Informal and Incidental Learning

There are many opportunities for informal and incidental learning to take place at ALCC. I believe the most salient observation comes from the perceptions that students have on the teachers at our school. At the end of a student’s contract students have the opportunity to rate the teachers via a survey. However, the surveys are all in English and for many of the beginner students whose language skills are not yet proficient, it is difficult to fill out the form and get an accurate assessment of the teacher’s skills in the classroom. Therefore, most of real assessment of teachers comes from students’ own experiences with the teacher. However the outcome of the class, whether they had a positive experience or a negative experience, the teacher’s attitudes and values and skills are relayed to new and incoming students. There can of course be misconceptions of teachers from this method. A student can have a particular negative experience with a teacher but it many not necessarily reflect what is actually happening in the classroom, and what the specific set of circumstances are that led to the negative experience.