I know what I like

'We live in a rapidly changing world that requires people to have the ability to adapt much more quickly than in previous times, where events moved much more slowly. Education is not immune from these changes even though it is an inherently conservative system. In the face of significant innovation in educational practice and as espoused in self-determined learning (heutagogy) and other perspectives, there are new skills to adopted by learners and learning leaders alike.' 

With these words, Stewart Hase outlines the manifesto for heutagogy, an emerging theory of learning that espouses self-determined study, where 'people have the agency with respect to how, what and when they learn'.  Hase argues that people are naturally predisposed to self-determined learning from birth, and that the principles of heutagogy are focused on creating optimal experiences and environments in which this can be supported. There are many other chapters in this self-published volume that echo these tenets, and all are grounded in professional practice and case studies. Heutagogy has been criticised as an ugly and problematic term, but if you are able to move beyond the cosmetics of nomenclature and thoughtfully consider the arguments presented, you will gain some valuable insights into how this theory emerged.

Throughout this book, the contributors generally argue for change in education, and provide examples from their own experiences as to how those changes might be effected. Jackie Gerstein writes about the contrast between learning in traditional environments, which is generally passive (Education 1.0) and learning that is self-determined (Education 2.0), where students connect, communicate and collaborate. She argues for the importance of active, experiential, authentic and socially rich experiences, and shows how networked learning through technology is a vital mainstay of self-determined learning.

The technology theme is sustained across other chapters. Lisa-Marie Blaschke discusses the use of social media such as Twitter to open up new possibilities for learners. She advocates shifting the role of teachers to create safe and open environments in which learners can explore and freely discover for themselves, especially through social media. She acknowledges that stepping back to allow learners to do this can be threatening for teachers - they will need to relinquish the control to which they are accustomed - and also for students, particularly those who are not naturally confident in directing their own learning. Although she offers examples of heutagogy in practice there is no specific counsel on how to address these issues.

Robert Schuetz continues the social media theme with a chapter on how blogs create learning legacies. His narrative gently persuades of the need to tell our stories in order to reflect and deepen our learning, while reaching out to our own personal network of co-learners. It is more a recipe on the art of blogging though, than a considered treatise on how the practice can enhance the learning experience. More heavy weight in its approach is the chapter by Thom Cochrane and Vickel Narayan which tackles the impact heutagogy might have on creativity in education. Melanie Booth strongly contends that self-determined approaches to learning fit neatly into continuous assessment, where measurement of learning becomes flexible and negotiated and hence a crucial component of critical reflection. Ronan O'Beirne persuasively argues that technology is a key driver of self-determined learning, because it is changing the relationship between learners and content, and empowers them to engage in new ways with knowledge. And there is more, much more. In total there are seventeen chapters, each offering additional voices to the growing narrative of heutagogy.

Much of the contents will undoubtedly cause progressive educators to nod their heads sagely in agreement, perhaps without overly challenging their thinking, because many will already practise some of these principles. Much of it is common sense. For many traditionalists on the other hand, heutagogy may be a steep and tortuous pathway, a step too far, one from which many will shy away. Traditionalists should read the book with an open mind, but sadly I suspect it won't reach that audience. Teachers in compulsory education may find this a particularly steep hill to negotiate, arguing that many of the key principles of heutagogy are based upon adult education (andragogy) rather than the education of children. Although this is a problem acknowledged by some of the authors in this volume, a great deal more effort will need to be exerted if teachers of children are to be convinced that heutagogy is a universal theory.

Generally, the book is well written and professionally presented, and comes complete with the welcome feature of coloured illustrations. The chapters are argued well enough for the book to sit comfortably in an academic context, featuring sound research and adequate referencing. It is a valuable compendium of themes and perspectives around heutagogy, and is a much needed contribution to the support this movement. I am sure other publications will follow, and they will need to. As a theory, heutagogy will need further development and a great deal more supporting, empirical evidence, before it is accepted into the mainstream of pedagogical thinking.

Reference
Blaschke, L. M., Kenyon, C. and Hase, S. (Eds: 2014) Experiences in self-determined learning. Self publication. Available here. Book synopsis.

Photo by Dragan Brankovic on Flickr


I know what I like by Steve Wheeler was written in Plymouth, England and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.