Aplicaciones de la Heutagogía
“People only change in response to a very clear need. This usually involves distress such as confusion, dissonance, and fear, or a more positive motive such as intense desire. The satiated and the comfortable are less likely to make a behavioural change no matter what others may desire.”
Hase and Kenyon, 2007, “Heutagogy, a Child of Complexity Theory”
Introduction
This paper is composed of information from several articles on the educational theory of heutagogy and how it can be used to enhance distance education courses. Hase and Kenyon, the originators of the term, articulate the definition. They talk about the learner-center nature of the term in a 2007 article, “Heutagogy, Child of Complexity Theory.” When we turn our attention to the uses of heutagogy to Distance Education, we will look at a Lisa Blaschke article that surveys instances of heutagogy practice in DE, and how double-loop learning helps learners evaluate their processes. We will also look at key aspects of the theory of heutagogy, including the PAH continuum as described by Blaschke. Further, Cochrane and Narayan analyze a course in which teachers of the trades are introduced to the use of technology and affordances of Web 2.0 for teaching, in a way that is very instructive for a DE course.
Heutagogy definition
The term ‘heutagogy’ was coined by the educator/consultant duo Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon, and denotes a kind of reflective, self-directed learning. This form of learning seeks to connect with the learner’s experience, so that the learner becomes the activator of his/her own learning path. The “heut” prefix comes from an ancient Greek word for ‘self’, and the ‘-agogy’ suffix denotes the concept of leading. Thus, heutagogy is located in the continuum of pedagogy and andragogy (Hase and Kenyon, 2007, p. 2).
Hase and Kenyon (2007) state that they see true learning as being a different process from merely acquiring knowledge and skills. The learning that they describe is so deep as to be termed an ‘‘ontological shift’’ or “reconceptualization” (Cochrane and Narayan, 2013 p. 10). Whether the shift is behavioral, based in knowledge or understanding, it is, “an integrative experience,” which changes the learner’s “values, attitudes and beliefs.” Unlike mere competency, which might be context-bound, this kind of learning allows for the application of knowledge and skills to novel contexts, a quality that Hase and Kenyon (2007) term “capability.” Heutagogy emphasizes development of capabilities beyond the andragogical-level “competencies” (Blaschke, 2010, p. 6). A capable learner is comfortable applying their competencies to any environment, (Blaschke, 2012, p. 4) and is a learner who knows how to learn, how to collaborate, and how to be effective in their environment (Stephenson and Weil, 1992, cited in Hase & Kenyon, 2000).
Learner-centered
Blaschke, (2010) notes that the interactive affordances of Web 2.0 make it a learner-centered environment where learners can find and share information along their chosen “learning path.” In this information-rich environment, the learner’s task is to learn how to learn, and the theory of heutagogy provides insights for this (Blaschke, 2010).
How is Heutagogy applied in Distance Education?
Reflection and Double loop learning
Self-reflection and double-loop learning are key concepts of heutagogy, and point to the theory’s emphasis on process (Schön, 1996, as cited in Hace and Kenyon, 2000). Double-loop learning is a double process -- learners reflect on the processes they use to solve problems, and on the actions and outcomes that result from those processes.
Reflection allows students to analyze their own approaches to problems, and proactively evaluate them (Hase and Kenyon, 2000). This meta-analysis helps students “learn how to learn” (Argyris & Schön, 1978, in Hase, 2009, pp. 45-46, as cited by Blaschke, 2010).
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Experiential learning environment
In an example of the use of heutagogy in a course, Thomas Cochrane and Vickel Narayan created an “experiential learning environment” for a Social Learning Technologies (SLT) course. They aimed to empower technical school lecturers to use Web 2.0 affordances in their teaching. The professional development course modeled the Community of Practice model for the lecturers (Cochrane and Narayan, 2013, p. 18).
Although the course was not entirely a distance learning course, the way that the students were guided to use the various technologies (Twitter, Google Aps, a Moodle hub, a group wiki page) could easily be adapted to the DE environment. More importantly, the students began to use these technologies to interact and collaborate, in a way that is very congruent with DE. Cochrane and Narayan describe the transformations of some students who were initially doubtful about the use of the technologies, and list some as having “Ah Ha!” moments (Cochrane and Narayan, 2012).
PAH continuum
Although Fig. 2 expresses the PAH (pedagogy, andragogy, heutagogy) process as a grid, it is really more of a cyclical continuum. Note that in andragogy, the instructor assesses learner needs and provides the “curriculum, questions, discussions, and assessment“ while in the heutagogical approach, the learner assesses and charts his/her own learning path, “from curriculum to assessment” (Hace, 2009 cited in Blashke, 2007).
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In some ways, this continuum tracks a process similar to the Montessori method where the teacher will first give a "lesson" to a group who is interested in a topic, then the children work with manipulatives together to master the exercise, and eventually the students are ready to begin coaching other children in the subject. They have mastered it. So, in light of these thoughts, the author would make the following changes to the PAH continuum to highlight the cyclical nature of learning stages:
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The following processes can help move a distance education learning experience to the heutagogical level:
1) Allow the learner to define what will be learned, creating a learner-centered environment. This includes goals, assessment design and self-diagnosis. Learning contracts are one way to achieve this. (Blaschke, 2010)
2) Allow the learner to identify the learning activities/processes that work best for him/her.
3) Create a flexible and open curriculum that changes as the learner learns.
4) Recognize the difference between true learning/ontological shift and knowledge/skill acquisition, and realization that each sector needs separate processes and different approaches.
5) Use “Meta-methodologies” like action research and action learning as part of
the learner’s experience.
6) Create environment where learner applies knowledge/skills to real life contexts.
7) Encourage collaborative learning.
8) Coach, to address each individual’s learning needs. (Hase and Kenyon, 2007)
All of these techniques can be applied to distance learning, especially in the light of newer web-based technologies like Skype and Google docs that allow for communication and collaboration via computer.
Conclusion
In heutagogy, the learner becomes his/her own teacher. They define what they want to learn and how they will learn it. Teachers can guide and help the learner by creating a learning environment that allows the learner to apply their skills to real-life contexts. This can be supported through coaching and collaborative learning.
The PAH continuum shows that heutagogy is part of a process of learning that begins with learning facts, includes interactivity and culminates in learner directed learning. A carefully crafted experiential learning environment provides the student a supported place to explore. The internet or other content providers become resources in this type of learning, and conversation and collaboration become tools. The learner practices reflection about how they approach learning and how effective their approaches are, and makes changes to improve their processes. This meta-analysis is termed double-loop learning.
Using the processes of heutagogy, distance educators can coach, mentor, suggest and otherwise guide learners into self-learning situations, and help them create environments where they can become not only competent, but capable. The wired nature of the 21st century workplace demands that workers collaborate, create, and nimbly learn new software and new processes. Heutagogy provides a framework, not only for the learning of facts and skills, but for learning how apply one’s skills in disparate environments-- for learning how to learn.
References
Anderson, T. (2010). Theories for learning with emerging technologies. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging technologies in distance education. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120177/ebook/02_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf.
Blaschke, L. M. (2012) Heutagogy and lifelong learning: a review of heutagogical practice and self-determined learning, The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13, pp. 56-71.
Cochrane, T. & Narayan, V. (2013) Research in Learning Technology,
Redesigning professional development: reconceptualising teaching using
social learning technologies, 21. Retrieved from http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/index.php/rlt/issue/view/1503
Hase, S. & Kenyon, C. (2000) ‘From Andragogy to Heutagogy’, ultiBASE Articles, Available at: http://pandora.nla.gov.au/nph-wb/20010220130000/http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/New/newdec00.html
Hase, S. & Kenyon, C. (2007). Heutagogy: A child of complexity theory. Complicity: An
International Journal of Complexity and Education, 4 (1), 111-119.
Lee, M. J. W. & McLoughlin, C. (2010) Beyond Distance and Time Constraints: Applying Social Networking Tools and Web 2.0 Approaches in Distance Education. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging technologies in distance education. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120177/ebook/02_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf
Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2012). Distance education: A systems view of online learning (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Peters, O. (2010). Distance education in transition - New trends and challenges (5th ed.,
Volume 5). Oldenburg, Germany: [Adobe Digital Edition]. Retrieved from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg website: http://www.mde.uni-oldenburg.de/40895.html.
Veletsianos, G. (2010). Emerging technologies in distance education. Canada: Athabasca
University Press. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120177/Ebook/
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