Archive

Tag Archives: andragogy

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)

October 24, 2012
Clinical Education, Post-secondary Education
3 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

Network of networks = your very own PLN

 

Today, there’s no problem finding information – the challenge is sifting through and locating the right information at the right time. And not just the right information at the right time – it’s also about access to tools and ideas that you never even knew you needed until you saw them. That’s where PLNs come in.

In the olden days before the advent of online academic journals and research databases, I always made at least one serendipitous discovery while browsing library holdings or leafing through print materials. I would be scanning a row of books looking for a particular call number, and suddenly notice a different book that was a great fit for some other topic I was researching. It’s hard to replicate that kind of happenstance when digital searches yield a specific document or information source with laser-like precision.

Plus, learning is not just about acquiring information – paragogy (a.k.a. the new andragogy) views learning as inherently non-linear and socially constructed via networks/peers. So PLNs – because they’re naturally hyper-textual and social – fit beautifully within a paragogical frame.

This article about PLNs at edudemic.com gives a great overview and rationale for the functions of various social media tools in building, customizing and contributing to your own composite, ongoing knowledge stream. Your very own PLN.

The 3 steps for success in school (and life)

October 16, 2012
Clinical Education, Post-secondary Education
3 Comments

3 tips for success

 

Students want to know: “What do I need to do to succeed in this course?”

 

As in many things, the answer is simple (but not always easy). At the start of each semester I share the following three elements that, in my experience in university teaching, almost always translate into academic success.

  1. Show up: If you don’t actually come to class you miss important stuff.
  2. Be 100% present: If you show up and spend the class on your smartphone, you’re not really present.
  3. Do your homework: The real learning happens outside the classroom.

BUT here’s the caveat: It’s a three-legged stool. You need all three elements or you “fall off” (and if you start shaving away any of the legs, it gets a bit wobbly).

And I’ve found that these are pretty good rules to live by in life generally, whether in work, relationships, travel, and so on. When things get complicated it’s nice to take it back to the basics!

Andragogy 2.0: Emerging Theories

July 10, 2012
Clinical Education
8 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pushing the boundaries of education theory – A hurricane at our backs

How are teaching and learning theories evolving to take into account the opportunities and advances in social media and “Web 2.0”?

Andragogy, as a theory of adult learning, has been around since the 1980s, extending the notion of pedagogy to an adult learning context (Malcolm Knowles, discussed in a chapter I wrote on online learning theory).  I have been thinking about what a “2.0” conceptualizing of andragogy might look like, given the incursions of user-generated content into both live and online learning contexts. Two recent models – paragogy and heutagogy – have captured my attention as useful extensions of Knowles’ adult learning theory. These models may well constitute a kind of “Androgogy 2.0.”

Both paragogy and heutagogy present a model of learning that is (1) decentred, (2) non-linear, (3) peer-led and (4) self-determined. These characteristics map onto social media applications and the democratization of knowledge and information. Paragogical and heutagogical approaches also extend traditional adult learning frameworks through their emphasis on meta learning, or learning how to learn.

A new model for health care education is needed at this time for a number of reasons:

The explosion of evidence-based information in health care means that “just in time” learning may be more helpful and important than “just in case” learning.

Patient access to – and use of – internet-based health information means that providers need to understand how to access, assess, critique, and translate credible sources of information.

The new generation of learners are already “hyper-learners” (i.e. non-linear in their approach to accessing and processing information), and are accustomed to generating as well as consuming content.

Power dynamics in the classroom are already shifting towards learner-as-consumer, with all of the attendant opportunities and pitfalls that we are seeing. On one hand, learning is volitional, so it makes intuitive sense that learners should be autonomous and self-determining. Shifting the power dynamics in the classroom in favour of the learner can facilitate many-to-many communication and crowdsourcing. On the other hand, our educational structures and institutions are not set up to accommodate radically student-centred approaches, and as faculty we can find ourselves caught in the middle.

So what are the practical implications for clinical education? I have been experimenting with student-centred assignments and activities, as well as peer evaluation and use of social media, and the going is not always easy. The preconditions of psychological safety and willingness to risk are key, and I find that these strategies take considerably more of my time in coaching and reassuring. However based on students’ feedback, there is a depth and richness to the learning that goes beyond instructor-centric approaches.

In any case, when it comes to radically student-centred approaches to 21st Century health care education, “We’re not walking into a headwind, we have a hurricane at our backs.”

 

View a presentation on the topic of “Andragogy 2.0: Introducing emerging frameworks for teaching and learning: Paragogy and Heutagogy” on Slideshare