Pedagogy, Androgogy & Heutagogy

Definitions

Pedagogy

Pedagogy is where the learning flows from the expert to the learner, and used most frequently used with younger learners. This is a one way delivery flow and does not necessarily need a reason or connection to the real-world. With this approach, the instructor is in full control of the content and is the expert in that subject.

– Flanagan, D. (2022)

Andragogy

This approach is built on the premise that adults are more self-directed and motivated than children. Adults want opportunities to new active learning experiences relevant to their lives and their goals. Malcolm Knowles popularized this idea with six assumptions that foster a learner-centered experience. These assumptions are:

• Self Concept: Adult learners are independent and self-directed.
• Learning from Experience: Adults learn from previous lived experiences and use those as a baseline for creating new knowledge.
• Readiness to learn: Adults are motivated to learn things that matter to them.
• Immediate Applications: Adult learners want to use knowledge immediately to accomplish tasks or solve problems.
• Internally Motivated: Adults are motivated by their personal goals and not by external demands.
• Need to Know: Adults want to be aware of why they are learning these concepts and the value of the concept in the real-world.

– Bouchrika, I. (2023)

Heutagogy

“Heutagogy is a concept originally given by Hase and Kenyon at the turn of century and was revived by Blasche in 2012. Nowadays, in this era of digital technology, it is favored to acquire, renew, and upgrade knowledge and skills for long-term learning. Heutagogy is a student-centric self-determined learning based on humanistic theory guided by technology-based learning design. It lays distinct emphasis on learners to decide what to learn, and how to learn and on learning to create opportunities.”

– Bansal et al.

Adults as Learners

In a class that is sensitive to the learning needs of adults, a few concepts can help teachers assist adult learners to make the most of their experience:

• The teaching role is more distributed. Learning doesn’t always come uni-directionally from teacher to student. In a classroom where the students may have more experience in a particular area than the professor, learning is moving in all directions – including from student-to-teacher or student-to-student. The instructor’s job is to facilitate and make room for that in the course so that everyone grows.
• Class materials should be selected based on the student question: “Why do I need to know this?” Adults are more oriented toward learning that can be practically applied to their jobs and/or lives. Extraneous or abstract discussions are less desirable as they are looking for just-in-time learning encounters that have an immediacy to them. Background supporting information would be better offered in the course as optional material.
• Activities should favor problem solving, case studies and scenarios that ground learning in the real world, where adult learners live. Emphasize activities that encourage learners to discuss real-world situations and problems that they’ve had or that they anticipate they’ll encounter soon and have the group find solutions.

Supporting Reference: (Flanagan, 2022; Pappas, 2013)

Applying Andragogy & Heutagogy in an Online/Blended Learning Experience

To apply the information you have about andragogy and the needs of adult learners in your courses, you may want to consider incorporating some of the following ideas:

• Explicitly explain the purpose of materials and activities. Some ways to accomplish this are to:
  • formulate and share learning objectives
  • employ rubrics that are shared in advance of an activity
  • state the purpose of an assignment in the prompt
• You may want to invite your adult learners to reflect on both their learning and how it interfaces with their experience. For example, after studying a new concept or practice, you might ask students to analyze a past work scenario which might have been improved or changed by applying their new knowledge.
• If your course has a face-to-face element, you might facilitate this without adding to the length of the class by blended learning activity in which pre-work is provided prior to class so that there’s more time for discussion in the classroom. For a virtual experience, a similar strategy could be used, but in lieu of a classroom discussion, employ breakout rooms in synchronous sessions to encourage discussion and facilitate learners in getting to know people from other companies.
• Allow students to direct discussion by creating polls (Canvas quizzes can be used for this) prior to class where learners indicate their top three challenges/priorities/interests.
• Student choice can be fostered by offering students the option to:
  • submit a presentation, write a paper or create an infographic
  • chose which side to take in a debate
  • select a topic for an assignment
  • build a research paper from a choice of references you provide
• Students in more advanced courses or students who you recognize as having a vast breadth of experience might be asked to develop a teaching module on a particular subject that integrates their studies, their newly-acquired knowledge and their facility with using technology to learn.

Supporting Reference: (Bansal et al., 2020; Blaschke, 2012; Flanagan, 2022; Pappas, 2013)

Pedagogy, Andragogy & Heutagogy Comparative Summary