What is heutagogy?

Most teachers, if not all, are well familiar with the words pedagogy and andragogy. While pedagogy is considered to be more of ‘teacher-centred learning’ and derives from Greek ‘leading the child’, andragogy is more about ‘student-centred learning’ and ‘leading the man’, an adult. But have you ever heard about heutagogy? In today’s article, we’ll look at the word origin and meaning, talk about the principles behind it, and find out what it has to do with education.

What is it?

The term ‘heutagogy’ was first used by Stewart Hase and Chris Kenyon in 2000 in their work ‘From Andragogy to Heutagogy’. The authors define it as ‘the study of self-determined learning’. This concept appeared as a response to massive changes in our life of the last few decades. First, the amount of information that people have to process nowadays is constantly increasing. Second, as we have to adapt to new jobs, acquire new skills, and learn to be flexible to changes, the idea of life-long learning appears. This is not just learning some facts and figures, but also learning the life-skills. As a result, people should be ready to take responsibility for their own learning, define what they need most, and choose the most suitable ways and sources of information. Hase and Kenyon say that ‘heutagogy looks to the future in which knowing how to learn will be a fundamental skill given the pace of innovation and the changing structure of communities and workplaces’.

Basic principles

Heutagogy is based on several principles, some of which are not new. Among them, for example, there are ideas of self-directed learning, flexibility, and capability. 

Flexibility can be applied to both teachers and learners. As the teacher is a facilitator rather than an instructor in heutagogy, they should be flexible and look beyond their subject and favourite theories. After all, it’s all about the learner now. The teacher can still provide and recommend resources, but it’s the learner who negotiates the materials and assessment tasks. These tasks and materials are likely to be based on what is of interest and relevance to the learners. This is linked to self-directed learning where students take initiative and responsibility. It is not such a new thing in some classrooms, though. Our students can answer questions in a needs analysis form and choose the topics they enjoy talking or would like to learn more about. Also, some learners come to us once a week to discuss all the work they have done and set the course for the following week. 

Another important role for a teacher is developing learners’ capability. Capable people know how to learn, are creative, can apply their knowledge in novel situations, and can work well with others. 

Skills to teach

Heutagogy seems to have a lot to do with so-called global skills or life skills which have been all the rage recently. They say that by mastering them, a person is likely to be successful in their education, career and life in general.  Some skills considered to be important in heutagogy are:

•  Exploring. In exploration, students are given the freedom and opportunity to explore a variety of paths and sources of knowledge. They are welcome to use the net and all possible sources that are useful or appealing for them, from comic websites to medical research.
•  Creating. Another important element of heutagogy is giving the learner the freedom to create. When they use the language to make something, it feels extremely rewarding and marks a new personal milestone. Blog posts, reviews, drawings, vlogs — the choice is all theirs.
• Collaborating. Being able to work in a team is an important 21st-century skill. When learners collaborate, they learn to take responsibility, negotiate towards an outcome, and respect deadlines. 
• Connecting. Connections are a critical aspect of heutagogy. Through connections, lots of new opportunities in terms of learning can be created. When we practise networking, small talk, or just communicating with people across the globe through social media, it definitely makes us more capable.  
• Sharing. After students start connecting, they begin sharing. By sharing information with each other, they practice peer-teaching and become able to learn from each other’s knowledge and experience. 
• Reflecting. If a learner’s aim is self-directed learning, they should be reflective enough to assess their progress and choose the most efficient materials and strategies. 

All in all, heutagogy might be not essentially new, but it marks a major shift to learner’s autonomy and self-directed learning. It focuses on developing life-long learning skills in students through active and proactive learning processes. A teacher familiar with heutagogy might facilitate the development of capable learners who are likely to be ready for all the challenges, be it a career or education.

Speaking activities are, obviously, essential for English language speaking classes. A lot of students join classes particularly to develop their communicative competence, become more fluent, versatile, adaptable, and confident communicators in English. However, designing speaking activities might be time-consuming and nerve-wracking for any teacher. We have prepared a memo with superb ready-made speaking tasks that will make your student talking. Download it here.