This paper reports on the results of a research-practice partnership that included a U.S. university research team and a state-funded grants program that supports informal science education. The goal of the 2-year partnership was to develop an empirically-tested model for collaboration and capacity-building (CCB) in support of collective…

Out of school informal learning environments provide an excellent experience for students to develop scientific curiosity and critical thinking skills. Currently, there is a range of methods available for supporting STEM learning. As schools focus on college and career readiness, while giving high school students opportunities to take college…

The purpose of this manuscript is to explore how students perceive that online practices have enabled their participation in university physics programmes. In order to conceptualise how students bridge their science participation across physical and online spaces, we make use of the learning ecology perspective. This perspective is complemented…

This article presents the results of the development and implementation of a mentorship program, now in its sixth year, designed to support the professional development of teaching skills for faculty and contract instructors. The program is unique in that it is a combination of a variety of other approaches such as formal and informal mentoring as…

The primary aim of this research study was to examine the impact of informal digital English learning, facilitated by various online sources such as educational content, entertainment content, and socialisation content, on students' motivation to acquire English as a second language and their general attitude towards the process of learning…

Internships offer the opportunity to gain experience and skills by working in organisations or to establish a professional network, and there is empirical evidence of the positive effects of practical experience in higher education. However, there are only a few studies on the characteristics of workplace tasks that facilitate learning during…

Purpose: Systematic efforts to study students' use of informal learning spaces are crucial for determining how, when and why students use such spaces. This case study provides an example of an effort to evaluate an informal learning space on the basis of students' usage of the space and the features within the space. Design/methodology/approach:…

This research aims to question the effect of adopting non-formal and informal learning environments into architectural education on the overall learning experiences of architecture students. In this context, a series of out-of-school activities organised within the scope of Maltepe University, Faculty of Architecture and Design, which are based on…

Chemistry outreach, a type of informal science education commonly practiced by college students, has primarily been studied by looking at individuals' approaches and perspectives. However, it is much more common for college students to plan and conduct chemistry outreach events as part of a group/club/chapter, not independently. In this case…

Educational experiences rooted in community engagement offer a powerful and effective method by which to prepare students as the next generation of active citizens. This study critically analyzes and illustrates the potential of using community engagement as the focus of an informal curriculum in an Asian university's living-and-learning…

Quality assurance in higher education extends beyond the boundaries of formal learning to encompass the recognition of non-formal and informal learning experiences. Non-formal and informal learning play a significant role in individuals' acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies. Recognizing the value of these alternative learning…

The purpose of the present study is to attain a better understanding of Collaborative Learning in Informal Spaces (CLIS) by addressing the nature of learning activities that will trigger socio-cognitive conflicts and the kind of socio-emotional challenges experienced in CLIS. To this end, research was conducted over four weeks where tasks were…

The present study aims to develop, validate, and cross-validate an instrument measuring three proactive social informal learning activities, namely feedback seeking, help seeking and information seeking. Prior research mainly focused on detecting or measuring the frequency of these seeking behaviours and did not consider whether the information,…

In recent years, Portuguese universities have diversified their strategies for the promotion of entrepreneurial education among (under/post) graduates, both through formal education and non-formal and informal activities. Indeed, Higher Education Institutions can provide entrepreneurial learning opportunities for students, stimulating new…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate how community college supervisors in Arizona describe their role in promoting feedback-seeking, reflection, and active experimentation. The theoretical frameworks supporting this study were Bandura's social cognitive theory, Marsick and Watkins informal and incidental learning…