From Andragogy to Heutagogy by Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon

In the spirit of all that is heutagogical I am able to say that I (the instructor) learned something from this student selected article: what the heck heutagogy is. I also found out that academics in need of terms to describe learning methods are coo-coo for the gogy suffix, see ubuntugogy for example. I should add both words are perfect for googlewhacking, but I will stop there before I stray too far from the subject of heutagogy.

So what the heck is heutagogy? Well, Adriana was correct when she said "don't worry about looking [heutagogy] up in Merriam Webster, it's not there." And I concur. I looked at the Oxford English Dictionary and it isn't there either. Luckily the authors did a good job of defining both the term and the practice. Simply put, heutagogy is "the study of self-determined learning." The authors see heutagogy as a logical transition from andragogy because as learners obtain more access to information there is more of a need for teachers to teach learning and not information. As they explain, "learning is increasingly aligned with what we do [...]". In other words, the heutagogical approach is significant because the knowledge of learning becomes more important as information is more immediate and ubiquitous.

Beyond the simple definiton of heutagogy is the understanding of the heutagogic approach, explained as student-centered, not teacher-centered. The authors succinctly describe the student-centered, self-determined approach as teachers and students engaged in "knowledge sharing" and not simply teachers engaging in "knowledge hoarding." The role of the instructor is not the wisened teacher imparting wisdom to the student but the partner who helps students understand what it means to learn. They make clear that the defintion Knowles supplies for self-directed learning is narrow, and yet the defintion is a good foundation for understanding student-centered learning:

"The process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes."

They expand on Knowles definition by adding that the practice of heutagogy "takes account of intuition and concepts [...] that are not linear and not necessarily planned. It may well be that a person does not identify a learning need at all but identifies the potential to learn from a novel experience as a matter of course and recognises that opportunity to reflect on what has happened and see how it challenges, disconfirms or supports existing values and assumptions."

The authors explore different educational approaches to clarifiy what heutagogy is, which are also good points for further research into student-centered learning, approaches such as self-directedness or flexible learning. I personally found the concept to be fascinating because the authors describe an environment where the teacher is forced "into the world of the learner" and is asked to "look beyond their own disciplines and favourite theories." Without doubt the concept of students directing their own learning is not an easy pill for some to take and as this discussion indicates there is little support for the student-centered approach in non-academic circles. One participant describes the idea as "educational gobbledeygook" and "the latest rhetoric being put out by the educational establishment." Of course the pill is easier to swallow once student-centered learning is defined as the "sage on the stage versus the guide on the side." On yet another tangent, if someone can come up with a more trite cliche for student-centered learning, please do. I thought up "teachers: info crankers or student flankers."

I guess it goes without saying that as a member of the "educational establishment" I am excited by the heutagogical approach. In fact, I am willing to argue that what Kristen and I are doing in this class is trying this approach out. Since the course focuses on the examination of constantly changing and widespread issues too broad for a single expert, it makes sense that what is discussed is not simply "organised by [teachers] who make the appropriate associations and generalisations on behalf of the learner," but is instead selected from "random individual experiences" and interests.

I am somewhat concerned about what may be lost with the heutagogical approach (there is some comfort in the teacher role descriptions on this chart) as I see a few problems with what Hase and Kenyon refer to when describing the teacher as being a parallel learner to the student. I would argue that those concepts need to be answered to before going forward, such as what is the difference between managing and teaching or what is learned when information is obtained for survival rather than knowledge?