Prof Dr Md Mahmudul Hassan :
There are three terms in educational system for proper learning outcomes. They are known as ‘Pedagogy’, ‘Andragogy’ and ‘Heutagogy’. ‘Pedagogy’ is teacher-led education, which is generally applicable to the education of students within the age of 18 and is practiced in primary, secondary and higher secondary education. ‘Andragogy’, on the other hand, is the self-directed learning of adults, which is generally applied to the education of students over the age of 18 and those who want to learn more or do research for higher education. The term ‘heutagogy’ is known as the self-directed learning method of students. It is a learner-centered instructional strategy. It emphasizes students to develop their autonomy, power and competence. It is a lifelong learning strategy for students.
The word ‘heutagogy’ derives from the Greek root words Hase and Kenyon, formalized in 2000 and invented to describe self-learning outside of education. In essence, heutagogy is the study of self-learning, which is valued as an attempt to challenge certain assumptions about teaching and learning. It is an exciting concept that positively influences students.
Basically, in pedagogy, teachers decide what students will learn, how they will learn it and in which environment they will learn it. In this method students depend on their teachers and students do not get the opportunity to learn outside their guidance. On the other hand, students in an andragogic environment consider the teacher as a mentor or guide. But they also aim to independently find solutions to teacher tasks. On the other hand, the heutagogical method encourages students to answer themselves or create answer sheets and find answers to questions. Instead of simply completing teacher-assigned tasks with the teacher’s help, students seek out areas of uncertainty and complexity in the topics they study and try to develop solutions to them. In heutagogy, teachers create learning environments for students and help them find learning materials. Students prepare themselves to practice their knowledge as suggested by the teacher.
Here are four important approaches for applying the heutagogy in the classroom, which can make teaching effective and student learning successful as follows:
1. Creating teacher-defined learning outcomes: Designing a teacher-defined learning outcome is the first step in implementing a heutagogical approach. In this approach, both students and teachers work together to find learning needs and intended outcomes. For example a teacher can make a question chart and record the lesson plan to ensure this. Questions may be:
(a) What does the student want to learn or achieve? (b) What outcomes should we expect from the learning experience? (c) What purpose does the teacher need in a specific curriculum?
Outcome-based learning helps students determine what they want to learn. They can create their own individual learning path. In this way each student can be sure of the learning mindset, what they will learn, what learning methods and activities will be used and how the teacher will assess their learning.
2. Showing flexibility in curriculum: Implementing a heutagogical approach is only possible when the curriculum is flexible, resulting in positive changes in students’ curiosity, motivation and thinking due to what they have learned. Students should be able to create a curriculum for themselves, so that ideally they can create an adaptive pathway tailored to their individual needs.
Teachers may need to develop a plan for their students based on student-set learning objectives. In heutagogy students have the freedom to decide what they will learn and how they will learn it. This approach helps students feel personalized and empowered and encourages greater engagement.
3. Derive simple assessment methods based on discussion: Assessment is an important part of all instructional methods including heutagogy. Students design their assessments around this learning style instead of structured and rote tests. This creates a less threatening environment for students in the assessment process and can promote better learning.
In this approach, students must design assessments to measure content understanding and acquired skills. Learning outcomes require students to demonstrate that they have been able to achieve the desired outcomes in this approach.
4. Cooperative Learning Program Setting: Students in unique heutagogical classrooms may experience little difficulty in learning. Because, earlier they used to depend on the teacher for reading-writing and they did not take responsibility for learning themselves, so they may feel a little hesitant about this method. But once students get a taste of self-directed heutagogical learning, they may not want to learn any other way and may never want to return to the confines of a structured curriculum.
Therefore, an easy way to transform teaching into a heutagogical approach is to encourage students to collaborate and self-directed learning in the classroom. Through teacher-planned design, the heutagogical approach allows students to share learning with each other and work together to advance learning.
In essence, teachers using heutagogy encourage students to work together, both in person and digitally, to achieve a common goal. In this way, they can solve the perceived problems in reading-writing and also share information and experiences. Also, they can strengthen their knowledge in this way by practicing and testing their concepts. These collaborative sessions create an opportunity for students to learn from each other and think about how they can put their new skills into practice. Therefore, Heutagogy is one of the most important educational strategies to inspire students in career-based knowledge to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
(The writer is Principal, Daffodil International School).
