ABSTRACT
Learning in informal settings – at home, outdoors, in museums and in after-school clubs – can link educational content with issues that matter to learners in their lives. These connections work in both directions. Learning in schools and colleges can be enriched by experiences from everyday life; informal learning can be deepened by adding questions and knowledge from the classroom. Learning outside school supports the development of skills and dispositions that help students do better within school. By creating space in the formal curriculum for students to pursue individual themes based on their interests, a school can allow informal experiences to influence curriculum topics and tasks. Finding space to bring informal learning into formal education has the potential to enrich knowledge with experience. Adding formal direction to informal activities can enhance motivation and increase the impact of informal experiences on school learning and in the workplace.
