One quote from Wenger's article that I found really interesting was "From this perspective, the school is not the privileged locus of learning. It
is not a self-contained, closed world in which students acquire knowledge to be
applied outside, but a part of a broader learning system. The class is not the
primary learning event. It is life itself that is the main learning event.
Schools, classrooms, and training sessions still have a role to play in this
vision, but they have to be in the service of the learning that happens in the
world." When we look at where children learn, we think of the classroom, but this concept looks at the point that life and experiencing learning moments is where the "main learning event" occurs. From the inFed article, they point out "we
often assume that
learning 'has a beginning and an end; that it is best separated from the
rest of our activities; and that it is the result of teaching' (Wenger 1998: 3)". But Wenger and the concept of communities of practice oppose this statement. They state that learning opportunities happen in communities of practice that we sometimes don't even know we are a part of. Learning happens not just in the schools, but in every day experiences. We are constantly learning in every situation that we are a part of.
Some main points that I thought were interesting from the inFed article include:
- Learning is in the relationships between people.
- Educators work so that people can become participants in communities of practice.
- There is an intimate connection between knowledge and activity.
The article states that "A two-year study calculated that each hour of formal learning spills over to four-hours of informal learning or a 4:1 ratio (Cofer, 2000). Bell (1977) used the metaphor of brick and mortar to describe the relationship of formal and informal learning. Formal learning acts as bricks fused into the emerging bridge of personal growth. Informal learning acts as the mortar, facilitating the acceptance and development of the formal learning. He noted that informal learning should NOT replace formal learning activities as it is this synergy that produces effective growth". Those who oppose the concept of situated learning feel that formal learning is needed in order to set the context and to learn the crucial material and informal knowledge is where the learner can add more to that concept that they taught.
Personally, I feel that both formal and informal learning needs to happen. Giving a student the building blocks for them to learn is essential and also experiencing real life situations will help reinforce the learning that happened.
