The best way for me to look at similarities and differences between the ‘gogies’ was to visually represent them. Doing this made it really clear where the differences are – these are higlighted in particular colours.
The similarities are they all end in ‘gogy’!
No – one similarity is that the teacher is still present in each approach. They just take on a different role.
Another similarity is the studentis also always present but their capacity for making decisions increases as they move through Pedagogy, Andragogy and Heutagogy.
The learning content is also a similarity – in that we want students to be learning something. The difference is, in Pedagogy what is to be learned is directed by the teacher. In Andragogy what is to be learned is negotiated and set with the teacher. In Heutagogy what is to be learned is self-determined.
A big difference is in the level of metacognition expected at each level.
In Pedagogy there is some single-loop learning. Meaning the teacher is attempting to get students to reflect on learning in a basic way. For example: they might identify what needs to be improved on in a piece of writing.
In Andragogy single-loop learning is purposefully pursued in learners. Reflection is not just commenting on what I have done well and what I can do better but there is an attempt to act on the feedback given. For example: they might consider what needs improving and then go and do it.
In Heutagogy, metacognition is double-looped. It is the student thinking what and how and considering problems and their resulting outcomes and actions. They learn about learning and about themselves as learners. Learners are encouraged to see how their learning influences their own values and assumptions.
Big difference: Heutagogy is defined as a net-centered theory. It is a framework for teaching and learning in a digital age. Was Heutagogy a thing before the Information Technology Age?
Here is my breakdown:
Further research has brought up more differences which I think are important in the way I view the gogies.
Pedagogy is viewed as a teaching theory rather than a learning theory. Pedagogy is usually based on transmission.
Andragogy is a learning theory usually based on transaction. Focus is on facilitating the acquisition of content. (Used to describe the theory of adult learning). The learner knows why something is important to learn, shows the learner how to direct themselves through information; relating the topics to the learner’s experiences. Learners will identify needs and how to meet them.
Heutagogy is “knowledge sharing rather than knowledge hoarding”. Holistic approach to the development of a learner’s independent capability. Potential to learn continuously through their lifetime; can find own learning. “The principles of heutagogy are seen as potentially improving or extending the theories of andragogy and pedagogy, the removal of the educator makes the concept of heutagogy impractical in a credentialing institution”.
This has redefined Heutagogy for me. This statement answers my wondering about whether mainstream schools and even universities can ever say they follow a heutagogical approach – they are all institutions centered around credentials. All have educators who deliver or facilitate learning expreiences. If the educator remains a vital part of the teaching and learning process, a negotiated reality exists between teacher, student and the learning material. This is why pedagogical and andragogical approaches are still valuable learning principles.
Assessments and achieving ‘credits’ and ‘levels’ limit the full incorporation of heutagogical principles in schools and universities. The example given of the engineering course discovered that students were assessment driven rather than driven by the learning itself. They preferred the lecture type teaching because they wanted to be told what they needed to know rather than working out solutions.
Wow. This points to the fact that schools have, for SO LONG, been about a teacher imparting the information that this is what students expect. That it is actually easier to be told than to take control and find out yourself; especially where there are ‘assessment credentials’ to pass.
So … it needs to start when a child starts school. Right from the start children need to be made aware that the ‘teacher’ is there to help facilitate what is to be learned. That a learner can go and find out their own information and things to help them learn something. The problem lies in the fact that at every year of school, students are expected to reach particular milestones and these are often ‘tested’. So the whole curriculum covered is driven by a level of achievement children are expected to reach at the end of each year.
This argument could go on forever!
McAuliffe, M., Hargreaves, D., Winter, A., & Chadwick, G. (2009). Does pedagogy still rule?.
Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 15(1), 13-18.
https://eprints.qut.edu.au/20502/1/c20502.pdf
Kerri@learning 