What is Informal Learning

Learning that takes place outside the classroom without teacher oversight.

Learning that takes place outside of institutionally defined contexts; for example, learning on the job and in one’s personal life. It can be associated with other concepts such as lifelong and continuous learning, both of which are becoming more important in today’s information society.

Learning in which both goals and processes of learning are defined by the learner, and where the learning is situated rather than preestablished.

Consists in learning what each individual does with their peers or society spontaneously or intentionally.

The learning that takes place in institutions such as museums, art galleries, etc., which is often free choice, open ended, and social.

Pervasive incidental learning from everyday life.

Educational opportunities that occur outside of traditional classroom and/or school settings.

Informal learning is unstructured and takes place away from formal learning settings.

Forms of learning that are intentional or deliberate but are not institutionalized.

The unofficial, unscheduled, impromptu way that most of the people who learn to do their jobs go through (Cross, 2006).

Learning happening outside of a structured, formal classroom environment.

Learning that occurs outside of formal and non-formal learning settings, and is often self-directed or incidental.

Learning resulting from daily activities, often related to experiential learning and often considered accidental learning; it may be intentional but is generally mostly non-intentional from the learner’s point of view.

Consists in learning what each individual does with their peers or society spontaneously or intentionally.

Learning which is unstructured and self-directed.

Refers to learning that does not take place in formal education and training environments, but instead occurs as a result of everyday life and professional practice, e.g., at home, work, and throughout society. It has no defined curriculum and is not planned or pedagogically conscious. Many researchers and theorists have suggested that informal learning accounts for up to 75% of our learning.

Can be defined as a result of doing daily activities. It is not organised nor has a formal recognition, for it can be made during daily tasks, such as observation, asking questions, trial and error, and sometimes it can even be accidental.

Informal learning is a form of learning that occurs anywhere and anytime depending on the learners’ perceptions, needs, and experiences.

Learning resulting from daily activities related to work, family or leisure. It is not organised or structured in terms of objectives, time or learning support and in most cases is unintentional from the learner’s perspective.

Learning activities and approaches tacitly defined and initiated by the discipline and disciplinary community of which the student is part.

Term used to refer to all the learning that occurs outside formal education or schooling. It can be intentional or not; such as when something is learnt without expecting it, and/or self-driven or not; as when something is learnt purposefully but without the help of any tutor or formal study guide.

Refers to those processes that see the individuals meet their cognitive/professional needs independently, even via “networked” interaction within professional communities of practice aimed at enhancing the sharing of knowledge and best practices.

It arises from the personal interests and intrinsic motivations of an individual to acquire knowledge.

A form of learning often defined as having no set objective in terms of learning outcomes and is often referred to as learning by experience or learning via participation and often includes socialization and play.

Non-institutionalized and voluntary learning, learning through participation, student-centered, self-directed, and meaningful experiences integrated in community life.

Learning that is not organised and structured by an institution. It may take place in environments that already have some connections with learning, e.g. museums and art galleries, or anywhere the learner chooses.

Learning that is not confined to formal learning environment and is often unstructured, unplanned, and self-directed; it may not have clear objectives and can occur unintentionally.

Knowledge gained through other activities that are provided by non-trained educators or without a formal curriculum.

The informal learning modality is not structured. It typically happens spontaneously through experimentation in daily life.

Informal learning is neither institutionally planned nor functionally defined, but opportunistic and spontaneous. It can take place within or outside of institutionally planned education

It is a kind of learning that can be accomplished in a great range of time and places, for example at work, at home, and so on. It is based essentially on daily interactions and social relations.

Any form of education that takes place outside of a structured setting or is embedded within daily life experiences.

Learning that is self-directed, intentional, and is explicit and tacit.

A kind of personal learning, often unplanned and at times unconscious, that results from interacting with a context or environment.

Unstructured learning that allows persons to acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, within the individual’s environment (i.e., family, friends, peer groups, etc.).

Informal learning encompasses opportunities and environments that can afford informal learning processes. Such processes are not dictated by predetermined learning objectives and are self-directed by learners in incidental situations. Informal learning happens beyond formal schooling and learning settings.

It occurs in everyday life. It is not intentional learning; individuals may not perceive the informal knowledge and skills that they have acquired.

Learning through participation (unorganized, unstructured).

An educational process which takes place outside a conventional learning environment. The process is typically self-directed and can be structured or unstructured.

Learning and engagement that occurs outside formal school settings.

This type of learning takes place outside schools and colleges and usually is not initiated with a learning purpose in mind.

Knowledge acquisition happening outside the institutional school system.

This refers to self-directed learning that takes place in communities of social practices and learners are responsible for their own learning objectives, pace and path.

“Any activity involving the pursuit of understanding, knowledge, or skill which occurs without the presence of externally imposed curricular criteria”. The objectives, content, learning strategies, duration, and evaluation of outcomes are “determined by the individuals and groups that choose to engage in it” ( Livingstone, 2001 , p. 5).

It is defined as learning resulting from daily-life activities related to work, family, or leisure. It is often referred to as experiential learning, and can, to a certain degree, be understood as accidental learning. It is not structured in terms of learning objectives or learning time. Informal learning may be intentional, but in most cases, it is nonintentional.

Refers to learning that does not take place in formal education and training environments, but instead occurs as a result of everyday life and professional practice, e.g., at home, work, and throughout society. It has no defined curriculum and is not planned or pedagogically conscious. Many researchers and theorists have suggested that informal learning accounts for up to 75% of our learning. See also lifelong learning.

It is a learning type taking place outside the boundaries of formal learning.

Learning which is not provided by a formal educational or training institution and oftentimes does not lead to certification. Informal learning results from daily, social life activities related to education, work, and socialising as examples.

Informal learning refers to loosely structured, continuous learning that is often the result of collaboration and interaction. Informal learning can occur anytime or anywhere. Specific to job-embedded learning, informal learning may take place during peer coaching, mentoring, and collaborative meetings.

Learning that occurs as a byproduct of other activities.

Also referred to as social learning and serves as a way of sharing information informally within and between groups of individuals.

This chapter discusses several different definitions and theories of informal learning. Common characteristics in these models include: learner determined order of “instruction”, the absence of a teacher who plans and/or delivers instruction, non-sequential (open system) nature of learning ( Marsick & Watkins, 1990 ; Eraut, 2004 ).

Learning that occurs outside of formal settings (e.g., school) and that allows for the development and/or continued growth of skills and approaches to learning in less structured ways across settings and contexts.

Self-directed, often just-in-time and applied knowledge acquisition. Using the resources at hand to find what is needed to be known when it’s needed.

Unstructured learning that allows persons to acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, within the individual’s environment (i.e., family, friends, peer groups, etc.).

Unstructured learning that allows persons to acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, within the individual’s environment (i.e., family, friends, peer groups, etc.).

A form of learning in which individuals engage with content and activities outside of the context of classrooms, schools and similar educational structures.

Learning that takes place in venues outside of formal classroom settings, for example, work and home settings.

Learning that takes place in venues outside of formal classroom settings, for example, work and home settings.

Is (1) based on learning from experience; (2) embedded in the organizational context; (3) oriented to a focus on action; (4) governed by non-routine conditions; (5) concerned with tacit dimensions that must be made explicit; (6) delimited by the nature of the task, the way in which problems are framed, and the work capacity of the individual undertaking the task; and (7) enhanced by proactivity, critical reflectivity and creativity ( Watkins & Marsick, 1992 , p. 287).

Learning resulting from daily life activities related to work, family, or leisure. It is often referred to as experiential learning and can to a certain degree be understood as accidental learning. It is not structured in terms of learning objectives, learning time and/or learning support. Typically, it does not lead to certification. Informal learning may be intentional but in most cases, it is non-intentional (or ‘incidental’/random) (CEDEFOP GLOSSARY, 2000).

Unstructured learning that allows persons to acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, within the individual’s environment (i.e., family, friends, peer groups, etc.).

Informal learning is learning that takes place outside of institutionally defined contexts, for example learning on the job and in one’s personal life. It can be associated with other concepts such as lifelong and continuous learning, both of which are becoming more important in today’s information society.

Unintentional learning from daily life or experience.

An adult learning concept, which recognizes that learning can occur through everyday experiences.

Informal learning is the unstructured, boundary-less, and ubiquitous learning embedded in our lives.

Unstructured learning that allows persons to acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, within the individual’s environment (i.e., family, friends, peer groups, etc.).

Unstructured, experiential, and non-institutional learning. Informal learning occurs through everyday working situations, 2) is neither structured nor intentional, 3) happens by interacting with others, and 4) takes place spontaneously and often unconsciously.

It is the continuous process of acquisition of knowledge by an individual, which is responsible for their learning that occurs through their daily experiences.

A term for which a wide range of definitions apply, but no commonly agreed one exists in the literature. Here, informal learning is defined as learning that takes place in the work context and arises both from participation – doing the work - and from social interactions with peers and experts in the workplace.

Informal learning refers to learning that is done outside of the organization’s control. It may or may not have a stated goal or be deliberately planned.

Learning that is unstructured, often unintended, and implemented outside of a conventional learning setting.

Learning through life experiences.

Unstructured learning that allows persons to acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience, within the individual’s environment (i.e., family, friends, peer groups, etc.).