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Group 5 - Learning in your own organizations

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Group 5 - Learning in your own organizations

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I work for the Ontario Works program, administering social assistance to individuals who need it. I was recently promoted and in a few weeks will go through the organization’s formal training program once again, but this time to learn the role of Casemanager.

The learning environment is formal, with 4 weeks of classroom training followed by 3 weeks of job shadowing. When I first participated in this training, it was all done virtually but now that COVID-19 is under control, my training will all be done in person at our main office. I am interested to see how the training differs in person versus when I did it online. Since Ontario Works is a government program, it is governed by a set of directives. One of these directives states that there must be formal training for all staff entering certain positions. While education is not the main purpose of my employer, it is certainly a central concern. The instructors are all former casemanagers with a lot of experience. This ensures new hires are being taught the correct way to administer our program, which is very important to the organization. Luckily for the trainers, there is not a whole lot of time spent developing the course material since it is taught on a regular cycle. The only non-contact time needed is when the province comes out with changes to the directives. This allows trainers to really focus on learners and ensure they are learning what they need to learn. What will be interesting when I start my training is that I am now learning from a completely different perspective. When I initially participated, I was new to Ontario Works and had to learn the directives as well as our very complex computer program. Now, I am experienced and already part of the workplace culture. I am very interested to see how my experience differs this time given my prior knowledge and experience.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

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Group 3 - Paige - Organizational Learning

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Group 3 - Paige - Organizational Learning

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Currently, I work within a college and help develop educational tools that can assist different types of students. During the pandemic, we have been creating more digital environments and uploading more content to be easily accessible to students. We have been using environments like Brightspace, Moodle, and our college-wide platform (Econestoga). Both in-class education and online delivery that is used within the college is centered around formal learning, as it is highly structured and organized.

Each course and class we offer follows set curriculum standard and are planned by our qualified instructors and are also routinely audited by the government to ensure they meet standards as students are accredited afterward. Students are expected to complete final exams, assessments and evaluations to ensure they meet the required outcomes and can later enter the workforce with the skills necessary to succeed.

As the course content is so structured and rigid, instructors tend to have less control over the content and can only control how they deliver the material. Some of our courses only take 14 weeks, these are short, concentrated courses that are rigorously designed so students can complete learning outcomes and shift into employment quickly. St Clair mentions that due to external factors, this type of education tends to pull the class in certain directions and most people view this as an assessment/outcome-driven environment. I see this quite often and I can agree, it is an accurate way to describe the attitude that can sometimes be felt in classrooms. Students can view the learning required as something that must be completed for the accreditation, not so much for the learning experience or environment.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass pp. 53 - 72

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I work in a post secondary college that is openly in the business of formal education.  Focusing on my role in the college, I am continually learning at an informal level.  For example, very recently I was given a list of high ticket equipment to purchase.  One piece of equipment is very foreign to me and my coworkers.  Initially, I read many resources, information packs, and  research articles to ensure the purchase and all components are recognized and accounted for.

Informally,  I am currently learning via  on site training delivered virtually by the companies trainer, online literature and asynchronous communication between myself and the company.

I am spending a lot of time and attention on this purchase, but the organizations culture would expect nothing less.  My employers values and by extension, my values as an educator, is to deliver quality, well supported knowledge via practical and theory for student learning.  St. Clair (2015) stated every organization has values in which they apply to the education. This is most certainly the case.  Educators are to be the experts and introducing ‘new and upcoming’ equipment or techniques can often difficult.  Taking time to learn the material at a higher level than basic will not only help me in my practice but I will be able to support the students even more so.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

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I work as a Paramedic and am involved in both training and hiring as well as patient contact. These training sessions are usually between 7-8 hours in length depending on the content and the direction received by the ministry. Sessions are broken up with mandatory hours and higher levels of paramedics can require greater hours than others, and the concept of CME (continuing medical education) applies to us just as to most healthcare professionals. The hours can vary and usually we can spend up to 4 months delivering the content to medics as they have to be split up some times in order to make it feasible to break up the service into smaller sections. There is a large portion that is PowerPoint presentation broken up with practical portions usually a whole day worth of content and then scenario-based simulations to help practice what we have learned and sometimes to refresh older ideas. I use plenty of online delivery methods for the material that has been covered or would be considered self-learning. Moodle was used in the past and now a service specific solution which we have created as well as a phone app depending on what content needs to be delivered and how quickly it needs to be accessible.  Since the learning is not for students over time but rather for current paramedics, St. Clair (2015, p. 56) would define is as formal learning, as it is “in an organized and structured context (in-company training) and designed as learning.” I also attempt to make it so that there is a split in the skill level when setting up the groups so people with more experience can share their knowledge with the newer medics to allow for more non-formal learning within the formal landscape.

As for the learning environment, all the medics who want to stay activated and work have to attend, there is no stipulation that anyone can avoid the training and still work. If someone misses a portion of training, or a whole year or even longer, they will be expected to learn everything that they had missed since the time they have gone off of work, and the Ministry of Health sets that requirement.

The teaching is led by someone who has an ounce of charisma. Paramedics are usually fickle bunch and not being able to talk to them with some confidence will lead to people not paying attention and questioning your authority very quickly. Within the service there is currently myself and another commander, neither of us have completed any formal training outside of my experience in this program. A thorough grasp of the concepts and content is extremely important.

Finally, most importantly, is how to account for or demonstrate their knowledge from what they have learned. A huge emphasis on the courses that we prepare lie within the ability to demonstrate and practice the practical aspect of what we are teaching. There is a portion of the content that will be the theory, but it is equally important to practice these skills in a non-emergency environment so as to be prepared for when these situations may arise.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass pp. 53 - 72

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Group 5-Learning In Your Own Organizations

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Group 5-Learning In Your Own Organizations

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I currently work at a group home in a non-formal setting with low-function individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This setting is non-formal because it does not involve following a structured curriculum but instead supports the residents in a more informal and flexible environment.

Nevertheless, my job requires individuals to have a range of skills and knowledge related to providing individualized care support to our residents, such as communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively on rotational shifts that are 12hrs long. For the past three years, I have been the team leader; and I am responsible for training all new and old staff to manage the client's challenging behaviors, following daily living activities, plan recreational activities, maintain accurate records by communicating with the client's social worker and doctor, and administer medication. In addition, I am also responsible for creating a supportive learning environment for everyone to gain new skills and knowledge flexibly and self-directedly. As (St.Clair, 2015) stated, "One of the essential concepts in building engagement is for a group of people to engage in learning functions holistically."

Overall, while there is annual retraining for ongoing learning and development opportunities, my job title focuses on providing care and support to the client's needs rather than following a formal curriculum.

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I’m part of a small and might HR team at a manufacturing plant in Mississauga. My day-to-day responsibilities include recruiting, employee relations, and data management. The learning environment can be categorized by St. Clair (2015) in a few ways:

First, learnings are done through informal and non-formal ways; people are taught through planned activities, such as new hire orientations or pick up unconscious learnings from discussions with co-workers or through videos. St. Clair points out that learning objectives are essential to learning in a way – it helps the individual understand what is being taught and why it is being taught. There are a lot of on-the-job trainings where observing and listening to questions being asked or things being said can teach you a lot about an organization. These discussions can make or break someone if they are listening and engaged in what they are doing; are they highly interested in the topic or are they worried about their child? (St. Clair, 2015).

Second, my organization’s values are taken very seriously at all levels form top down. When management relies information about revenue, profit or loss or even best practices, everyone is engaged and wants to add value. St. Clair’s (2015) mention about negotiation skills for a facilitator is taken on by all levels in management and in HR – the motivations and understandings of what needs to be taught are actually understood by management; though sometimes we have to step in to remind management about language skills or that some folks are only there to grab a pay cheque, they understand that things need to be taught in by doing and showing with discussion making.

To connect these 2 points, St. Clair (2015) stresses that a variety of resources, time, organizations, and facilitators play major roles in learnings. Having seen all these pull on one another and tie into each other shows that my team and I need to consider disabilities, language barriers, and money in how people should learn. The transferability of learning plays a major part on the manufacturing floor—where they are taught something and not shown the reasoning behind it as well (St. Clair, 2015 p. 55). This can raise issues as something can potentially go wrong when the final product is shipped or where the person might not fully understand what they do and how it affects others.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating Courses for Adults: Desing for Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pp. 53-72.

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Kealey Podhy - Learning in my organization

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Kealey Podhy - Learning in my organization

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I am currently a faculty member at a community college in my area. As one may expect, most of the learning that occurs in this organisation is formal. Students follow a planned curriculum to meet set learning objectives, with the end goal of passing required assessments and obtaining their diploma. When viewing my institution from the perspective of a faculty member, I see the learning opportunities as being both formal and informal. The organisational culture of my institution is very supportive in continued learning and professional development. Predominantly through the teaching and learning centre, there are several opportunities to engage in workshops to further your knowledge in a variety of topics related to teaching and learning. These are mainly formal learning experiences in which facilitators have developed a curriculum for the workshop and offer formative feedback. In addition to professional development opportunities within the institution, administration frequently provides information regarding opportunities outside of the institution and will entertain funding requests. From my perspective, there is no shortage of support for lifelong learning.

Informal learning occurs within the interactions between student and teacher or with colleagues. I do not approach these relationships with the specific intention to learn, but some of the most influential lessons I have learned were conveyed in this context.

Fortunately, being in a post-secondary institution leaves no shortage of resources. Furthermore, I even have the benefit of small class sizes, resulting in more one on one time. However, I can very much relate to St. Clair’s (2015) comments regarding the lack of time. Being an effective teacher takes far more non-contact hours than contact hours and at times it feels as though there is not enough to go around.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass pp. 53-72

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My current place of work is McMaster University, Dept. of Surgery where I work within the HR and Operations management team. The university learning environment can be connected to St. Clair's (2015) book "Creating Courses for Adults: Design for Learning" in several ways:

The first being the resources and environments, St. Clair (2015) reinforces the importance of using resources at your disposal and designing conducive learning environments. Within the university setting examples of available resources would be the access to library facilities, databases, learning platforms and research materials. These resources help support adult learning and create an environment of flexibility (being able to access digital resources from a distance), while supporting learning.

The second, inclusion of specialized knowledge and interests, Universities offer a wide range of programs and specialized areas of knowledge that cater to students' diverse interests. McMaster University works alongside the McMaster University Medical Centre (MUMC) offering many programs with student placements directly in the hospital. St. Clair's book reinforces the incorporation of real-world examples, case studies, and relevant materials to engage learners. Within the McMaster learning environment, instructors can utilize their specific knowledge and students' special interests to create meaningful and relevant learning experiences.

The final point I connected, expected learning outcomes. Universities are a formal learning institutions’ that have established learning outcomes for their courses, and specific program or degree requirements. St. Clair's book stresses the importance of setting clear learning objectives and designing assessments to measure learning outcomes. In the university setting, these outcomes and requirements are proven through several means such as exams, papers, projects, and presentations.

In short, St. Clair's book on course design for adult learners can be applied in the context of working for a university learning environment by considering the availability of resources, the demonstration of learning outcomes, and the inclusion of specialized knowledge and interests.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass pp. 53-72.

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Learning in Organizations-Cruz E. Fernandez

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Learning in Organizations-Cruz E. Fernandez

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I am part of the managerial team of a company in the operations and logistics field. My job consists in supervising a group of employees and responding to customer service escalations.

Resources and environments (including digital environments and asynchronous communications, if applicable)

There are not many asynchronous resources available provided by the employer, except for a 48 hours online training that covers company policies and procedures in terms of health and safety.

Organizational culture

The organization is composed of an HR department, an Operations department, and a customer service department.

The people with whom you learn

I work with 4 other supervisors. All with different levels of expertise.

Expected outcomes of the learning, if applicable, and how (or if) they are demonstrated or accounted for

I am expected to manage cash flow, use mathematical operations, and manage the KPI of my direct reports.  I am evaluated on a daily basis by my direct supervisor and on a monthly basis by the director of Operations. I am expected to provide a daily report on KPIs and propose continuous improvement solutions.

Whether someone leads learning (either formally or informally)

New supervisors are assigned to a “buddy” which is usually a more experienced employee. The process takes 4 weeks. A certain level of independence from the new employees is expected after this time. There is no reading material. Learning takes place on the job daily activities by direct exposure to the leadership routines.

specialized areas of knowledge or special interests are involved.

My position requires skills in problem-solving and mathematical operations. It is not just a supervisory position. I have a background in teaching music and social studies. So, the operations part is new to me. Developing operational plans and managing cash flow is something I had not done before. I am currently pursuing an online course in supply chain and operations to acquire more knowledge in my new field.

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I work in a construction company within the HR department. There are numerous forms of learning that take place in my work environment. Informally or non-formally, I learn through observation and experience, and through on-the-job training supported by my peers or manager. Formally, I participate in presenting information and teaching content to newly appointed supervisors who are being trained to take on their new management roles. This training includes communication training, management skills (navigating performance reviews, etc.) and basic human resources information. Last, we have an online learning management system that offers many short, online courses to improve employees’ skills – some examples include communication, email etiquette, Microsoft Office Suite skills, etc. The informal, non-formal and formal examples above align with St. Clair’s definitions of the modes of teaching, as outlined on page 56.

The examples outlined above are seemingly able to support the training needs of the organization. At the individual level of the employee, the online learning system is effective as it doesn’t require tools or equipment, nor collaboration with colleagues to facilitate learning. St. Clair maintains that “the default has often been highly individual learning, with each learner going through the course essentially alone”. Since the online system allows individuals to tailor their course selectios based on individual needs, it also allows them to take the course at their own pace and schedule, and doesn’t incur additional costs such as a trainer.

Further, my company (which operates within the nuclear industry) sets a high priority on training. Being in the highly innovative nuclear industry, innovation and technological advancements are natural, and training and education allow workers to adapt to new situations. This, combined with flexibility and openness to new opportunities, are key values of our organization. As St. Clair states, the values of the organization, and its culture have a strong influence over the impact and value of training within an organization.

Last, our supervisory academy is hosted right in our office. We have physical resources (room, desks and laptops) made available to ensure the employees can participate fully, without having to travel further distances. This helpful in ensuring a successful and valuable training session. Indeed, St. Clair states that “the physical setting for teaching and learning matters a lot” (St. Clair, 69), and factors such as comfort, acoustics, and seating all have an impact on participation.

Being that I work in Human Resources, I wonder if I have a biased perspective about the culture of learning in my organization, particularly as training falls within the umbrella of HR. To my peers working in other roles or departments, I ask: What is your perspective of the learning culture in your organization. Are the values consistent from top to bottom?

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Last fall, I was invited to teach a class at my local community college. This was the first time teaching there and as a contract teacher, the institution mandated certain classes as well as recommending others. As a new teacher using platforms I hadn’t used before and being in a new workplace, I took any and all classes that were sent my way. The required classes included Introduction to Brightspace, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act training, and Sexual Harassment and Violence in the Workplace training. The classes that I chose to attend included a variety of topics in adult education best practices.

All of these classes were taught online and were completely self-directed and asynchronous. Some were set up to have interaction amongst a cohort who I communicated with in posts through Brightspace. These were formal learning sessions as, according to St. Clair (2015), they were part of an ‘organized and structured context that is designed for learning.’

At the college, there is a large department dedicated to training teachers in adult education skills so it was with this team that I interacted in those first few weeks of my contract. Some of the courses I took were facilitated by instructors and others were set up as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). In either case, there was little put in place to encourage cohesion with my fellow learners, with most not requiring more than our names and roles to share with one another. This goes against what St. Clair (2015) suggests the need for relationship-building in online spaces.

From an organizational perspective, the college and this department are both set up to train adults. That said, it didn’t feel like being part of a class or a program in the way that being a student might. Being a contract worker in a huge institution I was often left on my own to figure out things like payroll, how to access the library and printing, and so on. I might be jaded, but when reading about organizational values in St. Clair (2015), even though this is an educational institution, it felt like they were investing as little as possible in the teaching skills of their contractors as we don’t ‘directly increase the profit margin’ of the college. Nevertheless, I got the impression from those teaching in the adult education department that they were indeed delivering the most effective education within the constraints of the institution (St. Clair, 2015).

In thinking about relationship building in an online forum, do my group mates have any experiences to share here (other than what we've done in this class?) I'd love to hear what's worked and what hasn't if possible!

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

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I work in a construction company within the HR department. There are numerous forms of learning that take place in my work environment. Informally or non-formally, I learn through observation and experience, and through on-the-job training supported by my peers or manager. Formally, I participate in presenting information and teaching content to newly appointed supervisors who are being trained to take on their new management roles. This training includes communication training, management skills (navigating performance reviews, etc.) and basic human resources information. Last, we have an online learning management system that offers many short, online courses to improve employees’ skills – some examples include communication, email etiquette, Microsoft Office Suite skills, etc. The informal, non-formal and formal examples above align with St. Clair’s definitions of the modes of teaching, as outlined on page 56.

The examples outlined above are seemingly able to support the training needs of the organization. At the individual level of the employee, the online learning system is effective as it doesn’t require tools or equipment, nor collaboration with colleagues to facilitate learning. St. Clair maintains that “the default has often been highly individual learning, with each learner going through the course essentially alone”. Since the online system allows individuals to tailor their course selections based on individual needs, it also allows them to take the course at their own pace and schedule, and doesn’t incur additional costs such as a trainer.

Further, my company (which operates within the nuclear industry) sets a high priority on training. Being in the highly innovative nuclear industry, innovation and technological advancements are natural, and training and education allow workers to adapt to new situations. This, combined with flexibility and openness to new opportunities, are key values of our organization. As St. Clair states, the values of the organization, and its culture have a strong influence over the impact and value of training within an organization.

Last, our supervisory academy is hosted right in our office. We have physical resources (room, desks and laptops) made available to ensure the employees can participate fully, without having to travel further distances. This helpful in ensuring a successful and valuable training session. Indeed, St. Clair states that “the physical setting for teaching and learning matters a lot” (St. Clair, 69), and factors such as comfort, acoustics, and seating all have an impact on participation.

Being that I work in Human Resources, I wonder if I have a biased perspective about the culture of learning in my organization, particularly as training falls within the umbrella of HR. To my peers working in other roles or departments, I ask: What is your perspective of the learning culture in your organization. Are the values consistent from top to bottom?

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I work in a construction company within the HR department. There are numerous forms of learning that take place in my work environment. Informally or non-formally, I learn through observation and experience, and through on-the-job training supported by my peers or manager. Formally, I participate in presenting information and teaching content to newly appointed supervisors who are being trained to take on their new management roles. This training includes communication training, management skills (navigating performance reviews, etc.) and basic human resources information. Last, we have an online learning management system that offers many short, online courses to improve employees’ skills – some examples include communication, email etiquette, Microsoft Office Suite skills, etc. The informal, non-formal and formal examples above align with St. Clair’s definitions of the modes of teaching, as outlined on page 56.

The examples outlined above are seemingly able to support the training needs of the organization. At the individual level of the employee, the online learning system is effective as it doesn’t require tools or equipment, nor collaboration with colleagues to facilitate learning. St. Clair maintains that “the default has often been highly individual learning, with each learner going through the course essentially alone”. Since the online system allows individuals to tailor their course selections based on individual needs, it also allows them to take the course at their own pace and schedule, and doesn’t incur additional costs such as a trainer.

Further, my company (which operates within the nuclear industry) sets a high priority on training. Being in the highly innovative nuclear industry, innovation and technological advancements are natural, and training and education allow workers to adapt to new situations. This, combined with flexibility and openness to new opportunities, are key values of our organization. As St. Clair states, the values of the organization, and its culture have a strong influence over the impact and value of training within an organization.

Last, our supervisory academy is hosted right in our office. We have physical resources (room, desks and laptops) made available to ensure the employees can participate fully, without having to travel further distances. This helpful in ensuring a successful and valuable training session. Indeed, St. Clair states that “the physical setting for teaching and learning matters a lot” (St. Clair, 69), and factors such as comfort, acoustics, and seating all have an impact on participation.

Being that I work in Human Resources, I wonder if I have a biased perspective about the culture of learning in my organization, particularly as training falls within the umbrella of HR. To my peers working in other roles or departments, I ask: What is your perspective of the learning culture in your organization. Are the values consistent from top to bottom?

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I work for a post-secondary institute in Toronto and the organization provides a formal learning environment and offers many full-time and part-time programs. Upon completion of these programs, students are awarded credentials such as certificate, diploma, degree or graduate certificate. Classes are delivered online, in person, hybrid, and flexible. In the flexible format, students have a choice of coming to campus or learning remotely online. We have students from diverse backgrounds and ages ranging from teenagers to seniors and not to mention international students from all over the world. We strive to provide the best educational experience and work hard to support each and every student to reach their greatest potential.

As a public college, I believe that the objective of the organization is to provide students with the necessary education and support to design their career paths and develop skills. On top of the formal learning that happens in a college/university setting, as we are studying the Adult education program at Brock, what other types of learning, informal, and or non formal, do you think happens? Have you personally experienced any of these? What are some non-expected educational outcomes from post-secondary education? Jinkyoung Ro

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I belong to a local chapter of a worldwide women’s organization. Our mandate is to provide a social and supportive space for our members to learn about the world and each other and to give back to the community wherever we add purpose. We have a structure based on rituals and rules that bind us: we must meet bi-weekly, each meeting must contain a knowledge-building activity, an act (or plan for) community volunteering, a collection of funds for charity and a space for non-judgemental sharing, reflection, and support for members within our group.

Beyond these rules, we are non-formal. We decide what we teach, where we meet, who we support and who we invite. Our resources are restricted by what we can provide using our Dues or gain at a grassroots level. Our environment is face-to-face: we meet in each other’s homes. Live interaction is a guiding principle. Another guiding principle is accessing knowledge from each other. As such, we have “an intention to learn, but the outcome (of our activities) may not be related to learning” (St Clair, 2015, p.57).

We use situated learning to support the knowledge-building activities within our group. Each month one member acts as an instructor teaching the group a new hands-on activity. This can be something they are passionate about or a skill they learned explicitly because they believe we could all benefit from it. We follow an instructor-to-learner model, where “the role of the educator is to encourage and support…participation (and)… learners are given high amounts of support initially…then less as they gain competence” (St. Clair, 2015, p. 55). For example, at Easter, I learned to wax and paint a Ukrainian-style egg. A short instruction period and a demo were followed by a night of facilitated support in finishing my craft.

The only expected outcome of the learning portion of our meeting is to engage in a new activity and give everyone a voice in sharing their passions. However, each instructor is required to facilitate a subject-related discussion that happens within the activity time.  This keeps us engaged in the topic and “creates situations where the learners are totally focused on a …hands-on activity that also helps them to analyze situations in a more profound way” (St. Clair, 2015, p. 66). This learning is always incidental to the task, and we don’t account for anything more than keeping ourselves on topic. For instance, in our egg decoration activity, the instructor led a discussion about Ukrainian history, culture and the effects of the war. We always learn something more than the original intent of the demo, which we take away into our lives as empathy, understanding or awareness.

Over the years, special interests have evolved out of the demos. One member has taken to learning tatting lace from an older member, and this transmission of knowledge and apprenticeship will keep an ancient handicraft alive for another generation. Another has gone on to build an apiary that creates ongoing fundraising opportunities for whatever charity we support each year while supporting natural pollination in our area.

This learning could be seen as informal, but the structure of the requirements and the overall organization pulled me away from that classification. Do you feel our non-formal is the correct category for the learning described in my group?

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Context Drives Design p 53-72

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I belong to a local chapter of a worldwide women’s organization. Our mandate is to provide a social and supportive space for our members to learn about the world and each other and to give back to the community wherever we add purpose. We have a structure based on rituals and rules that bind us: we must meet bi-weekly, each meeting must contain a knowledge-building activity, an act (or plan for) community volunteering, a collection of funds for charity and a space for non-judgemental sharing, reflection, and support for members within our group.

Beyond these rules, we are non-formal. We decide what we teach, where we meet, who we support and who we invite. Our resources are restricted by what we can provide using our Dues or gain at a grassroots level. Our environment is face-to-face: we meet in each other’s homes. Live interaction is a guiding principle. Another guiding principle is accessing knowledge from each other. As such, we have “an intention to learn, but the outcome (of our activities) may not be related to learning” (St Clair, 2015, p.57).

We use situated learning to support the knowledge-building activities within our group. Each month one member acts as an instructor teaching the group a new hands-on activity. This can be something they are passionate about or a skill they learned explicitly because they believe we could all benefit from it. We follow an instructor-to-learner model, where “the role of the educator is to encourage and support…participation (and)… learners are given high amounts of support initially…then less as they gain competence” (St. Clair, 2015, p. 55). For example, at Easter, I learned to wax and paint a Ukrainian-style egg. A short instruction period and a demo were followed by a night of facilitated support in finishing my craft.

The only expected outcome of the learning portion of our meeting is to engage in a new activity and give everyone a voice in sharing their passions. However, each instructor is required to facilitate a subject-related discussion that happens within the activity time.  This keeps us engaged in the topic and “creates situations where the learners are totally focused on a …hands-on activity that also helps them to analyze situations in a more profound way” (St. Clair, 2015, p. 66). This learning is always incidental to the task, and we don’t account for anything more than keeping ourselves on topic. For instance, in our egg decoration activity, the instructor led a discussion about Ukrainian history, culture and the effects of the war. We always learn something more than the original intent of the demo, which we take away into our lives as empathy, understanding or awareness.

Over the years, special interests have evolved out of the demos. One member has taken to learning tatting lace from an older member, and this transmission of knowledge and apprenticeship will keep an ancient handicraft alive for another generation. Another has gone on to build an apiary that creates ongoing fundraising opportunities for whatever charity we support each year while supporting natural pollination in our area.

This learning could be seen as informal, but the structure of the requirements and the overall organization pulled me away from that classification. Do you feel our non-formal is the correct category for the learning described in my group?

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Context Drives Design p 53-72

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While working with an organization, we were inspired by the local 'lean in' groups that we head heard about.  These groups did various things to empower and educate women, and since taking this course, I see similarities to the Women's Institute movement which we learned about in ADED 2F90.

This was a non formal educational structure which found us leading sessions for each other on a topic of our choosing. It did not need to relate to business/careers, but sometimes it did. Most used an area in which they were knowledgeable in, and shared this knowledge with the group. The learning could be both transmissive (power point presentation on how to use excel sheets) or experiential (being instructed on and creating a needlpoint). Many times, the conversations would also lead to incidental learning as we discussed workplace situations or general life situations. It was a way to bond and learn new skills and knowledge. We stopped during covid, but since reflecting and creating this post, I am definitely inspired to start this up again!

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Like both of you, I also work in a post-secondary institution as a professor, and while the learning that takes place there is formal in the classroom, there are a few examples that are jumping out as incidental and informal as well.

The formal learning revolves around a specific structure: learning objectives, course outlines, following a course syllabus, as well as identifying the course assessments and marking schemes for those assessments. St. Clair discusses one constraint in formal education is when instructors are “teaching to the test” or in other words, not able to adapt the content or the time spent on the content because they must make sure the students are on track to succeed on the upcoming test, which is geared specifically to the previously mentioned learning outcomes. This takes away some flexibility from the teacher, as they are typically limited to a 14-week semester and can’t spend additional time on any one concept for fear of getting too off track.

I have learned a lot as an instructor by teaching many different courses within my program. I am always trying to brush up on the content in each course, which is an informal, but expected learning experience each time I accept a teaching role. This involves re-reading textbook chapters, preparing different in-class activities if the previous version didn’t go as well as I planned, and revising powerpoint slides. This also involves learning about different technology available to me. Each course I am teaching for a subsequent time allows me to focus on improving the delivery and offer students more options with respect to how they digest the content (audio, video, in-person). I have begun to really master the online learning management system our college uses, and can easily embed video, zoom links, and other visual aids as I go along. This type of learning can also occur if you are taking over a course for another instructor and can share content back and forth. Seeing the methods of another instructor has been very beneficial to me in my early years of teaching, and I hope to be able to provide that same guidance to new teachers coming in.

I wonder what the process or protocol has been like for others teaching in post-secondary about sharing course content with other professors. Do you find your program participates in this type of thing? At first I was very protective of my content, and didn’t want to “give it away” but it has been proving to be beneficial as the years go on and I become more established as an instructor within the program.