ASSIGNMEN T
TOPIC :
INFORMAL LEARNING CONTEXTS
By,
AHULYA.D.K
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
ROLL:NO: 3
K U C T E, KULAKKADA
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INDEX
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INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
CHARACTERIZATIONS
OPPERTUNITIES PROVIDED BY INFORMAL LEARNING
SETTINGS
INFORMAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND EXAMPLES
PARK
MUSEUM
HISTORICAL MONUMENTS
PLAY GROUND
PLANETARIUM
ANERT
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
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INTRODUCTION
Science learning in informal contexts differs
from learning in formal contexts, such as classrooms or
laboratories, in many respects . Squire and Patterson compared
some of the key differences related to the use of games for
learning in the two different contexts . The authors caution that
comparing these differences along particular dimensions (such
as how time is structured) is not intended to put informal
contexts “in response” to formal contexts; informal contexts
may be as important as formal settings in people’s attitudes
toward and experience of science . They also note that formal
educational contexts may vary considerably. Nevertheless, in
general, informal science educators have more freedom than
formal science educators in the science learning goals they
pursue, how they pursue them, and the extent to which they need
to appeal to audiences that can choose how to spend their time.
Informal contexts for science learning with
simulations and games are diverse, varying along a number of
dimensions, including the physical setting
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HISTORY
In international discussions, the concept of informal learning,
already used by John Dewey at an early stage and later on by
Malcolm Knowles, experienced a renaissance, especially in the
context of development policy. At first, informal learning was
only delimited from formal school learning and nonformal
learning in courses (Coombs/Achmed 1974). Marsick and
Watkins take up this approach and go one step further in their
definition. They, too, begin with the organizational form of
learning and call those learning processes informal which are
non-formal or not formally organized and are not financed by
institutions (Watkins/Marsick.). 12 An example for a wider
approach is Livingstone's definition which is oriented towards
autodidactic and self-directed learning and places special
emphasis on the self-definition of the learning process by the
learner
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CHARACTERIZATIONS
Informal learning can be characterized as follows:

It
usually
takes
place
outside
educational
establishments;

It does not follow a specified curriculum and is not
often professionally organized but rather originates
accidentally, sporadically, in association with certain
occasions, from changing practical requirements;

It
is
not
necessarily
planned
pedagogically,
systematically according to fixed subjects, test and
qualification-oriented but rather, either unconsciously
incidental or consciously intended intuition, holistically
problem-related, and related to actual situations and
fitness for life;

It is experienced directly in its "natural" function of
everyday life.

It is often spontaneous and creative
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OPPERTUNITIES PROVIDED BY
INFORMAL LEARNING
Squire and Patterson (2009) observe that informal science
educators are largely free to pursue a variety of science learning
goals, from increasing ethnic diversity among scientists, to
increasing interest in science careers, to increasing the scientific
literacy of the general population. This diversity in goals,
together with the diversity of informal learning contexts,
presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity is
that educational game designers are free to create experiences
that appeal to individual students’ interests or span home,
school, and after-school contexts. At the same time, however,
this diversity of goals, contexts, and methods for reaching those
goals makes for a fragmented field.
INFORMAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND
EXAMPLES
Informal knowledge is information that has not been
externalized or captured and the primary locus of the
knowledge may be inside someone's head. For example,
in the cause of language acquisition, a mother may teach
a child basic concepts of grammar and language at home,
prior to the child entering a formal education system. In
such a case, the mother has a tacit understanding of
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language structures, syntax and morphology, but she may
not be explicitly aware of what these are
Other
examples
of
informal
knowledge transfer include instant messaging, a
spontaneous meeting on the Internet, a phone call to
someone who has information you need, a live one-timeonly sales meeting introducing a new product, a chat-room
in real time, a chance meeting by the water cooler, a
scheduled Web-based meeting with a real-time agenda, a
tech walking you through a repair process, or a meeting
with your assigned mentor or manager.
PARK
A park is an area of open space provided for recreational
use. It can be in its natural or semi-natural state, or
planted, and is set aside for human enjoyment or for the
protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist
of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas, but
may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as play
grounds. Many natural parks are protected by law.
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MUSEUM
. A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of
artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic,cultural,
or historical importance and makes them available for
public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or
temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities
throughout the world and more local ones exist in smaller
cities, towns and even the countryside. Museums have
varying aims, ranging from serving researchers and
specialists to serving the general public. The continuing
acceleration in the digitization of information, combined
with the increasing capacity of digital information storage,
is causing the traditional model of museums to expand to
include virtual exhibits and high-resolution images of their
collections for perusal, study, and exploration from any
place with Internet.The city with the largest number of
museums is Mexico City with over 128 museums.
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According to The World Museum Community, there are
more than 55,000 museums in 202 countries
HISTORICAL MONUMENT
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly
created to commemorate a person or important event, or
which has become important to a social group as a part of
their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or
as an example of historic architecture. The term
'monument' is often applied to buildings or structures that
are considered examples of important architectural and/or
cultural heritage.
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EIFFEL TOWER
PYRAMID
PLAY GROUND
A playground, playpark, or play area is a place with a
specific design to allow children to play there. It may be
indoors but is typically outdoors. While a playground is
usually designed for children, some playgrounds are
designed for other age groups Modern playgrounds often
have recreational equipment such as the seesaw, merrygo-round, swingset, slide, junglegym, chin-up
bars,sandbox, spring rider, monkey bars, overhead
ladder, trapeze rings, playhouses, and mazes, many of
which help children develop physical coordination,
strength, and flexibility, as well as
providing recreation and enjoyment
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PLNETARIUM
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting
educational and entertaining shows aboutastronomy and
the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation.
A dominant feature of most planetaria is the
large dome-shaped projection screen onto which scenes
of stars, planets and other celestial objects can be made
to appear and move realistically to simulate the complex
'motions of the heavens'. The celestial scenes can be
created using a wide variety of technologies, for example
precision-engineered 'star balls' that combine optical and
electro-mechanical technology, slide
projector, video and fulldome projector systems, and
lasers. Whatever technologies are used, the objective is
normally to link them together to provide an accurate
relative motion of the sky
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ANERT
Agency for Non-conventional Energy and Rural
Technology (ANERT) is an organisation working
under Government of Kerala, in Kerala, India, for
gathering and disseminating knowledge about nonconventional energy, energy conservation and rural
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technology. The organisation was established in 1985 with
headquarters atThiruvananthapuram.
CONCLUSION
Informal learning is, by default, any learning that is not
formal learning or non-formal learning. Informal learning is
organized differently than formal and non-formal learning
because it has no set objective in terms of learning
outcomes and is never intentional from the learner’s
standpoint. Often it is referred to as learning by experience
or just as experience. For all learners this includes
heuristic language building, socialization, inculturation,
and play
REFERENCES
 WWW.Informal learning contexts.com
 Wikipedia. Informal learning contexts
 Education in emerging Indian society
-Dr.Sivarajan
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