Using the Personal Learning Network (PLN) Framework to Examine Informal Learning at Work?

Visualization Activity

Take a moment to visualize what learning may look like in two different environments:

1. Academia (K12, higher ed.)
2. Corporate setting

Two Kinds of Learning

Formal Learning

Did you envision a school setting for academia with a teacher, a curriculum, and students? Did you envision instructor-led training, onboarding, or eLearning for the corporate setting? These are examples of formal learning in which a group creates content in a certain order with certain assessments or learning activities to verify knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Informal Learning

What about all the learning after the teacher or trainer is done "teaching or facilitating"? In academia, students may use the Internet to help research, answer questions on homework, or further explore something they found interesting in class. They may also need more time to process information and use YouTube to watch math problems solved online. In the corporate setting, employees may ask colleagues and managers to investigate to understand something better when in the flow of work. They may overhear conversations with other employees. These are examples of informal learning where the learner learns outside of the curriculum, trainer, or teacher.

Evaluating/Assessing Learning

Evaluating Formal Learning

Formal learning is assessed in many ways, but two common types discussed are —formative and summative.

1. Formative Assessment - Throughout the learning experience, in the form of knowledge checks, observation, discussions, and various low-stake learning activities
2. Summative Assessment - At the end of the learning experience, in the form of cumulative tests/exams, projects, papers, presentations, and various high-stake "final" learning activities

Evaluating Informal Learning

So, how do we assess informal learning? Do we need to? Do we want to?

While we can't necessarily evaluate or assess informal learning as we do formal learning, I suggest exploring the?Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)?that people unknowingly create when trying to learn outside of a formal learning environment.

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) & Examining Informal Learning

Teacher's Professional Development

While Krutka?et al.'s (2017) PLN framework is often applied to assess teachers' ongoing learning and help them reflect on their learning network, I believe it can also be used to explore the ongoing learning journey of any person to become better at a skill, knowledge, or ability.

Their framework explores the people, spaces, and tools teachers use in their professional development. Teachers then reflect on their PLN and identify how they can continue to grow, expand, and change the people, spaces, and tools. Additionally, they consider how improving their professional development improves their students' learning.

Chronic Disease Patients Learning Online

In my dissertation, I used the PLN framework to identify the people, tools, and spaces that endometriosis patients used to learn about endometriosis online. I asked them to reflect on different aspects of the people, tools, and spaces and asked their perspective on what was most and least helpful in helping them learn about endometriosis.

Corporate Employees Informal Learning

Similar to how teachers and patients knowingly or unknowingly connect with people, spaces, and tools to meet their learning goals, corporate employees do. Once employees complete orientation, onboarding, and formal learning experiences, they will continue to learn on the job.

The PLN framework may help corporations better understand who their employees go to for help, what spaces they do so in, and what tools they find most and least helpful.

What do you think?

1. Do we know enough about the informal learning that takes place outside of formal learning?
2. Would managers, employers, and talent development benefit from a better understanding of the people, spaces, and tools employees within different departments use and find helpful throughout their business?

Krutka, D. G., Carpenter, J. P., & Trust, T. (2017). Enriching professional learning networks: A framework for identification, reflection, and intention. TechTrends, 61(3), 246-252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-016-0141-5