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Incidental learning is learning that occurs unintentionally, from activities where learning is not a conscious goal for the learner. For example, when someone plays a sport just for fun, but ends up improving their skills over time, they’re engaging in incidental learning. Incidental learning can be beneficial in various contexts, so it’s important to understand it. As such, in the following article you will learn more about incidental learning, and see how you can use it yourself, as well as how you can encourage it in others. Examples of incidental learningAn example of incidental learning in the context of language acquisition is someone who learns new vocabulary words by watching TV in a foreign language for fun. This is contrasted, for example, with someone learning new vocabulary words by intentionally using flashcards in a language-learning app. In addition, the following are examples of incidental learning in various other domains:
Note: Incidental learning is crucial in certain contexts, such as the early stages of native language acquisition. Characteristics of incidental learningThe defining characteristic of incidental learning is the lack of intention to learn by the learner. Other than that, incidental learning can vary in many ways, such as the following:
Difference between incidental and intentional learningIntentional learning is learning that occurs as a result of activities where learning is a deliberate—and often primary—goal for the learner. For example, someone who reads research articles in order to understand a scientific phenomenon is engaging in intentional learning. The difference between intentional learning and incidental learning is that intentional learning has learning as a deliberate goal, while incidental learning doesn’t. Accordingly, incidental learning is sometimes also referred to as non-intentional learning. Neither type of learning is inherently better; rather, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, and may be more beneficial for different people under different circumstances. For example, in a situation where a professional in some field needs to quickly understand a deeply technical topic, intentional learning will likely be better. Conversely, in a situation where a relatively unmotivated individual needs to improve some life skills slowly over time, incidental learning might be better. Finally, note that additional definitions are sometimes used for these types of learning, particularly when it comes to distinguishing between them. For example, one study described incidental learning as learning that is unintentional and that doesn’t involve awareness of the learning itself. Similarly, another study described intentional learning as “learning which occurs as a result of specific training accompanied by instructions to learn”, and stated that incidental learning is distinguished from it “by the absence of any specific training”. Benefits and drawbacks of incidental learningThere are several potential benefits to incidental learning, compared to intentional learning:
Accordingly, incidental learning can sometimes be preferable to intentional learning, which is why it’s often used deliberately in teaching, for example through educational games, which help students learn material in a fun and intuitive way. However, there are also some potential drawbacks to incidental learning, compared to intentional learning. Specifically, since the potential advantages of incidental learning are highly dependent on situational and personal factors, there are cases where intentional learning is better, in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, or enjoyability, or some combination of them. Most notably, there are many situations where incidental learning is ineffective, meaning that it won’t enable learners to achieve their desired goals. For example, if a student needs to learn advanced statistical concepts for an exam, it’s unlikely that they will be able to rely on incidental learning in order to do this. In addition, this also means that there are situations where incidental and intentional learning are better in different ways. For example, this can happen when intentional learning is more effective and efficient, but incidental learning is more enjoyable. In such cases, it’s important to consider all the potential benefits and drawbacks of each approach, in order to choose the most appropriate one to use. Furthermore, when doing this, it’s important to remember that in many cases, it might not be necessary to choose one form of learning over the other, as the two may be used to complement each other. Overall, incidental learning is sometimes more effective, efficient, and enjoyable than intentional learning. However, this depends on various factors, so there are situations where intentional learning is better, or where it’s better to use a combination of the two approaches. How to learn incidentallySince incidental learning is unintentional, it’s technically impossible to engage in it intentionally. However, from a practical perspective, you can use incidental learning by placing yourself in situations where you can learn without actively trying to learn. For example, if you want to learn a new language, but actively learning it (e.g., through a course) bores you, then you can use incidental learning instead, by engaging in fun activities that involve the language, such as playing video games and watching TV shows, without making an active effort to learn. When doing this, you can also improve your ability to learn incidentally in various ways. For example, you can eliminate background distractions, to ensure that you focus on the activity from which you will learn, or you can precommit to engaging with that activity, to ensure that you stick with it for enough time. Finally, when deciding whether and how to use incidental learning, you should also consider using intentional learning, either instead of incidental learning or in addition to it. How to promote incidental learning in othersThere are several ways you can promote incidental learning in others (e.g., if you’re a teacher, mentor, or parent):
There are various techniques that you can use to help with these approaches to promoting incidental learning. For example, you can sometimes benefit from using reverse psychology, which involves getting people to do things by prompting them to do the opposite. This can be helpful, for instance, if you know that someone is completely misinformed about something, but they refuse to listen to what you have to say, so you can prompt them to try and find evidence that will prove you wrong, in order to get them to learn more about the topic. Similarly, you can take advantage of the protégé effect, which is a psychological phenomenon where teaching, pretending to teach, or preparing to teach information to others helps a person learn that information. This can be helpful, for instance, in a situation where you encourage a gifted but disinterested student to tutor other students in the class, as a way of getting the gifted student to improve their understanding of the material. Finally, remember that you can combine incidental learning with intentional learning. This can be beneficial, for example, when you use encourage intentional learning initially, to learn key concepts, and then supplement that with incidental learning, to internalize the applications of those concepts. Incidental teachingIncidental teaching involves promoting incidental learning in individuals, by teaching them in situations where they’re not trying to learn intentionally. For example, a parent can engage in incidental teaching by reading a history book to their child. This form of teaching can be used in various situations. For example, it’s used as a naturalistic language intervention, which aids the acquisition of spoken language through naturally occurring adult-child interactions, such as play. Similarly, incidental learning is also used as an intervention that can help autistic people improve their social skills. The previous section provides insights on how to engage in incidental teaching, and how to promote incidental learning. Additional informationIncidental learning is closely associated with a number of related concepts, beyond intentional learning. One such concept is informal learning. In general, informal learning is learning that lacks the defining features of formal learning, such as having a structured curriculum, being taught by designated teachers, and involving assessment or certification of the students. Incidental learning is generally viewed as a subset of informal learning, which is unintentional. As one study notes:
In addition, the concepts of intentional and incidental learning are also associated with implicit and explicit learning:
Finally, the terms “incidental learning” and “intentional learning” are sometimes used with different meanings in different contexts. This is especially noticeable in the context of experimental settings, compared to educational ones, particularly from a historical perspective:
Note: incidental learning is also associated with a number of other concepts and terms, including latent learning, experiential learning, and learning “en passant”. Summary and conclusions
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