Informal learning

I think the term informal learning, rather than e-learning, or online learning, encompasses the Praxis ideal quite well. By informal, I mean simply ‘learning that happens outside the formal structures of school or college’. Let me elaborate on the difference.

Traditional education drives learners towards specific, pre-determined outcomes with its tests, curricula, and other structures. It instills dependency rather than self-direction, or autonomy. Without ever having to make any decisions for ourselves, I would argue that we do not develop a keen sense of learning how to learn.

Yet the moment we leave school we’re faced with a problem: we notice that in real life, no-one ever learns anything in such deterministic, formalistic way – it’s certainly not how we function in work situations.

In the past, being poorly equipped to learn in this way wasn’t the end of the world. That is changing, however. Every one of us now has to learn like crazy just to keep up with developments around us. Given the digital future that surely awaits us all, a formalist learning approach won’t be of much help – certainly not in the work context. (I can see, incidentally, how the strictly formalist Chinese education is particuarly unsuited to the digital economy.)

An informal learning approach, must provide a learner-centric flexibility and a wide selection of options to choose from. The learners should be able to choose according to his needs with content that is easy to find/access. The metaphor is Google search rather than the test paper. This is why we strive to build as much flexibility into Praxis Language programs as possible.

All organizations, I believe, must become learning organizations. Learning and sharing information must lie at the center of all that we do at Praxis, both in our working life as well, of course, as in our communities of practice.

Ken Carroll