The proposed lesson materials for the week contribute towards the nature and value of learning outside the classroom by providing first-hand experiences and also those that have happened in real life. Experiences provided by characters in real life are an essential part of the learning process outside the classroom. The article that explores the effect of food on human relationship shares the experiences of various couples whose names are mentioned and what impact different dietary preferences had on their relationship. For instance: Miss Esposito broke up with a man she had lived with because he could not eat what she cooked. She defends her position with the belief that food is a special part of human life and interaction and therefore it is good to be shared (Murphy, 2008).
Apart from providing direct firsthand experience, these materials provide the latest research which may not have been documented in the material that is in class. The class module follows a designed curriculum which is updated after a specific period of time. However, the materials outside the classroom have room to incorporate that which has been changed or discovered in the recent times. For instance, the classroom material documents that fat has no taste or smell. Recent studies indicate that the human being can smell fat and there are taste buds on the tongue for the purpose of tasting fat. This discovery points out to the fact that if the fat has smell and taste, therefore it has flavor. Fat can, therefore, be used to flavor foods (Levaux, 2014). Such information may not be available in the current course material that is provided in the classroom and therefore can only be found in outside sources.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
To evaluate informal learning in the materials provided, one can validate the information provided by using journals and other credible sources. If the information provided in these materials is supported by hard facts which are backed up with research documented in journals and books, it is credible and can be used in the classroom. However, if there is no reputable source from which the information was derived then it is easy to doubt the information. The goal behind the source of the information can also help in evaluation. Some information is necessarily provided for marketing purposes and not for academic learning, hence such information may be false. For instance: when dealing with foods, the commercialization of food has been on the increase (Mead, 1970). Therefore a lot of information that may be provided on food may be primarily meant for marketing and thus may not be factual.
The biggest challenge in evaluating the information in informal settings is the difficulty met in accessing the journals and books that can be used to validate the information at hand. It is also not easy to establish the intention behind the source of information. One of the key issues associated with learning in the informal setting is that there is a lot of false information and assumptions in circulation. There is a tendency to assume that common knowledge is factual. This is an erroneous view, especially because most common knowledge is not backed by research and is often derived from what has been seen to work in the past. Until the knowledge fails, then research is conducted. This should not be the case. Before information is established as common knowledge, it is prudent for research to be conducted. For instance, the narrator in the story Panacea often followed his mother’s recipe for gravy until the time when his son expressed not liking it that he came up with an accurate recipe for gravy (Allison, 2007).
In conclusion, it is advantageous to combine classroom knowledge with that which is gained in the informal setting. However, information in the informal setting should be evaluated for credibility before it is incorporated in learning. To combine knowledge from both settings can lead towards intellectual fulfilment.
References
Allison, D. (2007). Panacea. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/magazine/28Food-t.html?pagewanted=all&mtrref=undefined&gwh=08B98B2367A342F2090571C27476A2B4&gwt=pay
Levaux, A. (2014). Everything we thought we knew about fat might be wrong. Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved from https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/everything-we-thought-we-knew-about-fat-might-be-wrong/Content?oid=2276075
Mead, M. (1970). The Changing Significance of Food . Retrieved from http://annhetzelgunkel.com/uj/food/image/Changing%20Significance%20of%20Food%20-%20Mead.pdf
Murphy, K. (2008). I Love You, but You Love Meat. New York Times . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/dining/13incompatible.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
