By Rajesh Rajan
With over 9.7 million teachers in India, the state of education is set to change yet again as the emphasis on assuring quality education grows. In the sphere of education, teachers are often cast in the role of being a master of the subject matter, where students regard them as experts. But with the disrupted nature of learning, many students have turned into learners, who are presumed to be passive and copious recipients of knowledge from the teacher. The rising importance of the involvement of a teacher, motivation and agency during an online class is often linked to professional development and students’ performance. Hence applying the right teaching or training method is a part of the process of education.
Teachers are heavily trained and oriented on the pedagogical way of teaching, which can be viewed as a young student’s style of knowledge engagement. Pedagogy is an education method in which students are dependent on the teacher for guidance, evaluation and acquisition of knowledge. The teacher is the one who assesses progress and takes full responsibility for what is taught and its effectiveness. The teacher prescribes the learning and sequences it logically. Topics are subdivided into content units. With each unit providing the necessary theory to understand the subject and for the teacher to apply a methodical approach to help students understand the concept better. External sources of motivation, such as parents and teachers, influence students. Peer groups and the classroom environment play a huge role in determining the level of engagement students exercise with the subject.
Following the rapid transformation that the education sector has undergone, teachers can utilise technological skillsets and employ approaches known as andragogy and heutagogy to provide better teacher and student interaction.
Andragogy, in a nutshell, refers to the methods and approaches used in adult education that are geared toward self-actualisation, experience and problem-solving. In andragogy, the student is dependent on the self, allowing them the autonomy of understanding the subject through their means. It is much more self-directed, in the sense that adults must frequently set their learning schedules and be motivated to commit to study or practice. Students are motivated by intrinsic factors such as self-esteem, life quality, problem-solving and the desire for recognition. As human beings, we are shaped by our experiences. For adults, no amount of textbook learning can take the place of knowledge, clarity, and wisdom that come from experience. This is where heutagogy or experiential learning comes into the picture.
Heutagogy is a student-centred teaching methodology that aims to create a learning ecosystem that is well-prepared for the complexities of today’s workplace. The goal of heutagogy is to create an environment in which students can choose their own goals, learning paths, processes and products. Students, rather than the teacher or the curriculum, are strategically placed at the centre of the learning process. Heutagogy can be implemented through self-authoring tools such as self-paced e-learning, interactive quizzes and assessments, videos, images etc.
As time passes, various economic, social and technological factors continue to evolve. Our educational system must reinvent itself to prepare our students to be lifelong learners and to be successful not only in academics but also in the workplace. The integration of the aforementioned factors has compelled our higher education model to think beyond. To address this need, the adoption of andragogy and heutagogy methodology provides a framework for teaching and learning that is relevant today.
The author is deputy general manager, Teacher Training & Development, Vedantu
