Serendipity35

We had a discussion at our writing center about how to define formal and informal writing. Both are part of our writing-intensive courses, but we had some disagreements with faculty about our definitions. That's a topic for another post. But, while I was searching online this weekend for more information from other schools, I came across some information about a book by Jay Cross called Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance.

That led me to an article on Informal Learning 2.0 on his blog. In the article (which also appears in the August 2009 edition of Chief Learning Officer magazine), he also writes about his concept of learnscapes:

Learnscapes are the factory floor of knowledge organizations. The “scape” part underscores the need to deal at the level of the learning environment or ecology. The old focus on events such as workshops won’t cut it in the ever-changing swirl produced by networks. The “learn” part highlights the importance of baking the principles of sound learning into that environment rather than leaving it to chance.

I thought that perhaps his definitions of formal and informal learning might help me define the same in academic writing.

Learning is formal when someone other than the learner sets curriculum. Typically, it’s an event, on a schedule and completion is generally recognized with a symbol, such as a grade, gold star, certificate or check mark in a learning management system. Formal learning is pushed on learners.

By contrast, informal learners usually set their own learning objectives. They learn when they feel a need to know. The proof of their learning is their ability to do something they could not do before. Informal learning often is a pastiche of small chunks of observing how others do things, asking questions, trial and error, sharing stories with others and casual conversation. Learners are pulled to informal learning.

I don't think very much informal writing goes on in courses by his definition. Taking notes during a class and writing drafts (that weren't required) are the ones that come to mind. It seems to me that almost all writing done in a course is formal (and graded) by his definitions. That seems rather sad.

And I'm not sure how happy colleges would be with his "fewer instructors" idea.

Industrial-age training required flocks of instructional designers to develop training programs and instructors to deliver them. In a networked learning environment, self-service learning replaces many programs, so fewer instructors are required. The pull approach provides more bang for the buck, enabling corporations to get more results while simultaneously cutting costs.

I would be curious to hear your own definitions of formal and informal learning or reactions to what Cross has written. And before I wrote a post about my own definitions of formal & informal writing, I would love your comments.

Jay Cross on YouTube