Dimitris Nikolaidis talks about Learning Outside the Classroom

Some years ago, I read an article stating that "only 25% of learning comes from formal education", meaning from schools of all levels. The rest can be acquired by various other sources. That statement was a trigger to start thinking of other ways of promoting Learning as a continuum which can be attained by using different paths.    

Let's not forget that we must encourage students to attend classes regularly, systematically and with a positive spirit, as an act of prime importance which cannot be replaced. However, the aim of this blog post is to raise awareness about the significance of Learning Outside the Classroom in order to provide complementary ways of learning to our students. 

Students can certainly improve as professionals and enhance their knowledge and capabilities by engaging in some simple initiatives. These are some tips I discuss with my students:

Observation ...
Observe people, companies and organizations around you, and look for best practices or deficiencies they might have. Think of ways to improve them. 

Search ...
Search over the internet and the library for interesting articles and cases. World Wide Web offers you unlimited access to much information and a gate to explore the world. Look for good ideas, search for new products, assess new communication methods, explore new models and develop your own critical view of the information.

Discussion ...
Discuss with friends, practitioners and professionals over a cup of coffee ways of solving problems and ways of dealing with certain issues.

Participation ...
Participate in company/industrial/professional visits organized by your Department. They are a great source of information since you have the chance to see things in practice.

Attendance ...
Attend conferences and seminars. Besides getting up to date knowledge, they can be a great way to develop your network and meet other people. Do not hesitate to introduce yourself in a group of people; do not hesitate to get involved in a discussion.


Inquiry ...
Ask questions: to yourselves and to your lecturers; to a friend or a professional. Do not hesitate to do that; there are no stupid questions anyway.

Volunteering ...
Volunteer! Offer you time and effort to good causes; besides offering something good to people in need, you learn much by getting involved.

Working in Groups ...
Join or create a study group. Studying with others can only benefit you. Just make sure you have the right synthesis with people you get along with and they can offer something to the group.

Joining Communities ...
Create or participate in communities of learning. Have a Facebook group; create or join a closed group with people with the same interests. Remember the principle of reciprocity.  As you are expecting to learn something from the group, the group expects to learn from you as well. 

Active Involvement in Clubs ...
Get involved in a club; there are various clubs you can join. Pick one that interests you, participate and gradually become an active member.

Development of Learning Portfolios ...
Create an electronic portfolio; anytime you see an interesting article, a presentation, or link, save it there for future reference.

This list comes from my personal experience. You can enhance it with what you believe works better for your students too. After all, they will do what they enjoy most because at the end of the day the educational journey should be an enjoying one.

Dimitris Nikolaidis
HoD, BAED