Pedagogy had
always established an unequal relation between the teacher and the taught.
Andragogy stepped in to rectify this and foster awareness about how adults
learned. However, the premise was that there was someone doing the
"teaching" so to speak. While the principles of Andragogy clearly
stated what it takes to motivate adults to learn, the role of a teacher / the
expert remained undisputed. Knowles (1970, p7) defined self-directed learning as: “The process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes.”
Then came
Heutagogy advocating principles of self-determined learning.
“A
heutagogical learning environment facilitates the development of capable
learners and emphasizes both the development of learner competencies as well as
development of the learner’s capability and capacity to learn" (Ashton and
Newman, 2006; Hase and Kenyon, 2000).
"Heutagogy applies a holistic approach to developing learner capabilities, with learning as an active and proactive process, and learners serving as “the major agent in their own learning, which occurs as a result of personal experiences” (Hase & Kenyon, 2007, p. 112).
"Heutagogy applies a holistic approach to developing learner capabilities, with learning as an active and proactive process, and learners serving as “the major agent in their own learning, which occurs as a result of personal experiences” (Hase & Kenyon, 2007, p. 112).
IMHO, a
heutagogical approach is essential today. And I have attempted to discuss “WHY”
I think so in the post here.
As the
Creative Economy, the Knowledge Era, the Connected Age—call it what you will—sets
in and its impact begins to be felt in all spheres of life—personal,
professional, institutional—it is becoming imperative to take charge of one’s
own learning, development and career graph. Job descriptions are giving way to
or soon will give way to competency-based profiles (primarily because it is going to be difficult if not impossible to capture
aspects of jobs we are not even aware of). It is going to be up to each
individual to pick up skills and knowledge on the go even as they do their
work.
Will past experience
help? Of course! But not in the usual way we recognize, that is, replicate what
we did in the past to be successful today. Past experiences can help us to make
sense of the present, analyze and see patterns—but our responses must be driven
by the context and reality of the present. This is where we enter the Complex
and Chaotic
domains of the Cynefin framework. In the Complex domain:
“Complex –
relationship between cause & effect can only be perceived in retrospect. We
should Probe – Sense – Respond & we can test emergent practices.”
As long as the
work environment hovered between the Simple and Complicated domains,
organizations and their L&D departments could take charge of the “learning”—via
top-down training programs, elearning courses, and refresher training and help
people apply the best practices and
the good practices—pillars of what
made the Industrial Era so successful. The L&D and HR had to ensure that
employees received some 12 days of training per year and hope that this would
make employees effective and efficient at their work and deliver business results.
However, with the passing of the Industrial Era, this model has gradually failed
leading to training departments being questioned on their efficacy and worth. The
reality is the context has changed so dramatically that the cure of the past is
no longer successful in solving the challenges of the present. Even instructionally
sound programs based on the principles of Andragogy have failed to meet the
needs of the hour.
With the
advent of the creative economy, there is barely any hope that such training
programs will work to build proficiency and capabilities that can meet the
demands of the day. In the creative economy, all meaningful work is happening and
will continue to transpire in the Complex domain where the “relationship
between cause & effect can only be perceived in retrospect”. This calls for
responses on the go and the ability to extract
learning.
I have
captured some of the key aspects in the diagram below:
Click on the image to see a larger version
With respect to extracting learning, Charles Jennings has written a very insightful post here: http://charles-jennings.blogspot.in/2013/10/workplace-learning-adding-embedding.html
Quoting him
here:
“The model of
‘learn then work’ is replaced here with ‘work then learn, then work in an
improved way’. Learning is not only embedded in the workflow, but
new learning is continually extracted from experiences and exchanges with
colleagues, customers and the entire value chain.” (The highlight is mine.)
What Charles J
has said is similar to how response happens in the Complex domain of the
Cynefin framework and leads to emergent
practices – “working in an improved way”. And it can only happen in
retrospect.
This ability
to respond requires employees / learners who are able to “extract learning” and
know “how to learn”. He further writes that: “Examples of this type of
workplace learning include narrating work and sharing with colleagues – often
achieved by micro-blogging on a regular (possibly daily) basis; active
participation in professional social networks is another example.” This ties
back to the concepts of micro-learning
and learning flows discussed in the
blog posts here
and here.
What have work
in the Complex domain, the Creative Economy, and Learning Flows got to do with
Heutagogy?
A fair bit, I think.
A heutagogical approach emphasizes that learners negotiate their learning and
learning outcomes. This is also closely tied to the concept of capability:
“Capable people are those who: know how to learn; are
creative; have a high degree of self-efficacy; can apply
competencies in novel as well as familiar situations; and can work
well with others. In comparison with competencies which consist of knowledge
and skills, capability is a holistic attribute.” (The highlight is mine.)
Today’s
organizations require people to be capable, to drive their own learning and
cooperate to learn together. In return, organizations (if they wish to survive, grown and retain talent) have to let go of
the cultural and structural relics of the industrial era, be transparent, and
support and sustain a culture of cooperation. The L&D department needs to facilitate
and empower all employees to become learners – “learners who have the
capability to effectively and creatively apply skills and competencies to new
situations in an ever-changing, complex world”.
It is no
longer very important (at least in most occasions) to be trained on specifics. If
the value of what the organization is seeking to do is evident to the employees,
if they are made to feel as much a part of the organization as those in the
C-suite, and see how the outcomes achieved will impact them personally, they
will take the onus to drive their own learning. This, however, is proving to be
the toughest part with most organizations used to creating monetary value for
stakeholders, and not emotional value for employees.
In the next
post, I am going to delve deeper into various aspects of Heutagogy and how it could
be one of the fundamental principles behind the success of courses disseminated
the MOOC way—whether by institutions via platforms like EdX and Coursera or by corporates
seeking to optimize learning and performance in the workplace.
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