Heutagogy101-ChrisKenyon

Hheutagogy 101

Chris Kenyon June 6th 2014 #myheutagogyConference LKL

Hheutagogy 101 (text for slide1)

• Heutagogy probably started at Southern Cross University in Australia. Chris Kenyon and Stewart Hase were responsible for a new postgraduate course and wanted to break away from the traditional teaching model.

• Chris gave the students permission to choose, within limits, their topics and methods of learning, and Stewart found a way to get this approach accepted by the academic board. Because the results of the approach were very successful, Chris and Stewart subsequently wrote about the approach and termed it heutagogy, or self-determined learning.

• While H started as being an approach to learning at postgraduate level, its methodology is applicable at all levels of learning. And while the word ‘teacher’ is used in this presentation, this includes, lecturers, professors, tutors etc – anyone who is in contact with learners.

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heutagogy 101 (slide2 - text)

• Approach. For hundreds maybe thousands of years, we have known that teaching is an honourable profession, and that the teacher’s role is to transfer his or her knowledge & skills into the minds and bodies of those being taught. Teachers are an integral part of every society, whether western or eastern, developed or primitive.

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• But as the world changes, we need to make a break with tradition and look again at how people learn. Heutagogy is based on the principles that learners themselves are often in the best position to determine what they want to learn, and perhaps how they should learn. At its core is the fact that while learning may be partially gained from a teacher, other people (friends, colleagues, experts) and other sources (the internet) can provide information and ideas that constitute learning.

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H..…………

heutagogy 101 (slide3 text)

• Getting approval to adopt a heutagogical approach will vary from organisation to organisation, and also on the learning level at which it is used. 15 years ago the approach was new and possibly seen as heretical. Today, there is an awareness of H in many institutions of learning in several countries.

• Nevertheless, in some institutions formal approval for the approach may be needed. So, for example if the Vice Chancellor agrees, the dean agrees and the board of studies agrees, then H can be approved for use. In other contexts, H may be adopted simply as an appropriate way of developing learning.

Help

heutagogy 101 (slide4 text)

• So, the role of the teacher, becomes one of facilitating learning, rather than providing education.

• The teacher does not say “listen and learn”, but says “I can help” .

• The teacher as facilitator becomes more involved in the learning that takes place.

heutagogy 101 (slide5 text)

• Let’s look at some of the fundamentals of adopting a H approach to learning. And this is in the context of a formal education environment of a school or university.

• Firstly, the topic chosen for learning must be relevant to the approved course of learning. In this case, developing an understanding of the works of Jane Austen is probably not relevant to learning about modern history of the Middle East.

heutagogy 101 (slide6 text)

• Secondly, the area or topic of learning should be within the capabilities of the learner. For example, we don’t expect a very young person to understand the complexities of DNA manipulation.

• However, our work has shown that it is sometimes easy to underestimate the ability of learners. Choosing a topic that will provide a considerable challenge can have surprisingly good outcomes: I’ll come to this point shortly.

GEOPOLITICALHISTORY OF

AFRICA200-2000

heutagogy 101 (slide7 text)

• Thirdly, the chosen topic of learning must be achievable within the time that is available for study. For example, if a learner commits themselves to 15 hours a week, for a semester is that enough time to satisfactorily complete an assignment?

• Our experience has been that learners often spend two or three times the required amount of time to undertake an assignment, but, that they are happy to do so, simply because they are learning what they are interested in.

heutagogy 101 (slide8 text)• Agreement. Please note that we do not expect learners or

facilitators to wear business suits. The handshake is the important thing. So, at the start of an assignment, the learner and the facilitator will agree on:

• The topic• The time allowed for completion of an assignment.• The frequency of reviews (when progress will be checked and any

necessary guidance provided)• +And Assessment. How will the assignment be assessed? A paper, a

report, a presentation, an academic submission?• We have found that having a written agreement which details all this

information helps both learners and facilitators keep track of what is required.

HOW R U GOING?

heutagogy 101 (slide9 text)• Review. The learner’s progress is reviewed as often as both parties

consider it to be desirable. A learner who has not been exposed to the H principles may benefit from a review every three to four weeks, an experienced learner may benefit from a review every month or so. Obviously, the frequency of reviews also depends on the amount of time available for the whole assignment.

• A review will look at progress, consider any changes that may be beneficial, and make sure that an assignment is on track for successful completion.

• And a review can be conducted via the internet, using Skype for example. It may even be conducted a synchronously, if that is the most practical approach if learner and facilitator are in very different time zones.

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heutagogy 101 (slide10 text)• Assessment How is the assignment assessed? Has the learner

reached the required standard?• Naturally, it is important that the method of assessment is

established and agreed upon at the start of an assignment.• Obviously there are no exams when an H approach is used for

learning. The most common methods of assessment are papers, written reports or submissions to journals, and presentations. Presentations can be made to a group of fellow learners. However, in some cases, we have found that the learners have undertaken work that is valuable, informative or innovative, and they have been asked to give a presentation to academic staff.

• Detailed feedback to the learner on the assessment is considered as an integral part of the assessment process

Desired TopicReadyIncreased capability

heutagogy 101 (slide11 text)

• Learner Benefits. • The first benefit of the approach is that the learner is

completely interested in the topic they have chosen. One of the guarantees of success is to have a learner who chooses what they themselves want to learn.

• Secondly, they are learning when they are ready to learn, not simply when a topic is presented in a lecture or tutorial.

• Thirdly, experience so far indicates that learners who have used this approach develop an increased capability for learning. Incidentally, they also develop a desire for further learning.

ContentSkills1:1

heutagogy 101 (slide12 text)• Facilitator benefits• The facilitator usually gains further knowledge within his or her

particular area of interest. Learners seem to have a knack of finding the most recent and most interesting information, much of which may be new to the facilitator.

• The facilitator will develop skills in something akin to project management, when they schedule reviews for learners and the final assessment program. They will also develop skills in assessing performance outside the simple examination methods.

• Finally the facilitator will develop an ability to relate one on one with learners. Depending on individual personalities, this may be viewed with various degrees of enthusiasm. My experience has been very positive, and learners who I have worked with, up to 15 years ago, are still in contact with me from around the world.

heutagogy 101 (slide13 text)

• What are the challenges to adopting H? Change!• At different levels, we humans like the security and the

comfort of living and working in a stable environment. We have a basic need for stability. Hence, there is always some resistance to change.

• How often do you hear “We have always done it this way” or “Why should we change?”

• However, if the positive benefits of adopting H can be appreciated by those involved in learning, then a change can be seen as desirable rather than as something to be resisted.

heutagogy 101 (slide14 text)• Do we see ourselves on a pedestal? • Are we the possessors of all knowledge? Is it our role to pour our

knowledge into the minds of students? Will adopting H mean that we lose our status? Or do we have colleagues who see themselves as being ‘experts’ on their topics?

• If we see H in this light, then naturally we will feel threatened and hence resist its introduction.

• We used to joke 20 years ago, that we needed our children to program our VCR because we couldn’t do it. Nobody uses VCRs any more; technology advances. Now there are more and more software to assist our work. Quite surprisingly, many of us resist the latest technologies. People say “I don’t need Twitter” or “What is viber?”. We need to convince our colleagues that technology is not to be feared, but to be adopted as our aid.

heutagogy 101 (slide15 text)

• Not universal? There are criticisms that the H approach is not universal and can not be applied to all learning situations. So what is the point in adopting the approach? Well, we have already identified the various benefits to both learners and to facilitators. Those benefits are important for both learners and facilitators.

• Do we say that Aspirin will not cure every headache, so we should not use Aspirin? Of course not: the argument that H is not universally applicable is simply not a valid argument.

heutagogy 101 (slide16 text)• Other challenges? Many cultures, particularly those in Asia, require respect

for older people particularly those in a position of authority. Teachers at all levels are shown great respect. It is not permissible to ask questions of teachers, merely to respond to questions asked by the teacher.

• When I looked after an international college with hundreds of students from Asian countries, apart from mediating culture shock, one of our biggest challenges was introducing students to an heuristic approach to learning, something that was the opposite of what they had accepted for their previous 18 to 20 years.

• In a similar way, many of our old established centres of education rely on the high status of their teaching staff who are imbued with the tradition of pouring the contents of their encyclopaedic brains into the waiting minds of youngsters. Changing what is a traditional view, and hence is held with strong conviction, is a challenge.

heutagogy 101 (slide17 text)

• Why can H be so successful? 15 years ago we thought that it was probably caused by the emotions caused by self-empowerment and achievement. Now we know a bit more about the immediate effects of dopamine and serotonin, but researchers are constantly discovering more and more about longer term results of these agents.

• In the same way that we once ‘knew’ that nerve impulses crossed synapses through a simple chemical, now we know that a range of chemicals is involved.. And it seems probable that there are more factors involved in neuroplasticity and learning. The more we learn, the more there is to learn

heutagogy 101 (slide18 text)

• Advances in neuroplasticity have shown us two things that are very relevant to understanding why H can be so effective.

• Firstly, new learning increases the neural pathways or networks in the brain. In this way, more and more connections are made. It seems that this provides the increased capability in learners. Not only have learners who have acquired their learning through H become enthusiastic about learning more, they have also become more capable learners – they know how to learn.

heutagogy 101 (slide19 text)

• Secondly the H approach, increases brain size! No, not really. What the approach does do, is increase the number of areas in the brain that are active both during learning and as a result of increased learning.

• As yet, we do not know how this occurs, but research shows that the more areas of the brain that are in use, the more capable a person becomes.

• Our knowledge of brain development and usage is constantly increasing: eventually we hope that the link between H and brain capability will be established.

P…A…H

P…A H

heutagogy 101 (slide20 text)

• Some people see this as a continuum, perhaps as a continuum of the development of ideas on education. That appears to be eminently self-evident.

• But could it be that H is not seen as part of a continuum, but something which stands on its own? It is, unlike P and A, about learning, rather than about teaching.

• If there is a continuum, how does this help us understand the value of H?

Hheutagogy 101

Talk given by Chris Kenyon June 6th 2014 Conference on#myheutagogyConference Blog