Abstract
This article aims to provide insight into the concept of heutagogy and its application in the context of online learning. Heutagogy, an emerging pedagogical approach, extends the principles of both pedagogy and andragogy (Hase & Kenyon, 2000). Also referred to as self-directed learning, heutagogy essentially emphasizes that learners bear full responsibility for their own educational journey. This approach fundamentally challenges conventional teaching methods, as it encourages learners to take control of their educational pursuits. In the realm of online learning, where self-discipline and motivation play crucial roles, heutagogy can be a transformative approach. Heutagogy embraces the idea that learning is a lifelong process and nurtures students to become independent learners. Online learning environments also encourage students to become self-regulated learners, a feature that seamlessly aligns with the principles of heutagogy. One of the various forms of online learning is Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), which have no limitations on the number of participants and are open to learners of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. MOOCs promote self-directed learning and follow a self-paced learning approach. In summary, both online learning environments like MOOCs and heutagogy complement each other and empower learners with the skills of self-directed learning. As the digital era continues to reshape education, heutagogy can serve as a guiding beacon for educators and learners. MOOCs, provide an ideal setting to experiment with heutagogical principles.
The article focuses on exploring heutagogy as a learning approach in MOOCs and describes the major takeaways and future implications stemming from the research literature. The exploration in this paper, encourages a shift toward more student-centered, self-directed approaches underscoring the significance of heutagogy and calls for research and development to fully harness its potential in shaping the future of education in the digital age.
Heutagogy & MOOCs: a conceptual exploration
The concept of heutagogy has emerged as an extension of pedagogy and andragogy. This concept was initially put forward by Hase, S., and Kenyon, C in 2000, emphasizing a learner-centred and self-directed learning approach. The term heutagogy has derived its origins from Greek word “heutos” meaning self and “agogos” meaning leading (Hase & Kenyon, 2000). Heutagogy is an emergent rather than established learning approach (Bhoyrub et al.,2010). It essentially signifies that learners take full responsibility for their own learning journey. In this approach, the focus shifts away from teachers, putting learners as the central characters in their educational journey. Learners not only define their learning goals and objectives but also assess their progress and employ various learning techniques to achieve their objectives and goals. According to Hase & Kenyon (2013), what makes the heutagogical approach remarkably effective is the emotional commitment to learning, expressed through motivation and a strong desire to learn. The advantages to heutagogy, like ability to choose what to learn by the learners, freedom to choose the time to learn, and flexibility of the approach make this approach suitable for the workforce in the knowledge-based societies to upskill their competences. Heutagogy, moreover, embraces the notion that learning is a lifelong process and champions essential skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-motivation, which are particularly vital in today’s ever-evolving world.
Noticeably, the principles of heutagogy also find a natural affiliation with the field of online learning including MOOCs. As Blaschke (2012) noticed, specific features of distance learning correspond well with the principles of heutagogy. These include the role of technology in shaping teaching methods, the evolving profile of distance education learners, and the promotion of learner autonomy. Distance education encourages students to become independent learners, thus, encouraging learner agency that helps learners to feel empowered and take control over their learning (Blaschke, 2018; Moore, 2020).
MOOCs fall under the broader category of distance education. They are open and accessible to all with a stable Internet connection. There is no biasness concerning e.g. caste, creed or gender. According to Chauhan et al. (2015), a MOOC is an online course that is open to a large number of participants, has a predetermined length, and adheres to a set of pedagogical principles. Kenyon & Hase (2013), and Blaschke (2012), gave certain principles of heutagogy that also aligns with principles of MOOC including:
- Providing flexible assessment
- Recognise that all learners are not same
- Individualise learning as much as possible
- Promote collaborative learning
- Provide lot of resources
- Develop research skills
- Recognise importance of informal learning
In a nutshell, both the MOOC and heutagogy complement each other and empower learners with the skills of self-directed learning providing a significant educational experience.
Heutagogical learning in MOOCs
Both heutagogy and MOOC work on the principles of self-directed and student-centered learning, flexibility and utilizing technology. MOOC connects to heutagogy through its emphasis on autonomy in students learning and technology-driven education. Agonacs & Matos (2017a) conducted an initial literature review on heutagogy. The review suggested that heutagogy has mostly been discussed in theory, but there is a big need for actual empirical research studies about it. Whereas research on MOOCs is already well-established and very relevant. So, they suggested that creating a framework for “h-MOOC” would be valuable in helping to fill the gap in heutagogy research, although that they did not offer any guidelines for the framework. Kedin et al., (2018) created a heutagogy-based MOOC on statistics for those with no prior knowledge about this subject. Their MOOC included elements of interactivity and enjoyment for learning that previous studies have found to be increasing students’ success rates and engagement. Henceforth they designed a course with lots of free and interactive activities to bring joy to learners while learning in the MOOC environment.
Agonacs (2020) applied heutagogy to examine learner’s independent learning skill set when they studied Italian language in the MOOC environment. The study aimed to understand the characteristics of people who want to learn the language with the help of MOOC and to determine how they learn a new language in online courses. This study used a mix of different methods, including surveys and collecting written thoughts from students, to understand how certain qualities like self-reflection, self-confidence, and Internet skills affect a student’s ability to learn on their own. One of the research findings was that most of the participants in the study did not show strong self-determined learning behaviour. Among those who did, self-confidence and insights were significant factors that indicated they were ready to learn on their own.
In a study conducted by Biswal & Ansari (2023), a MOOC was developed and implemented on post graduate students of teacher education and their reactions was noted. Majority of the students found the course interesting and their motivation towards online learning also boosted. The study concluded that MOOCs can be a powerful approach to online learning in the future providing students and teachers with a lot of opportunities to learn and grow in their profession.
Takeaways for the future
Following the heutagogical principles, teachers’ role changes from knowledge transmitters to coaches. Learning is informal, non-linear, and often outside traditional settings. Such learning involves acquiring new contents and ever-changing skills, which traditional education cannot adequately address (Oza, 2021). Research from the past few years has shown that heutagogy offers a promising approach to online learning. Based on our literature examination on online learning and heutagogy it can be concluded that there is lack of studies on the integration of heutagogy in MOOCs and more research would be needed. There is a need in intervention studies focusing more on principles of heutagogy while integrating it with online learning. We also discovered that principles of heutagogy align with the ideology of education where learners’ needs are considered and “one size fits all” approach does not exist. Heutagogy in online education can be beneficial in integrating personalized learning experiences for the learners. It not only promotes engagement, collaboration, adaptability, and independence but also aligns with the demands of education for the 21st century skills, and both students and teachers can be empowered by utilising heutagogical approach.
Despite the rise in popularity of MOOCs, there is still room for improvement. Creating MOOCs with a heutagogical approach involves incorporating components that encourage learners to take more responsibility for their own learning and personal development. Additionally, it focuses on fostering essential skills required for self-directed online learning. By doing so, learners can become adept at consciously customizing their learning experiences and honing the skills needed to excel in a MOOC setting (Agonacs & Matos, 2017b). In a nutshell, heutagogy as a learning approach holds great value for education in the digital era. Promoting heutagogical approaches in online environment, benefits the society with knowledgeable learners and gives freedom to learners to choose when they want to learn and what they want to learn. The flexibility of the approach makes it more convenient and adaptable.
Final thoughts
The principles of heutagogy should be integrated into online teaching practices to create an environment that is learner-centered, effective, and adaptive. Heutagogy in MOOCs can help in empowering learners and taking control of their learning. It helps in developing a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006) and emphasizes lifelong learning. It is important to seize the educational technologies that promote personalized learning, create interactive content, and utilize diverse learning styles along with emphasizing on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Various types of assessment should be incorporated into the learning systems and opportunities for continuous professional development should be promoted. The future of education holds immense importance for the integration of heutagogical approaches into online learning. Educators should serve as facilitators and mentors of knowledge, creating an environment that prepares students not only for success in their academic pursuits but also equips them to adapt to the rapidly changing job markets in the modern economy.