Abstract:
Informal learning can be broadly characterised as learning found in everyday
opportunities where learners interact with the world around them. It can be
distinguished from formal learning where the purpose, structure and content for
learning are imposed on the learner. When informal learning occurs in the context of
work or organised settings, factors such as performance, practice, sociocultural
dynamics and situational context influence its nature and quality. Previous research
by Beckett, Hager and Halliday (Beckett, 1996; Beckett & Hager, 2000, 2002; Hager,
2001; Halliday & Hager, 2002) asserts that productive informal learning is better
characterised as a growing capacity to make contextual-sensitive judgements - a
discretionary and discriminating process that involves holistic and embodied
knowing.
Our paper reports on progress in an Australian Research Council funded Discovery
project designed to test this judgement-as-learning approach. Detailed case studies of
critical incidents in a range of workplaces are being constructed and the learning or
otherwise by key players involved in these incidents is being elucidated and analysed.
This empirical investigation provides a means of analysing significant workplace
events in order to develop a model of informal learning and an associated theory of
practice. The paper outlines the overall project rationale and discusses findings from
one initial case study. Additional findings from other case studies developed after
submission of this paper, will be presented and discussed at the conference.
