“Incidental learning” is currently a hot topic. It is a method of learning by simply being there. The learner does not need to travel far or enroll in a virtual training class, but learns from seeing, asking questions, and maybe doing. Often people don’t even plan upon participating in incidental learning. It just happens. It is an accident.

This reminds me of a movie that I saw many years ago, “The Accidental Tourist.” This was a Pulitzer Price finalist novel and was adapted into a 1988 award-winning film starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis, for which Davis won an Academy Award.

The story is about Macon, a despondent travel writer. His books for reluctant business travelers detailed how best to avoid unpleasantness and difficulty in traveling. In short how to make foreign travel a predictable and boring experience.

Enter Muriel. Macon hires Muriel to put his dog though much-needed obedience training. Muriel is brash, unsophisticated, quirky, and spontaneous. When Macon visits Paris to conduct research for his next book, Muriel surprises him by showing up on the same flight and stays in the same Paris hotel. She suggests that they enjoy themselves as if they are vacationing together and they do.

The message of the movie and the crux of this blog is that often the most valuable training we receive is not intended or planed. It is incidental and often happens by accident. We are all “accidental learners”. Some of the things that we learn are good, others are not so good. Rather than avoiding “accidental learning” or using more formal training to supplant “accidental training”, we should recognize and support “accidental learning” as a method of instruction, and nurture organizations that help it grow.

I am a disciplined instructional designer and performance technologist. I hope that I never forget that regardless of my best laid plans, the best learning sometimes happens by accident and my job is to facilitate these accidents to happen more often.

I hope that you find these ideas and thoughts useful. I would enjoy hearing from you. Please contact me using the “Contact Us” tab on my website https://www.fttraining.com/