Getting the Blend of Formal and Informal Learning & Sourcing Right

One size does not fit all. Blends usually work better. Not always. But most often.

As always, it depends.

There are many stakeholders of an Enterprise:

• Society/the Planet
  
• Governments
  
• Owners/Shareholders


• Executive Management


• Management
  
• Customers
  
• Employees


• Suppliers


• Communities
  

They each may have different demands and desires, but most want Performance Competence at one or more levels of the Enterprise: Enterprise, Process, Teams and Individual People.

To enable that Performance Competence the Enterprise must invest in the tools/techniques for Formal and/or Informal Learning and Sourcing.

Formal versus Informal
One type of blend. Formal is planned, deliberate. Informal, not so much - or "at all." And that's OK.

Another type of diversity.

















Learning Overview
The key question: is learning - which is ability to recall - needed/necessary "and" feasible?

Should that be "invested in" or not? If recall isn't needed - although it may be desired - it may not be feasible/practical? You may want it - but it might be like zero defects - not feasible in a world chock full of variation.

Formal Learning
Pushed or Pulled. And tracked. Planned because of its criticality "to the Enterprise." It's high risk - high reward. You got to make "it" happen. You measure the heck out of it - both the process that makes it happen and end product - the competent individual and/or team. You insist that the Learner finished their Modules and successfully!!!!

Should be focused on the terminal objectives: performance competence. Not topical competence.
















Informal Learning
Pulled. On demand. Not planned or tracked. Traditional and/or non-Traditional. You don't measure the heck out of it 9 ways to Sunday. You don't care if the Learners "finished their Modules." You hope they got what they needed and then bailed!
















Learning Summary
Learning leads to "recall" or it failed miserably! When the Learners/Performers don't get opportunities to practice in the job, in the workflow/process, you re-train. To enhance future recall ability - when needed. Because of the high Risk/Reward nature of the performance and its consequences.

Rule: High Rosk/Reward needs FORMAL LEARNING. Less Risk/Reward defaults to Informal Learning.

Sourcing Overview
When people do not need to recall - or that isn't practical - let them source what they need. Source data or people.

Formal Sourcing
Pushed and/or Pulled. But planned - and then tracked. Pushed when needed: think: pop up help screens when on certain pages. Or the giger counter clicking when near radioactive materials.

When the Performers don't need to "recall" - or when that - desirable as it might have been - isn't feasible/practical. So you let people source the facts and guidance that they need to perform.

















Informal Sourcing
Not planned, not tracked. Data and guidance made accessible - but - whatever. Whatever, whenever, however.















Sourcing Summary
When you don't need recall ability - or it's not feasible - let 'em source!

PUSH versus PULL
Another Blend-type. Another type of diversity.

Push is - make them do it! Pull is - whatever.


Formal can be either Pushed or Pulled. Informal is typically Pulled.
















Learning & Sourcing Modes/Media
Watchwords: this to shall pass. Or- this too shall change.

Whatever we have now - is likely to be different as technology advances roll on... and on... and on.
















More modes/media exist today than back in the day. Some fall off the table and some remain.















Today - and I may be missing some (please comment):

ILT-synchronous and a-synchronous, on-line meetings, WBT, Coaching, Mentoring, Web 1.0, Blogs, Social Networks, Wikis, Mobile Phone/PDA, etc.

What Governs and Constrains?
Task performance requirements. What's available. Development/implemenation and maintenance first costs and life cycle costs.
















Recall - or - Not Recall?

That is the question. Or a question.

Formal or Informal?

That is the next question!































This is important:















"In fact, the evidence from the past 50 years of research on this issue is unequivocal – unguided or minimally guided discovery and constructivist learning programs simply do not work for more than a very small percentage of people."

From ASTD 2005 Research-to-Practice Conference Proceedings “How to Turn Research into Successful Practice: A Technology of Performance Design for Organizations, Teams and Individuals “ - Richard E. Clark Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California - clark@usc.edu

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