Informal learning refers to "science learning that occurs outside the traditional, formal schooling realm." Sites such as museums, zoos, aquariums, parks, science centers, planetariums, the school yard, and others all have the potential to shape young people's minds. Parents might see a day at the beach as a recreational opportunity while biology…

Background/Context: As the economy grows ever more tight, the school (K-16) is increasingly important in relation to life choices and outcomes, and researchers who focus on youth culture, often in and out of school contexts, can no longer afford to ignore such traditional educational institutions. If school credentials do not "guarantee" social…

Research and development on formative assessment has paid little attention to part-time adult basic education in informal community-based settings. A three-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, and the Quality Improvement Agency addresses that gap in vocational and…

In this article, we explore how two informal educational contexts--an aquarium and an after-school science program--enabled disenfranchised learners to adopt an identity as insiders to the world of science. We tell the stories of four youth, relating what doing science meant to them and how they positioned themselves in relation to science. We…

This paper describes the Science in the City seminar, an innovative approach to in-service and preservice science teacher development that bridges formal and informal science learning contexts. Drawing upon the tenets of design and evaluation research, the study focuses on the teachers' presentations of evidence of student learning from trips they…

Transfer of training from an instructional environment to a natural environment may bring about ineffective language performance by bilingual individuals. In that regard, this study was designed to demonstrate the effect of such a transition on individuals' language performance. A series of Japanese and English words were used as sample and…

Although workplace learning is frequently characterized as informal, it usually involves structured, goal-directed, intentional activities. Instead, learning should be seen as interdependent between the individual and the social practice. Tensions arise between the need for continuity and work practices and individual needs to realize goals.…

A survey of 400 workers elicited opinions on the effectiveness of leader behaviors on informal learning. All three of Senge's leader roles (designer, teacher, steward) were present; the designer role was rated the weakest. Levels of agreement varied by occupational group and duration of employment. (Contains 69 references.) (SK)

This study investigated the dynamics of intersubjectivity within the zone of proximal development. Its theoretical framework is based on three principal approaches to intersubjectivity, those of J. Wertsch (1984; 1985), B. Rogoff (1990), and R. Rommertveit (1979), with reference also to self-regulatory speech (L. Vygotsky, 1986). Data were…

Reviews definitions of and debates over distinctions among formal, informal, and nonformal learning. Outlines questions about four aspects of formality/informality with which to analyze learning situations: process, location/setting, purposes, and content. (SK)

With the premise that schooling should make a difference in students' everyday experience, the authors synthesize research on the influence of school learning on students' out-of-school experience by addressing the contributions and shortcomings of four research areas: (a) transfer, (b) out-of-school learning environments, (c) school-prompted…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to contribute to an understanding of how diverse groups of employees perceive their workplaces as learning environments, and to cast light on the learning processes of these diverse groups of employees. Design/methodology/approach: This study was designed to examine employee perceptions of: the extent to…

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to describe adolescent motivational processes. Early adolescents (N=137), their accompanying adults, and venue staff members were interviewed and observed in specific informal science education venues. A typological analysis of the data revealed: (1) activities by early adolescents take place…

Defines workplace learning and outlines conditions and characteristics. Identifies learning paradigms and models and discusses the role of workplace learning in the development of learning organizations. (SK)

Outlines components of workplace learning environments: individual/collective skill learning, learning to learn, and higher-order organizational learning. Suggests that studies counting only formal training discount older workers' participation in informal and work-based learning. Related learning environment characteristics to assumptions about…