2016 Annual Conference

Pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy are key terms in the lexicon of educators. Educational theory has advanced to a point that we believe an additional term is now warranted. We propose the term “Chuoagogy” (Chuo – College, from Swahili) for the practice, theory, and research relating specifically to college level instruction.

The audience for this session will include instructors, faculty and educational researchers interested in the developmental transition of the learner that occurs during their time in the college or university learning environment.

Student Transition - Chuoagogy.
It is obvious to even the most casual observer that dynamic change is occurring in higher education instruction. From flipped classrooms through blended learning to fully online courses, new instructional models are being incorporated at an ever accelerating rate. These exciting advances are driving re-evaluation of instructional approaches by colleges and universities. With this re-evaluation comes the opportunity to focus research on theories specifically aimed at college-level student education. In reviewing the literature, we noted that no consistent term exists for the theory base associated with college level teaching. Many experts simply broaden the term “pedagogy” to include higher education. Conversely, some authors place college-level teaching under “andragogy”. We feel that due to the complexities and unique requirements associated with instructional models for teaching at the university level, the time has come to establish a more specialized term. We propose that pedagogy be reserved for studies involving K-12 instruction and that andragogy be used for adults in post-graduate or returning learner settings. For studies and theory focused on college-level students, we propose the new term “chuoagogy". This term provides a convenient way to distinguish learning theory associated with the transition from pedagogy to andragogy.