In Teachers’ Professional Development, Krolak-Schwerdt et al. discuss the differences between formal and informal learning for teachers. Formal learning is defined as that which takes place in a structured environment with a specified curriculum, whereas informal learning relates to tasks that are less structured, such as reading books, collaborative activities and conversations with colleagues and parents.
Nord Anglia Education schools place a major emphasis on both formal and informal learning, and try to incorporate elements of both into our professional development programmes. We understand that tutored courses, for example, may not be for everyone, so we have continued to add a range of workplace and personal skills courses that, whilst being brief, aim to educate on a wide range of subjects.
Big Reading Challenge for September 2018
Teachers’ Professional Development: Assessment, training and learning
If you want to find out how to access the book through NAU visit our Big Read area (which also includes links to all of our other Big Reads for the year). You can also visit the library on NAU to find thousands of journals, articles and e-books on a range of education topics all of which are free to use for all NAE staff.
‘Informal learning opportunities, in contrast, do not follow a specified curriculum and are not restricted to certain environments (Desimone, 2009). They include individual activities such as reading books and classroom observations as well as collaborative activities such as conversations with colleagues and parents, mentoring activities, teacher networks and study groups (Desimone, 2009; Mesler & Spillane, 2009).