Even before Covid-19, higher education was facing a perfect storm of challenges: increased costs, reduced funding, and rising industry demand for more skilled graduates. Educators were also challenged with finding ways to better prepare students for an uncertain future where lifelong learning skills are essential. The current pandemic has only served to intensify the storm, and educational institutions have rushed to technology in order to survive. In response to the new — or next — normal, institutional leaders are attempting to adapt traditional curriculum and systems so that they can transition rapidly to remote teaching and learning. Online, hybrid, and hyflex learning have become the beguiling buzzword solutions of today. How to survive this perfect storm and the storms to come? This presentation will propose that it is not technology that will best address these challenges; instead, a fundamental rethinking of how we teach and learn is necessary. By adopting heutagogy — or a pedagogy of agency, where the learner takes control of learning — will we be able to agilely transition and pivot across delivery methods, while also equipping our students with the lifelong learning skills and competencies required for the future.

1. Heutagogy:
The pedagogy of agency
"Storm clouds over Highway 97 near Valentine, Nebraska" bydiana_robinson is licensed
under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Dr. Lisa Marie Blaschke
Senior Fellow, European Distance Education and E-Learning
Network (EDEN)
Program Lead, Learnlife

2. https://youtu.be/ystdF6jN7hc

3.  Student demographics/profiles have changed
 Students have different priorities
 Expectations of education are rising
 Increased competition
 Outmoded teaching approaches
 Unsustainable financial models
 Shifting economies and employer needs
 Higher education not fulfilling needs
Why higher education will change
(Mintz, 2019)

4. Students need future-safe jobs.

5. V
U
C
A

6. Employers need employees
to
hit the ground running.
"run" by Georgie Pauwels is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

7. Ehlers & Kellermann (2019)
Future skills (Delphi Study)

8. Learning is for life.

9. Future skills (LifeComp Framework)
(Sala et al., 2020)

10. Folie 10
The post-truth era.

11. Learning agility and
learnability is
important.

14. Traditional Approach:
• Controlling the classroom
• Synchronous lectures
• Proctoring exams
• Plagiarism tools
Learner Agency
Approach:
• Give students control of learning
• Synchronous communication for
engagement
• Authentic assessment
• Nurturing environments of trust
Enabling students for
self-determined learning, or
Heutagogy

15. Heutagogy
is the study of self-determined
learning and applies a holistic
approach to developing learner
capabilities with the learner
serving as the major agent in their
own learning, which occurs, as a
result of personal experience.
(Hase & Kenyon, 2007, p. 112)
Learner
Agency
Capability/
Self-Efficacy
Reflection/
Metacognition
Non-Linear
Design

16. Graphic http://evanfaidley.weebly.com/le-blog; Based on Blaschke (2012)
We need to move learners
from passive to active
learning, from consumption
to inquiry – within a context
that will make them want to
learn more.
PAH continuum

18. Learner-centered
environments
Explore
Create
Collaborate
Connect
Share
Reflect
(Blaschke & Hase, 2015)

19. Agency in context
 Where are learners in the PAH
continuum?
 What is their learning context?
 How can instructors guide them toward
more self-determined learning?
“(Agency) …gives us mastery over ourselves”
Sean Michael Morris (2017)

20. Principle Lifelong Learning Skills
Learner Agency Active learning and learning strategies; self-direction; self-regulation;
autonomy; leadership; creativity; self-initiative (intrinsic motivation); self-
management; personal agility; need/innovation for achievement; future
mindset; flexibility; learning management; originality and initiative; social
influence
Self-efficacy and
capability
Tolerance for ambiguity; self-efficacy; creativity; well-being; growth
mindset; resilience; stress tolerance
Reflection and meta-
cognition
Ability to reflect; sense-making; self-regulation; well-being; critical
thinking and analysis; complex problem-solving; analytical thinking and
innovation; reasoning; ideation
Non-linear learning Active learning and learning strategies; empathy; collaboration;
cooperation and communication competence; digital literacy, technology
use; flexibility; social influence
Heutagogy and lifelong learning
(Ehlers & Kellermann, 2019; Redecker, 2017; Sala et al., 2020; Whiting, 2020)

21.  Improves critical thinking and reflection
 Increases learner engagement and motivation
 Gives learners more control over learning (learner-centered)
 Improves ability of learners to investigate and question
ideas – and apply knowledge in practical situations
 Supports development of independent ideas and self-
confidence
 Makes learners more capable and able to adapt to new
environments
 Promotes democracy of learning and social justice
 Better prepares them for a VUCA world
 Encourages growth and personal empowerment
 Teaches learners to think for themselves
Benefits of
heutagogy
(Agonács & Matos, 2017; Ashton & Elliott, 2007; Ashton & Newman, 2006; Blaschke & Marin, 2020; Canning, 2013; Canning & Callan, 2010; Dick, 2013; Hase, 2016; Kerry,
2013; Moore, 2020)

22. Edtech startup for
K-12 learners, established in 2017
Barcelona, Spain

23. Ben Freeman: https://www.flickr.com/photos/75003318@N00/30840158067

24. 6
Paradigm Shift
https://learnlife.com/alliance/methodologies

26. • Learners unlearning traditional
education and relearning new
ways of learning, taking
responsibility for their learning
• Teachers revisioning their role
as guide rather than instructor
• Institutions redesigning and
restructuring classroom and
curriculum design
What it will mean

27. Why is it important?
 Higher education will change, and the time is now.
 Learners need lifelong learning skills.
 Self-directed and self-determined learning will allow learners
to pivot between delivery forms.
 Technology should not drive our pedagogy.

28. “We have an opportunity to
plan for the future we want,
rather than one we are given.”
Neil Fassina
President of Athabasca University and ICDE
(EDEN Webinar, June 2, 2020)

29. Dr. phil. Lisa Marie Blaschke
Program Lead, Home Hub
Learnlife, Barcelona, Spain
www.learnlife.com
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamarieblas
chke/
Twitter https://twitter.com/lisamblaschke
Web
http://lisamarieblaschke.pbworks.com
Lisamarie@learnlife.com

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Swan, M. (2016). This skill could save our job – and your company. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/this-little-
known-skill-will-save-your-job-and-your-company/
Whiting, K. (2020). These are the top 10 job skills of tomorrow – and how long it takes to learn them. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/top-10-work-skills-of-tomorrow-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-them/

33. for identifying implications and taking strategic action.
The four OECD Scenarios for the Future of Schooling
OECD
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Participation in formal education continues to expand. International collaboration and
technological advances support more individualised learning. The structures and processes
of schooling remain.
Traditional schooling systems break down as society becomes more directly
involved in educating its citizens. Learning takes place through more diverse,
privatised and flexible arrangements, with digital technology a key driver.
EDUCATION OUTSOURCED
SCHOOLING EXTENDED
LEARN-AS-YOU-GO
Education takes place everywhere, anytime. Distinctions between formal and informal
learning are no longer valid as society turns itself entirely to the power of the machine.
Schools remain, but diversity and experimentation have become the norm.
Opening the “school walls” connects schools to their communities, favouring ever-
changing forms of learning, civic engagement and social innovation.
SCHOOLS AS LEARNING HUBS
(OECD, 2020)