- from friends and family, joining a sports team
The universities have formal and intentional learning figured out, but there’s a disconnect when it comes to unexpected and informal learning. How, where and what do we, as college students, learn outside of the lecture hall?
Use Case #1: Tailgating
Saturday was my last football home game. As the last home game of my undergraduate career, tailgating was not an option. After arriving to our end destination, the pirate flag, we started to mix and mingle. In the midst of the chatter, I met someone in my college and it was instant bonding. There are some things you can’t explain, you just have to experience it and a college with a small town atmosphere is no different. While I didn’t intend to, I was learning more about another degree in my college and as an ambassador, it’s my job to recruit high school students and be informed about our different degree programs. I learned more about the Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) degree during half time of the football game than I had the previous four years. And it was more fun and memorable learning about the degree this way as opposed to reading the PRT info sheet.
Once the cold became too much to handle we headed downtown to watch the game on TV. We bumped into another group of long lost friends. While texting a roommate I was asked which photography professor I knew- Katie is taking a photo class next semester. Lo and behold, Joe will be Katie’s professor next semester. Being friends with Joe instead of a student, I started to tell her what makes him tick. I didn’t tell her what it was like to be his student, I told her what it was like for him to teach a class of students that are constantly texting and think this is going to be an easy class so they don’t put forth much effort. While the cell phone comment gave her a stunned look, she was ready to give it her all and explain to him that she was in this for the long haul. Not only did she get “backstage” information but on the spot she determined how she would handle the situations as they came her way.
Could attending game day be a more informal way of learning? Better yet, could it be a more unexpected? The day ended at a bar where everyone had their game players and bounced back and forth between trivia on the big screen and word games on the handheld devices. Who is Ronny Cox anyways? (He’s an actor, singer-songwriter, thank you smartphone!)
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