Science & Technology Learning across the

Lifespan: Connecting School, Free-Choice and

Workplace Learning

Lynn D. Dierking, Ph.D.John H. Falk, Ph.D.

Institute for Learning InnovationAnnapolis, MD

“Whether in school, at work or engaged in free-choice learning, the purpose of

education is to connect personally with the learner in order to meet and facilitate

his/her lifelong learning needs.”

J.H. Falk & L.D. DierkingLessons without LimitAltaMira Press, 2002

Learning Society

• We live in a Learning Society; learning is 24 – 7 – 52 – 80+

• Learning is rapidly becoming the number one industry and leisure activity globally

• We learn about science and technology in school and universities, during our free-choice learning time and in the workplace

Science & Technology Learning

Infrastructure

Learning Society

Print Media (Books,

Magazines, Newspapers

WorkplaceCommunity Organizatio

ns

Friends & Family

Science Centres & Museums

Libraries

Electronic Media (TV, radio,

film)

Schools &Universities

Learner

Internet

Learning Sectors

School & University Workplace

Free-Choice

School & University Learning Sector

• Centerpiece of most societies’ educational efforts

• Provides foundation for development of basic skills

• Introduces students to new knowledge• Higher education (universities, trade

schools, etc.) offers opportunities for specialization in a field of the student’s choosing

Workplace Learning Sector

• Little recognized as a learning sector; here learn skills necessary to do productive work and earn income to sustain our lives

• As workplaces automate and embrace new technologies, the ability to learn and adapt to new situations is crucial

• Employers no longer can predict the skill sets they will need in the work force, but seek staff who are adaptable and able to learn new skills.

Free-Choice LearningSector

• Guided by needs and interests; engaged in throughout lives

• Exploration of what is useful, compelling or just plain interesting

– From Internet to IMAX, educational television, and museums, more opportunities than ever before

– Might surf Internet in local library to track down information, attend amateur astronomy club, watch a nature documentary on TV or visit local science center.

Learning Infrastructure, cont.

• Depending on a person’s interests and abilities, he/she accesses the resources of these three learning sectors at different points in his/her life

• Despite this fact, currently there is unequal recognition, use and support of these three learning sectors by citizens of all ages

Creating Tomorrow’s Learning Society

• Restructure Departments of Education at local and national levels to Departments of Learning, encompassing all types of lifelong learning

• Establish a lifelong learning budget for every citizen and create structures that enable him/her to wisely spend their learning budgets at any time in their life and throughout the learning infrastructure

Creating Tomorrow’s Learning Society, cont.

• Insure that funding for education is more equitably distributed to all parts of the learning infrastructure

• Appreciate that each person is both a lifelong learner and an educator; as global societies we need to figure out how to support and encourage each person to be both a learner and an educator

What Does this Mean for the School of

Tomorrow?• The School of Tomorrow can not just be

a school……the lines are blurring….the lines are blurring….• The focus should be on facilitating

individual learners rather than on reforming any single institution

• Ideally the School of Tomorrow integrates free-choice and workplace learning and allows students to meaningfully use these learning resources to accomplish their learning goals and……

What Does this Mean for the School of Tomorrow cont.?

• Adults and children in free-choice and workplace learning settings are equally respected teachers and facilitators of science & technology learning as classroom teachers (as are the students themselves)

• This pervasive and integrated network is accessible to citizens of all ages, not only school-age children

• We should remember what Pablo Picasso said: “Everything you can imagine is real.”