Describes entertainment and leisure activities with an information content that serve as informal sources of scientific knowledge available to the community. Discusses the present lack of communication and cross-referencing among the diverse groups concerned with the informal presentation of science and calls for greater sharing of ideas, data,…

Data from Pulap Atoll in Chuuk State (Micronesia) indicate ways in which indigenous culture can transform formal Western schooling. Although the educational system ostensibly derives from a U.S. model and occurs in a context that islanders recognize as nontraditional, many aspects of schooling continue to transmit Pulapese culture. (SLD)

Research suggests that after-school programs reduce juvenile crime and risky behavior; increase confidence, academic performance, and social skills; and build positive adult-child and home-school relationships. The need for supervised after-school activities, especially in poor neighborhoods; the characteristics of successful programs; and the…

The School of Education, Training and Development at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg offers a Bachelor of Education (Honours) to practising teachers who already have a four year teaching diploma. The programme is delivered through interactive learning materials and Saturday tutorial sessions. However, interviews and a student survey seem…

This study investigated the lived experiences of a group of students and their teacher as they negotiated learning and teaching during a sixth-grade exploratory music technology course taught in a music technology lab. Taking a qualitative and naturalistic approach, I sought to understand the challenges, issues, and successes experienced by the…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for "Genetics, Genomics, Genethics", along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Course takers report on the annual follow-up…

Formal and informal educational options available to older persons are briefly described, with attention to classroom courses, correspondence/home study courses, credit by examination, summer/weekend learning vacations, external degree programs, discussion groups, and self-study. Classes may be offered at public and private schools, community…

The impact of informal learning on young children in the course of their play activities is discussed. A major objective is to emphasize that informal learning can help lay the base for multiculturalism in elementary education. It enables children from different cultural backgrounds to relate to and understand each other through play activities…

Describes three teaching activities used in the Chemistry for Kids program which focus on how esters are chemicals partially responsible for the flavor of foods. Includes a discussion of a demonstration involving role-playing, a set of taste tests, and an activity using chewing gum to investigate odors in food. (TW)

Tacit knowledge, the knowledge that workers possess but do not articulate, is associated with terms such as "skill,""know-how,""working knowledge," and "expertise" that are used to describe knowledge about and ability to perform work. Learning that takes place through apprenticeships draws heavily on tacit…

Career and technical education (CTE) is the appropriate and preferred channel for leading a software-supported experiential mission shift to prepare, support, and evolve flexible, information-producing, high-performance knowledge workers for a continuous innovation society. Knowledge management attempts to capture human knowledge in the form of…

A qualitative study examined how formal and informal social and cultural learning for political action was incorporated into two women's organizations in Colombia: the Association of Daycare Mothers and the Community Mothers. Research was guided by the historic hermeneutic method, which identifies experience through the narrative testimonies of…

The concept of lifelong learning has become important in recent years as adults increasingly need to adapt and innovate, become more flexible workers, and take more active roles in the education of their children. Most of the discussion of lifelong learning, however, is couched in terms of formal educational institutions. But informal learning may…

This paper on adult informal learning is divided into four sections. Section 1 examines different conceptions of informal learning and the issues and limitations associated with alternative definitions of informal learning. Section 2 is a review of empirical research on the estimated extent, role, and outcomes of informal learning and posited…

A key concept underlying Equipped for the Future (EFF) relates to its contextualized approach to curriculum and instruction. While drawing on the body of cognitive research, research on the transfer of learning is of key importance for this principle. Effective learning requires not only acquisition but also active application of knowledge,…