Writing forces greater clarity. In addition, the tranquility of the unique Australian bush setting in which I am currently sitting, miles from anywhere, provides a perfect environment for learning. My book, ‘A Practical Guide to Self-Determined Learning: Experiences from the Field’ is an edited work where people share their experiences of using heutagogy in a variety of contexts.
Ideally, heutagogy should be fun and, hopefully, useful to people wanting to try something a bit different in their ‘classrooms.’ I got so excited while writing the chapter that I thought I’d share some of its content with you. In this day and age there is no need to be patient, which suits me, as patience is not a strong point. And I might get some comments back to help me refine the chapter before it goes to air.
A number of insightful writers have suggested the skills that people need in order to cope with the 21st-century. One of my favourites that appears to summarise all of them is from Jackie Gerstein who has put together a neat pictorial of these skills. See also Tony Wanger’s work, which Jackie acknowledges.
The skills she has identified are: effective oral and written communication; collaboration across networks; agility and adaptability; grit; resilience; empathy and global stewardship; vision; self-regulation; hope and optimism; curiosity and imagination; initiative and entrepreneurialism; and critical thinking and problem solving.
Some of the implications of self-determined learning are:
involve the learner in designing their own learning content and process as a partner;
make the curriculum process flexible so that new questions and understanding can be explored as new neuronal pathways are explored;
individualise learning as much as possible;
use social media to network learners;
provide flexible or negotiated assessment;
enable the learner to contextualise concepts, knowledge and new understanding;
provide lots of resources and enable the learner to explore essential content;
experiment and research;
base practice on the latest science;
engage learners in collaborative learning;
differentiate between knowledge and skill acquisition (competencies) and deep learning;
recognise the importance of informal learning and that we only need to enable it rather than control it;
have confidence in the learner;
be on top of the subject area so you can be a resource;
and recognise that teaching can become a block to learning.
So, what of the skills needed by learning leaders, given the abilities we should foster in our learners and the rather more learner-centric approach prescribed by self-determined learning?
At the outset, I think we need to get rid of the terms teach and teacher from our lexicon and start talking about the ‘learning leader’. It immediately changes the focus from teacher-centred to learner-centred approaches. So, I think what we used to call teaching is really leadership and the broad abilities are similar whether or not you are leading students or leading people in an organisation.
4 Characteristics Of Learning Leaders
1. Ability to deal with ambiguity
Low need for control
Openness to Experience (one of the Big 5 personality traits)
Moderate perfectionism
High Stability (low anxiety)
Project management skills
Ability to use social media
Optimism
2. The capacity to foster engagement
An understanding of how to motivate others
Ability to foster a shared purpose and vision
An understanding of human needs
Interpersonal effectiveness
Ability to self-regulate
Empathy
3. The capacity to learn
Ability to research and learn
Being thoroughly on top of one’s subject area
Wide and accessible networks
Able to share with others
Knowledge management skills
The ability to foster collaborative learning
4. The ability to use open systems thinking
The capacity to scan the external environment
Able to foster participative democracy/collaboration decision-making and process
Able to actively diffuse power
Capacity to work in a team
Ongoing internal and external analysis of effectiveness (continuous improvement)
