| University of Wyoming Extension educators are often hired because of their subject matter expertise; yet, they must still develop education skills as well as learn to use various and ever-changing technologies. This research was conducted to understand what impact guided instruction on informal learning concepts and methods had on UW Extension educators. Organization impacts on informal learning were also studied. This study is a repeated measures design involving all UW Extension educators. For this repeated measures study, 53 University of Wyoming Extension educators were involved and were asked to complete three surveys and six Webinars focusing on informal learning methods. By matching survey results, it was learned that informal learning plays an important element in educator development. Educators gave higher importance to methods that helped them develop their subject matter expertise followed by educator skills and finally technology skills. While it was not possible to specifically tie methods to instruction received, it is suggested that many different factors influence an individual's decision to choose informal learning methods and that flexibility to choose should be afforded. Finally, organizations and supervisors are essential to a successful informal learning program. |
