Heutagogy – What is it?

Heutagogy – an approach to teaching and learning designed for adults, which emphasizes the development of the capacity and capabilities of learners with the aim of creating learners who are well-prepared for the complexity of today’s workplace. The approach was proposed as a theory for applying emerging technologies in distance learning and for guiding distance learning instruction and the ways in which remote instructors develop and deliver instruction using newer technologies, including social media.

Today, teachers have the task of developing lifelong learners who can survive and thrive in a global knowledge economy – learners who have the ability to effectively and creatively apply skills and competencies in new situations in an ever-changing complex world. Pedagogically, even andragogical, educational methods are no longer entirely sufficient for preparing students to thrive in the workplace, and a more self-directed and self-determined approach is needed.

The concept of heutagogy offers certain principles and practices that could be seen as a response to changing needs in education. The heutagogical learning environment facilitates the development of capable learners and emphasizes both the development of competencies of learners and the development of the ability and capacity of the student to learn.

Heutagogy is called a “non-centric” theory that takes advantage of the key benefits of the Internet; it is also a pedagogical approach that can be applied to emerging technologies in distance education, as well as serve as a framework for digital learning in the modern era. More specifically, heutagogy has the potential to become a theory for distance education, partly because of the ways it further expands the andragogical approach, and also because of the opportunities it offers when applied to new technologies in distance education.

As in the andragogical approach, in heutagogy the instructor facilitates the learning process by providing guidance and resources, but completely relinquishes ownership of the learning journey and process of the learner, who negotiates the learning and determines what will be learned and how it will be learned. A key concept in heutagogy is the concept of double-loop learning and self-reflection. In double-loop learning, learners align with the problem and the resulting actions and outcomes in addition to reflecting on the problem-solving process and how it affects the learner’s own beliefs and actions. Double-loop learning occurs when learners question and test their personal values and assumptions as central to improving learning how to learn…