We consider research and theory relevant to the notion of informal learning. Beginning with historical and definitional issues, we argue that learning happens not just in schools or in school-aged children. Many theorists have contrasted informal learning with formal learning. Moving beyond this dichotomy, and away from a focus on where learning occurs, we discuss five dimensions of informal learning that are drawn from the literature: (1) non-didactive, (2) highly socially collaborative, (3) embedded in meaningful activity, (4) initiated by learner's interest or choice, and (5) removed from external assessment. We consider these dimensions in the context of four sample domains: learning a first language, learning about the mind and emotions within families and communities, learning about science in family conversations and museum settings, and workplace learning. Finally, we conclude by considering convergences and divergences across the different literatures and suggesting areas for future research. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 646-655 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.143 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
This article is intended to spark a discussion between two research communities—scholars who study learning and scholars who study educational organizations. A secondary purpose is to encourage researchers to look beyond schools to examine learning in other types of educational organizations. The authors outline a framework to guide research on the relationship between learning and the social contexts afforded by formal organizations. The framework combines elements of cultural historical activity theory, a sociocultural theory of learning, and institutional theory, which is a constructivist theory of organization. The authors employ preliminary findings from research and secondary historical accounts to illustrate the potential of the framework for guiding research that ties learning to contexts in formal organizations.
Nutzungsbedingungen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 The TOBTOT's design was grounded in a syncretic theoretical framework. Syncretism refers to merging and analyzing originally discrete traditions, asserting an underlying unity, or reconfirming an underlying discontinuity with more clarity. We argue that such syncretic approaches, when combined with constantly checking against the data, are important to the emerging discipline of research on learning in informal learning settings.In the sections below, we first situate the development of The TOBTOT theoretically and provide an orientation to its purposes; second, describe what The TOBTOT can do as well as its limitations; and, finally, situate this research within three epistemic tensions: particularistic and holistic data collection and analysis, qualitative and quantitative representations, and everyday and formal science discourse. Theoretical UnderpinningsSeveral theoretical traditions inform our methodological decisions. Following Vygotsky (1987), language is viewed as the pre-eminent tool for learning and teaching. Such assumptions are based on the idea that conversation is both emergent and structured (Halliday, 1975;Halliday & Hasan, 1985;Wells, 1993Wells, , 1996. Following Bakhtin (1986) we view dialogue in terms of "multiple authorship of…all texts, written or spoken," (Wertsch, 1991, p. 49). Lemke (1998) expressed such views succinctly saying, "All language in use, whether spoken or written, is explicitly or implicitly dialogical…it is addressed to someone, and addresses them and its own thematic content, from some point-ofview" (p. 181). Such theory suggests that talking, listening, responding, gesturing, interacting with others and with the artifacts and living objects in museums and aquaria are central activities in making sense of science.Key aspects of such research include identifying and tracking the quality and quantity of scientific subject matter content. The development of science concepts within dialogic contexts has been reported in classrooms (Kelly & Chen, 1999;Warren et al., 2001); similar research has been less evident in informal learning settings. Classroom researchers have found it useful it to look for thematic patterns (Ash, in press b; Lemke, 1990) to understand the development of science content. Lemke (1998) has suggested that the "direct uses of scientific concepts can be directly sampled, assessed, and compared…[but] you need to be familiar with both the subject matter content of the discourse or text, and with the semantics…at the level of Halliday (1985) and Hasan (1984)" (p. 184). We are reminded that content and dialogic process need to be studied in tandem in order (Gumperz, 1982; Schiffrin, 1994; Scott et al, 2001). This framework cannot, however, organize data into discrete units for reliably coding conversational movement t...
This study examines the historical conditions that fostered significant reform in science education. To understand these conditions, we employ a framework drawn from the new institutionalism in organization theory to study the founding and early development of the Exploratorium-a prominent science center that greatly impacted the field of science education. We examine how the Exploratorium employed institutional resources that were available in its environment to develop a new type of organization: an interactive science center. Our findings reveal that the Exploratorium was shaped by the state, which includes all levels of government; the mass media; and the professions, including science, education, and museums. In addition, we explore the pivotal role an individual, Frank Oppenheimer, played in leveraging the institutional environment in which an organization was developing. Our findings suggest that (a) reform in science education may be more profoundly advanced by the development of a new type of organization than by "tinkering" with an existing type of organization such as schools, and (b) that interactive science centers should exercise caution in navigating the changing seas of science education by maintaining their core mission and collaborating with new types of organizations that arise in response to the changing environment.
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