As a learner, there have been many out-of-school learning opportunities I remember. I recall these more than I remember any specific class or particular lesson. I wonder if it is because the day-in and day-out of formal learning ends up blurring together with routine and rote habits. Whereas these out-of-school learning experiences are rare, there are many logistics for the teacher, and the location is new, as are the guides and experts. The environment is new in out-of-school learning, as are the smells, sounds, and experiences.
The out-of-school learning event I remember specifically was a visit to the Dennos Museum to see the Birds-of-Paradise exhibit. I remember the teachers saying, “You can’t run, yell, or touch anything!” This made seeing the exhibits a bit scary yet made me curious. The bus pulled up to this modern-looking building with this big entrance. We enter and a guide who specializes in students greets us. She takes us to explore the birds. This was special for a few reasons. First seeing photographs and videos as well as interactive “scenes” of tropical birds, their colors, and calls, all fascinated me. I had only seen birds like this in books or drawings of them. We enter and our senses are surrounded by bird sounds and sights of the rainforest. The first thing she tells us is that this is an interactive experience and we should touch and explore the different objects within the birds-of-paradise exhibit. Most students feel uncomfortable, as we were just given “the behavior talk” by our teacher. We were able to follow our curiosities, versus being told what to be curious about, I was my own guide in this learning experience. The difference made us want to explore and pay attention even more. I remember thinking, These bird sounds and colors are nothing like the blue jays and robins in our area. These trees and forests are so dense and these sounds so loud. It’s nothing like the woods I grew up in.” My mind’s world grew when I realized and imagined that somewhere right now, these trees, these birds, and these sounds exist. I paused and stared at everything for what seemed like an hour, but was only a few minutes.
I am arguing for more out-of-school learning experiences like this one. In a classroom, books, videos, and computers give an idea of an experience. In an out-of-school experience, there is a holistic experience when in an environment in which sights, sounds, smells, and expert firsthand user experience are directly related to real experience. There is an authentic learning experience when you are immersed in it that creates a connection and an authentic experience. Learners are in this non-formal (Carl, 2019) environment and engaged more with an authentic learning experience than they would be if they were in their classroom in their school. Non-formal educational experiences can support a range of subject areas such as learning experiences with all subjects like art science and social studies. It can take some of the concepts learned in a formal setting but make them more concrete through real immersion and hands-on experiences. Students in English and writing courses could meet with a local author. In history classes, learners could visit a site of a battle or a local historian with artifacts from this historic site. Student experiences with experts where they get mentorship on how artifacts are found and used while working with tools, in real-world experiences are many times more beneficial. Combining these non-formal experiences with inquiry-based, open-ended questions can help the learner to think critically about their experiences.
Non-formal education is important, it allows a learner to follow passions and curiosity in a framed learning experience. These non-formal situated learning experiences create curiosity and buy-in for the learner. This becomes the meat to the structure or bones of formal education. This also provides the understanding and hopefully seed to the learner that learning is not just within the walls of the classroom, but in your community through these valuable learning experiences.
References
Carl, S. (2019, September 20). Types of education: Formal, informal & non-formal. Passion In Education. https://www.passionineducation.com/types-of-education-formal-informal-non-formal/
