A heutagogical approach for the assessment of Internet Communication Technology (ICT) assignments in higher education

College instructors increasingly offer assignments that harness the internet for communication or dissemination, such as through infographics, podcasts, the creation of blogs, or social networking. Reasons broadly include enhancing student engagement, connecting students with public audiences, and increasing digital literacy. Existing literature offers evidence of student satisfaction with assignments in which they create material for public audiences using Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) (Armstrong et al., 2009; Hitchcock & Battista, 2013; Wopereis et al., 2010), as well as the benefits of authentic assessment in which participants are evaluated in instructor-designed real-world activities that mirror future vocational work (Gulikers et al., 2004). However, a literature gap exists relative to pedagogical reasons for asking students to publicly share their work using ICTs, and around the best practices for designing and assessing ICT assignments. Technology is increasingly central to higher education, and even more so in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, where many classes have moved entirely online, requiring instructors to use technology in increasingly novel ways (Johnson et al., 2020). Theoretical lenses such as heutagogy offer an opportunity to consider the implications of these types of assignments in light of learning outcomes and assessment. Briefly, heutagogy is an instructional approach focused on learner self-determination.

One hesitation when using ICTs in the classroom is about how to assess and assign a grade to this kind of work, especially when students are designing content for a specific audience besides the teacher. We attempt to answer this dilemma by presenting a pedagogical guide for educators seeking to incorporate ICTs in higher education curricula using a heutagogical lens. First, we describe the importance of ICTs in the 21st Century classroom, particularly in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, we describe heutagogy, which provides instructors in higher education with a rationale for utilizing ICTs for assignments that support student engagement with authentic audiences. Finally, we present an assessment approach for public-facing ICT assignments. This discussion fills a gap in knowledge and practice related to how college educators assess ICT assignments in higher education (Sosa & Manzuoli, 2019).

The study of adult learning has transformed over the years (Blaschke & Hase, 2019). Knowles’ (1973) theory of adult learning, referred to as andragogy, focuses on unique characteristics of adult learners including changes in self-concept, orientation, and readiness to learn from experience. Pedagogical learning is teacher-centric, and although andragogy focuses on the needs of the adult learner, it is still teacher-directed (Blaschke & Hase, 2019). Heutagogy is defined as "a form of self-determined learning…" (Blaschke, 2012), which focuses on developing students' "capability and capacity to learn" (Blaschke, 2012, p 2). Self-determined learning focuses on the process of learning (heutagogy) while self-directed learning focuses more on content (andragogy) (Blaschke & Hase, 2019). In summary, pedagogy, where the instructor is in control, can be viewed as one end of a continuum, with andragogy, where control is shared, in the middle of the continuum, and heutagogy can be viewed as the learner-determined end of the continuum (Blaschke & Hase, 2019). The heutagogical approach is the best fit with the learner-centered, unstructured student interaction that occurs when using ICTs, and offers practical boundaries to help educators think about how to apply these types of assignments in the classroom.

Prior research has explored the ways that emerging theories inform the use of ICTs from a heutagogical standpoint in the classroom. Blaschke and Hase (2019) identify these theories as complexity, connectivism, and rhizomatic (organic non-linear) theories, as students reflect on and construct their own knowledge through navigating non-linear tasks while connected and getting feedback with those outside their traditional classroom environments. Cochrane and Antonczak (2013) add humanism as a grounding theory when using this approach.

Although these are promising outcomes, ICTs may be perceived as a threat to traditional teacher-led knowledge transfer, and take new learning for teachers to reach the desired outcomes (Sutherland, 2004), including about how to prepare students for these types of assignments and provide an appropriate assessment.

It centers “—learner agency, self-efficacy, and capability, reflection and metacognition, and non-linear learning” (Blaschke & Hase, 2019, p. 1), and therefore its application lends well to college classrooms where critical thinking for lifelong learning is a highly-valued learner outcome. Further, heutagogy encourages competency and capability development. Competency refers to a learner’s ability to gain knowledge and skills, their confidence in their ability to solve problems, and how they apply acquired knowledge and skills in new and unfamiliar contexts (Blaschke, 2012). Competency-based education, with its focus on assessing students’ abilities to demonstrate predetermined knowledge, skills, and values, is common and often mandated in professional programs such as medicine, law, and social work (Frank et al., 2010; Morcke et al., 2013). While educators in professional programs may not always have flexibility in what is taught or how it is taught, a mindset grounded in heutagogy and the application of heutagogical principles whenever possible, offer students the opportunity to develop self-efficacy, creativity, and communication and collaboration skills (Blaschke, 2012).

For example, in the heutagogical classroom, much of the learning is student-driven rather than traditional instructor-led learning. The student takes a more active role in determining what is to be learned based on their own needs and interests (Glassner & Back, 2020), and the instructor acts as a facilitator. Students are able to dictate the learning process, which often results in non-linear learning where students not only reflect on outcomes but also on the learning process itself (Blaschke, 2012; Narayan et al., 2019). Heutagogy aims to develop lifelong learners, making it an excellent theoretical fit for the fields of applied sciences like nursing, social work, and public health, all disciplines that routinely change with the development of new knowledge, devices, techniques, and research into best practices (Bhoyrub et al., 2010). Specifically, heutagogical approaches foster the development of skills relevant to any professional setting, including communication skills, digital literacy, the ability to work with others to solve complex problems, metacognitive skills associated with a deeper self-understanding for how one learns, and self-confidence to apply skills in various settings (Blaschke, 2012). A heutagogical approach also emphasizes collaborative learning, particularly in which learners belong to communities of practice that exist as part of larger systems (Blaschke, 2012). These communities share new knowledge, experiences, and resources, which enhance all community members' capabilities. This form of ongoing learning requires engagement within and between members to develop knowledge that, over time, transforms learning and practice within larger systems (McDonald & Cater-Steel, 2016). This student-centered learning allows for meta-cognition that is transferable to other spaces, and when used in social media assignments, has been found to increase student familiarity with new tools and a sense of competency (Blaschke, 2014). Allowing learners to participate in communities of practice while in higher education allows for the development of relationships and social capital within these communities, which will support lifelong learning after formal education (Halsall et al., 2016). These communities of practice become personalized learning environments and must include tools that facilitate the learner's "three basic cognitive processes: reading, reflecting and sharing" (Torres Kompen et al., 2019, p. 196).

ICTs assignments are unique in various ways, such as providing students access to larger online communities, encouraging creativity and self-directed learning, and being directed to public-facing audiences rather than solely the instructor. ICTs assignments can be created and evaluated using principles of heutagogy. McAuliffe et al. (2009) proposed the following four principles of heutagogy:

Through ICTs assignments, students create products that conceivably have value beyond the classroom, which can influence student motivation and focus. By using ICT, students can be self-directed, develop or join communities of practice, and create content for these authentic audiences. Given these assignments' unique nature, viewing them through a traditional pedagogical or an andragogical framework is insufficient. Heutagogy emphasizes student-directed learning, a multidisciplinary point of view, and an examination of the process by which each student learns, which fits with the nature and scope of ICT assignments. Table 1 offers a visual of heutagogical principles for the use of ICTs assignments, which is described in the following paragraphs.

Educators in the professional disciplines must address ever-changing practice environments without the foresight of knowing what future needs may arise within a given professional field of practice. Competency-based education, with its focus on assessing students’ abilities to demonstrate predetermined knowledge, skills, and values, is common and often mandated in professional programs such as medicine, law, and social work (Frank et al., 2010; Morcke et al., 2013; Robbins, 2014). Historically, practice-based learning was used to prepare students for learning how to work within their profession. Still, it did little to prepare learners to adapt to systematic changes and the progression of theory and evidence-based practices. The traditional teaching model of subject expert and learner can only prepare learners for the currently-known dynamics within a profession (Bhoyrub et al., 2010). As previously noted, by integrating ICTs assignments from a heutagogical perspective, educators in professional programs can better prepare students for life-long learning throughout a career.

The value of using authentic audiences, such as proposed in this paper, is that they allow the learner to shift their focus from simply conveying their understanding of the subject matter to focusing on engaging their audience as it relates to their subject matter. This shift requires them to not only know their subject matter but what others in the audience already know and how to enhance their audience's knowledge related to the subject matter, while they might also learn from their authentic audience (Novakovich & Long, 2013). This shift increases the learners' engagement with the subject and simultaneously with others within their profession.

A conceptual approach for designing ICT assignments through a heutagogical lens should follow a logical path and allow the learner ownership over the design, content, and identification of an authentic audience to connect with and exchange information. The creation of an assessment tool for these assignments should include input from the learners as they conceptualize their ICT assignments' implementation. ICTs provide learners with multiple opportunities to develop new skill sets and develop expertise within their professional communities (Barber et al., 2015). ICT assignments expand the traditional use of problem-based learning commonly used in a conventional social learning framework by connecting the learner with collective knowledge beyond the traditional classroom and in environments where technology and expertise can outpace an instructor's ability to learn and integrate these advances.

Table 2. offers a sample rubric for a podcast assignment using the three AIW criteria, paired with specific assignment criteria and performance benchmarks adapted from the VALUES Rubrics created by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU, 2010). The VALUES Rubrics are designed to be adjusted by instructors with terminology that best fits disciplines and courses. Besides being used by instructors to assess the product's quality, this rubric offers the opportunity for self and peer assessment by using benchmarks as a checklist for completed tasks.

As can be seen, the rubric offers a heutagogical approach to assessment for instructors who want to gauge student learning with public-facing assignments. First, there are multiple assessment criteria in the rubric, from learning more about a social problem to integrating best practices for podcasting, encouraging students to focus on the process of creating a podcast from content to technical aspects. Second, because a podcast is designed for an audience outside the classroom, students need to consider that listeners will be diverse and incorporate multiple perspectives into their final product. Finally, the rubric is flexible enough to accommodate other forms of digital technology such as a video, should an instructor want to allow more technology options such as a video about a social problem or a vlog (a blog post that is shared as a video) (Tetloff et al., 2014). Blaschke (2014) offers additional considerations for a social media assignment based in self-determined learning, such as adjusting the assignment to the level of the student, incorporating self-reflection, and negotiating the assessment process. Student participants in Blaschke’s (2014) study informed other suggestions based on their perspectives, including providing guidance and support for new social media use, being prepared for those opposed to social media, making expectations clear, preparing how to track student activity, and assuring work is clearly aligned with learning objectives and the students’ future work.

The integration of heutagogy with ICTs offers educators several opportunities to better prepare adult learners for future work environments in the twenty-first century, from learning ICT skills to developing the knowledge and attitudes needed for lifelong learning. For twenty-first century skills, numerous stakeholders from education and industry have weighed in based on expertise and experience (Battelle for Kids, 2020; Blaschke, 2014; Davidson, 2011; Trilling & Fadel, 2009). 21st-century skills now require digital literacy skills associated with ICTs assignments as well as career and learning self-reliance, collaboration skills, and creativity (Trilling & Fadel, 2009), all skills supported by the heutagogical design and assessment elements discussed in this paper.

Moreover, the heutagogical approach to learning and assessment helps instructors respond to the question, "why are you using social media in the classroom, and how do you assess it?" Here we clearly articulate why one would use social media, given students' need to engage in self-directed learning and knowledge generation to help prepare them for their future learning and technology-mediated engagement in a digital society. A gap in this work is how one assesses such varied activity; by dismantling the theory of heutagogy and authentic audiences, we land on a flexible but defendable approach that encourages intellectual freedom and autonomy while also holding students accountable for articulating the merits of their work.

Although the approach presented here offers insight into the ways to assess ICTs in the classroom through the lens of heutagogy, this article does not explore the degree of understanding that instructors or students need to have in ICTs in order to benefit from an ICT-mediated assignment, nor does it investigate technology access issues for students. Therefore, this approach for assessment may be ideally suited for instructors who are already using ICTs in the classroom and have thought through access concerns, but would benefit from structure to help assess and provide feedback to students about their learning. Additionally, this approach suggests flexibility and negotiation of learning outcomes, which likely has a time impact for instructors, an issue not evaluated in this article. Finally, the approach offered presents recommendations based on a review of the literature, and is not applied. Future research can assess the ways that students and teachers experience this approach, and whether it helps assess the desired learning outcomes.