Re: evaluating the informal

Judy Diamondstone (diamonju who-is-at rci.rutgers.edu)
16 Jan 1999 18:06:51 -0000

I'll try my hand at that, Kevin. In "formal" learning, systematicity
is accomplished in terms of the perspective of a teacher or more capable other,
whose reference is a conceptually consistent history of ideas.
In "informal" learning, the systematicity is accomplished within the
learner's social history -- that is, that which is learned is consistent
with the learner's lived experience.

So actually, both kinds of learning co-occur, but settings,
institutional arrangements are designed to effect formality
or not.

whaddayall think?

Judy

At 10:32 AM 1/16/99 -0600, you wrote:
>I've had an interest in "informal" learning for some time. Thanks to those
>who have engaged in the topic and given references.
>
>I'd be interested in discussing how we make distinctions between "informal"
>and "formal" learning, drawing from sociocultural theory or other
>perspectives. How do we move beyond the folk categories of formal and
>informal? What is the category "informal" actually indexing with respect
>to relations to institutions, participant agency, structure, etc.?
>
>thanks,
>
>Kevin
>
>

Judith Diamondstone (732) 932-7496 Ext. 352
Graduate School of Education
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
10 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1183

Eternity is in love with the productions of time - Wm Blake