Emerging pedagogies for effective adult learning: From andragogy to heutagogy

Abstract

Understanding the way the student learns effectively is important for teachers so that they can then more effectively design their learning experiences. As the student in the health profession education progress across the long period and phases of learning from being an advanced beginner in a wider range of competencies during Undergraduate (UG) to becoming proficiently competent in areas of their specialization during their Postgraduate (PG) period and then after professional specialization while engaging in learning for expertise on-the-job during early professional development, they transition from a low learner maturity phase to full learner autonomy where they determine what and how to learn. Whereas pedagogy with high degree of teacher control matches low learner maturity, as the learners become more autonomous, teachers face the dilemma about how much they need to let go of their power and control to transition from “sage-on-stage” to “guide-on-the-side”. This article examines some of these dilemmas and attempts to suggest use of effective pedagogies (teaching methods) that match the transition of the adult learner engaged in the art and science of healing and progressing through the professional course's stages of competence progression from being a novice to a competent professional and after their formal professional qualification to help them reach expertise and improve quality of care by engaging in continuing professional development (CPD). This knowledge about learner maturity and adult learning principles will also help diagnose and address learner's problems and obstacles to effective learning that is happening at the institutional level.