Formal and Informal Learning: What's the Difference?

TL;DR

This article will explain the key differences when comparing formal vs informal learning:

• Formal learning is structured by design: certified courses, LMS training programs, and classroom instruction — all built around clear goals with measurable outcomes.
• Informal learning follows a different logic: peer exchange, on-the-job experience, and self-directed exploration driven by immediate need rather than a predefined curriculum.
• Most effective learning programs today combine both formal paths for consistency and compliance, informal channels for context, and real retention.

Whereas formal learning happens in training-based organizations, workplaces, on mobile devices, in classrooms, and online, informal learning is based on practical, continuing education. Informal learning is a crucial concept, especially for individuals who must stay abreast of rapid technological and economic changes. While informal learning symbolizes a key to entering the world of employment, it also represents the steps in building a successful career.

“Experiential and job-embedded approaches show that you can effectively apply theory in real-world contexts. Employers value microlearning for its ability to foster continuous skill-building and adaptive learning and its personalized approach to meeting specific educational needs. Additionally, active participation in social groups, discussion forums, and collaborative projects demonstrates initiative and teamwork, which are highly sought-after traits.”

— Open edX Engineer, Raccoon Gang

Key Differences Between Formal and Informal Learning

Formal learning is structured instruction that takes place in an organized environment — a training institution, a workplace program, or an online course delivered through an LMS. It has defined objectives, a set timeline, and typically leads to a certificate or measurable outcome.

Informal learning happens outside that structure. It takes place in daily work — through peer conversations, self-directed research, or simply figuring something out as you go. There is no fixed curriculum, no assessment, and often no clear moment where learning begins or ends.

Formal vs Informal Learning

To understand the difference between formal and informal learning approaches, think of these two approaches as riding a bike vs. riding on a bus.

• If you are on a formal learning bus, the bus driver decides the destination of the bus or where it is going. However, the passengers are just along for the ride.
• If you are on a bike of informal learning, the rider decides the destination, the route, and the speed.

In other words, when choosing between informal and formal learning, it is important to differentiate between intentional learning and accidental learning.

The clearest distinction between the two approaches to education comes down to whether it is unexpected or intentional.

Unexpected education occurs when a learner learns something in the course of daily life activities that they never expected. Intentional education, on the other hand, is an approach where learners set out to learn a particular thing and successfully achieve that goal.

Key differences between formal and informal methods

Both formal and informal methods offer unique advantages, and understanding the differences between them can help individuals and organizations choose the most effective approach for their needs.

Choosing between the two is rarely the right question — the more useful one is how to design formal learning so it connects to, and supports, the informal learning that happens around it.

Formal learning methods

Formal learning covers a range of structured, intentional approaches — each with a defined purpose, a measurable outcome, and a clear delivery format. Below are the three most common methods, along with how they show up in workplace settings.

Method 1: Classroom-based learning

Classroom-based learning is one of the most common formal learning methods occurring within a structured educational setting. This method typically involves an instructor who delivers lessons, assigns homework, and assesses the progress of learners. Classroom-based learning often includes a mix of lectures, discussions, group activities, and individual work.

Workplace example: a compliance team runs a quarterly in-person session where employees work through regulatory updates, complete scenario exercises, and receive direct feedback from a subject-matter expert before a short assessment.

Method 2: Online courses

Online courses are another example of formal training, which involves delivering educational content through digital platforms such as learning management systems (LMS) or MOOCs (massive open online courses). Online courses offer greater flexibility and accessibility than traditional classroom-based learning and often include multimedia content, quizzes, discussion boards, and other interactive elements.

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Workplace example: a global software company uses its LMS to roll out mandatory security awareness training across offices in multiple countries — each employee completes the same modules at their own pace, with automated progress tracking and manager reporting built in.

Method 3: Workshops and training programs

Formal learning also encompasses workshops and training programs, which are typically shorter and more focused than traditional classroom-based courses. These training experiences often target specific skills or knowledge areas and are led by expert facilitators. Workshops and training programs can be delivered in-person or online, depending on the needs and preferences of the learners.

Workplace example: an HR department brings in an external facilitator for a two-day workshop on performance conversations — managers practice real scenarios in small groups, receive live coaching, and leave with a shared framework to apply immediately.

Informal learning methods

Most of what people actually learn on the job happens informally — through experience, observation, and knowledge-sharing that never makes it onto a training calendar. The three most common forms are below.

Method 1: Self-directed learning

Self-directed education is an informal method of study in which individuals take the initiative to define their educational goals, develop a plan, and seek resources to achieve their goals. This method often involves reading books, watching videos, or researching online to acquire new knowledge or skills.

Workplace example: a marketing manager notices a gap in her data skills and spends two weeks working through analytics tutorials on her own time, applying each concept directly to her team’s current reporting.

Method 2: Social learning

Social learning is an informal approach to education that relies on interaction with other people, such as colleagues, friends, or mentors. This method can involve learning through conversations, networking events, online forums, or social media platforms. Social learning capitalizes on the power of shared experiences and diverse perspectives to foster knowledge acquisition.

Workplace example: a company creates an internal channel where customer support staff share tricky cases and how they resolved them — what starts as a place to swap notes quickly becomes the team’s most-referenced resource for handling edge cases.

Method 3: Experiential learning

Experiential education is a hands-on, informal method of training that involves teaching through real-life experience and practice. This approach can include job shadowing, internships, volunteering, or simply trying new tasks or projects at work. Experiential education emphasizes the importance of training by doing and encourages learners to reflect on their experiences to improve their skills and understanding.

Workplace example: a junior project manager is given full ownership of a small internal product launch — working through real decisions, navigating stakeholders, and debriefing with a senior colleague afterward builds skills that no formal course replicates as efficiently.

How to Choose Between Formal and Informal Learning

As stated earlier, the choice between the formal and informal learning approach comes down to the intention, objective, challenges and how any of these learning patterns facilitates the learner in developing a successful career path and to perform at their full potential.

When evaluating either approach, three areas matter most: how content is developed, who the target audience is, and how performance will be tracked.

In addition, each of these training patterns offers different values in the lives of the learners. Again, the choice between the two comes down to the objectives and intent of the learners.

As with just about every other methodology, formal and informal learning approaches also have differences when it comes to studying basics. Let’s discuss these basic differences separately.

Organized learning environment

Formal learning is built around a structured course outline: predefined, with a deadline, best suited for learners who need to acquire a specific skill set within a set timeframe. Informal learning has no such constraints. It can occur anywhere, anytime — at work, online, or in daily life — following the logic of need rather than curriculum.

Eager and self-motivated Learners

Formal learning requires genuinely engaging content to maintain student motivation throughout. Without it, learners disengage as the course progresses. Informal learners tend to stay motivated naturally, because they are pursuing something they chose, in a context they find directly relevant.

Spontaneous Learning

Informal learning does not wait for a training calendar. A colleague demonstrating a tool, a quick conversation that answers an immediate question: these moments happen constantly and cannot be planned for. Formal learning is the opposite — deliberate, time-bound, and structured around a clear objective.

Lifelong learning process

Formal learning is episodic: it serves a specific goal within a defined timeframe. Informal learning is continuous, evolving through every stage of a career — learning from peers, from mentors, and eventually from people with less experience as fields and technologies shift.

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Quantifiable Learning

Formal learning is measurable by design: exams, assessments, and completion records provide the documentation organizations need. Informal learning resists that kind of measurement. Skills gained informally are real, but demonstrating them requires performance data or peer recognition rather than a certificate, and that remains one of their practical limitations in organizational settings.

Formal vs Informal Learning: The Future Relevance

So, which of these two learning approaches is most relevant in the future?  There are some difficulties in combining both of these teaching methods. Both offer their own distinctive educational experience, so it all comes down to the student’s learning goal.

In informal learning, the learner gets the ability to develop more capacity for self-directed approaches towards enduring learning. Anyone who does it and develops these skills gains a great advantage over others who are persistently reliant and submissive to various influential figures to tell them when to learn, how to learn, what to learn, and when to stop learning.

Considering the corporate perspective, there may be some jobs that would praise for following the guidelines or commands of a micro-managing boss, but the growing corporations are now shifting this trend.

In today’s competitive environment, it is all about taking the initiative. This is the era of working in a contextual environment rather than the theoretical world. To deliver and handle the problem upfront and pursue solutions right away. That is why it is important for a learner to make a smooth transition from formal to informal.

The Crucial Shift: Fostering Self-Directed and Continuous Learning

This transition promises the idea of ‘continuity.’ In other words, traditional schools can seamlessly integrate an open or informal learning system.

It is all about offering learners a chance to determine their learning pace. They should be set free to move around and search for the best sources to learn with full motivation and keenness.

The key is to let them make the most of the available means to master the subjects that catch their interest. Similarly, reducing the core elements of a formal learning approach may involve giving learners complete freedom to choose subjects, activities, and content, as well as determining the time allocated for each stage.

In a nutshell, in going from formal to informal learning, we are actually perforce displacing our ‘center of gravity’ from the processes of traditional or formulated school systems to that of students’ learning objectives.

In practice, the most effective way to make this shift is through blended learning: structured LMS paths for onboarding, compliance, and core skill tracks, combined with informal channels like peer communities, team chat spaces, and job-embedded learning opportunities. Formal paths ensure consistency and coverage; informal channels keep learning alive between courses, grounded in real work and real conversations. Together, they create a learning environment that is both measurable and genuinely useful.

In this evolving educational landscape, another crucial dimension is emerging — mobile learning. As traditional boundaries blur and learners seek dynamic, accessible, and on-the-go education, mobile learning has become an integral part of the modern educational process. It offers the flexibility to access education materials anytime, anywhere, meeting the unique needs of today’s learners. Just as the shift from formal to non-formal learning is important, so is the seamless integration of mobile learning. It empowers learners to embrace continuous education while adapting to the ever-changing demands of the digital age.

The Final Word

It is dependent on the pre-defined norms of the institutions whereas the learners’ interest and needs fade away. Conversely, an informal learning approach succeeds to convert the needs and interest of learners in a more adaptive and flexible formation.

The content developers must recognize and consider the range of training opportunities in course design. They must iron out the objectives and needs of the learners first and then design a custom eLearning solution that makes the most sense for learners. In this way, they can find the optimal approach to education that combines both formal and informal learning.