What every liberal learner should know about heutagogy

It is not very uncommon to come across curious little words every now and then that drive us straight to Google or the dictionary - in the case of our baby boomer parents. Some of these words are vaguely familiar - maybe from a book or article we must have read long ago, or from a conversation we have had with someone. And some are as good as new, presenting themselves with an exciting possibility of the possibilities they may open up to us. Most people feel the same when they hear us say, ‘heutagogy’! We have heard of pedagogy and andragogy but have you heard of heutagogy, their highly evolved cousin? Let’s get right into it!

Defining heutagogy

Heutagogy is a self-directed form of learning where learners are interdependent and they are the main administrators of their learning process. The method imbibes new personal and social skills in a child that allows him/her to efficiently manage not only their work but also the complex situations in life. In other words, heutagogy can be explained as a holistic, organic scheme that emphasizes the complete development of students from course books to the complexities of life. What this means in the real world is that learners get to choose what, how and where they learn! (What’s not to love about that?)

How does the role of the ‘teacher’ change in heutagogy?

First off, when a discussion about heutagogy is underway, the ‘teacher’ is no longer that, in a traditional sense. From mere disseminators of information, in front of a class, these professionals take on the role of facilitators in the realm of heutagogy. In theory, the role of the facilitator is confined to providing students with resources and instructions. However, unlike traditional teachers, the heutagogy school facilitators need to have more and vast knowledge than just their subject area. Additionally, they also need to have a good deal of experience in supporting learners. This is important because the heutagogy scheme emphasizes that a facilitator’s job is to guide and nudge students in the chosen direction, when it’s most required and critical.

The overall array of a teacher’s offerings can be broadly classified into 3 categories:

• Support: Making sure that the learner is always on the right path by providing them with support whenever required.
• Resources: Keeping the learners’ needs in view, arrange resources that they might need to emerge successful in a particular activity or subject.
• Instructions: A facilitator’s primary responsibility is to keep an observant eye on the learner and supply them with ideas and instructions when required based on the situation.

How Heutagogical Practice Works

For any institution or organization that practices liberal education, it is rather important to give students the reigns of control. As India’s first heutagogical liberal education center, the folks at Beyond 8 have comprehended the multi-faceted nature of the strategy. If we take a look at how Beyond 8’s heutagogical passageway works, we may get a clearer picture. At Beyond 8, the instructors train students instead of teaching them. The staff’s first belief is that each student should have the liberty to choose what they want to do in life and, of course how they want to go about making it happen. The learners choose their goals, and instructors do the job of facilitating them with the best of strategies and activities.

How is heutagogy different from pedagogy & andragogy

The heutagogy-powered ed system can be differentiated from pedagogy and andragogy schemes in numerous ways. Unlike pedagogy and andragogy, heutagogy runs in reverse i.e. from students to facilitators. Simply put, students make instructors take action, though in pedagogy and andragogy, teachers act as the origin point and students follow. There are many more aspects in which the three are different from one another.

The Bottom Line

Heutagogy is not a carry-and-take educational system, instead, it can be best defined as a give-them-wings-and-let-them-fly approach. From our own experiences at Beyond 8, heutagogy bears fruits from start to finish as a highly productive and skill-imparting method of learning. All we need to do is listen to our learners’ voices and choices a little more closely.

Discover more content of this nature on our LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram handles. Interested in getting a deeper insight into heutagogy? Head on over to our website and make an enquiry.

Cover image source: Unsplash