29/12/2022, 12:56 Rhizomatic learning | Advance HE

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Rhizomatic learning

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What is rhizomatic learning?

Rhizomatic learning uses the botanical metaphor of the rhizome to describe the complex and often
messy nature of learning.

Where did rhizomatic learning come from?

The concept of rhizomatic learning is partially informed by the work of post-structuralist French
thinkers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. Their seminal work A Thousand Plateaus introduced
rhizomatic thinking as a new way of making sense of knowledge and contrasted this with arbolic
thinking which they argue has a tree-like hierarchical structure inflexible linear pathways and
encourages binary thinking. Deleuze and Guattari used the metaphor of the rhizome which sends
out roots in multiple directions continuously spreading and self-replicating in a 'nomadic' style to
reconceptualise sense-making. As a theory which implicitly questions established power structures
and social organisation it has existed on the fringe of academic discourse and used largely in
research to suggest alternative perspectives across a range of fields from geophilosophy to
healthcare education (Gough 2005; Holmes and Gastaldo 2004).

The development of digital technologies and web 2.0 participatory culture has provided
opportunity for experimentation with new models of education across distributed communities of

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learners. Dave Cormier of the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada has applied the
principles of rhizomatic thinking in an experimental approach which disrupts traditional learning
methodologies. Cormier’s rhizomatic MOOCs are a space to experiment with unstructured
complex learning community building and social interaction.

How does rhizomatic learning work?

Rhizomatic learning recognises that learning is a complex process of sense-making to which each
learner brings their own context and has their own needs. It overturns conventional notions of
instructional pedagogy by positing that “the community is the curriculum”; that learning is not
designed around content but is instead a social process in which we learn with and from each
other (Cormier 2010). In rhizomatic learning there is little structure to guide community learning
learners negotiate the curriculum create and share artifacts (there is no pre-packaged content)
harness personal learning networks make creative connections across traditional boundaries
determine their own goals or “learning subjectives” and are not measured or graded in any
traditional sense.

In short rhizomatic learning is messy unbounded and it doesn’t sit comfortably within current
structures of formal education. It poses a fundamental challenge to traditional modes of thinking
by re-imagining the role of the teacher removing conventional measurement frameworks and
encouraging participants to adopt a mindset of unrestricted and creative inquiry.

Embracing Uncertainty - Rhizomatic learning

In the Youtube video Cormier talks about embracing uncertainty in the 21st century and how
rhizomatic thinking can provide learners with the competencies to thrive in uncertain times.

Sector Snapshot
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Where is rhizomatic learning currently being used and how?

Rhizomatic learning is an experimental pedagogy but there are some emergent examples of its
use within education. In higher education the rhizome is being used as a conceptual lens through
which to analyse learning spaces research cultures and academic identity (Guerin 2013; Leander
and Rowe 2006). It is often presented as a critical pedagogy as an opportunity to drive change or
to provide a new perspective on a challenge or problem.

There are few examples of purposeful practitioner engagement with this approach in the
classroom but elements of rhizomatic learning can be found within connectivist MOOCs
(cMOOCs) where groups of learners are crossing the traditional boundaries of a structured
curriculum to spontaneously form off-shoots to the mainstream experience.

Within the last few years Cormier has implemented an experimental rhizomatic learning course
which purposively challenges conventional hierarchical models of education and linear learning
design. This learning experience which occurred over a number of weeks in both 2014 and 2015
sets out to encourage self-organised and self-directed learning creative thinking openness and
interaction both by exploring the nature of rhizomatic learning and experimenting with the
methodology. Pushing the boundaries of learning this cMOOC experience was loosely structured
and designed around a set of thought-provoking questions (e.g. What are learning subjectives?
How do we teach rhizomatically? Is the rhizome a pernicious species?) which evolved with the
participant community (who co-created their own curriculum) and across a range of digital spaces
(e.g. Google+ P2PU Facebook Twitter and participant blogs).

This experience reconceptualised the ‘c’ in cMOOC pushing it from its connectivist roots into
complexity and sometimes chaos. Nascent research suggests a spectrum of participant
experience. Many revelled in the loose structure and experimental nature of the course finding it to
be transformational. Others found it isolating the learning environment too disjointed and felt that
the lack of facilitator mediation resulted in a pernicious discourse (Mackness & Bell 2015). This
raises issues around the ethics of pedagogical experimentation and the implications created by
the absence of a teacher/mediator. The nature of social interaction within online spaces -
establishing trust social dynamics personality and learning preferences - is the subject of current
research into MOOCs and presents some challenging questions for the rhizomatic approach
(Yousef et al. 2014).

What are the potential benefits of rhizomatic learning?

It is useful to think of innovative learning as a spectrum with rhizomatic learning at the
experimental end. Within this rhizomatic learning has its own meta-spectrum . At the extreme end

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it is a most uncomfortable bedfellow with both formal education and informal social learning whose
boundaries it pushes almost to breaking point. At the other end it suggests some interesting
perspectives and new techniques which might be tested and adopted to complement existing
practice.

The NMC Horizon Report For Higher Education identifies ‘Teaching Complex Thinking’ as a
“difficult challenge” over the long term (over five years) and notes that new and innovative models
of education will be required to foster critical 21st century skills. (NMC Horizon Report 2015). New
pedagogical approaches such as rhizomatic learning provide students with the skills and
competencies to design and participate in complicated learning spaces which mirror the
complexity of the real world.

Getting Started

How do I get started with rhizomatic learning?

Dave Snowden’s Cynefin Framework is a sense-making framework which analyses the context we
inhabit (Simple Complicated Complex Chaotic) and provides a scaffold for making decisions within
this. Think about how you might use the Cynefin Framework within the context of learning as a
decision making tool for pedagogical approaches. For instance a rhizomatic learning approach
might best be used where the context is complex and where other approaches do not provide the
versatility or deep learning required.

Dip your toes into the rhizomatic learning pool by signing up to a cMOOC which has a loose
structure and opportunity for an organic learning ecosystem to evolve. From the perspective of a
learner you can evaluate rhizomatic pedagogical techniques that might work in your classroom.

What should I expect if I try this approach?

The thought piece from Tanya Sasser (University of Jacksonville Florida) examines the
advantages of using a rhizomatic approach for teaching creative writing. She urges fellow
practitioners to “abandon trite writing prompts and intrusive scaffolding. Opt instead for autonomy
experimentation discovery originality connectivity organicity relevancy”. (Hybrid Pedagogy 2012)

Some students will thrive in conditions that allow them to be creative and to drive their own
learning others will find the approach demotivating and disorientating. Preparing students for a
shift towards self-directed learning by providing differentiated support is crucial. Teaching (or
facilitating) with a rhizomatic mindset requires a significant leap from the traditional instructional
paradigm an acknowledgement that leadership becomes distributed more equally between the

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community of learners and this consequently requires the development of a new set of
competencies. Some institutions and disciplines will lend themselves to this experimental
pedagogy more easily than others.

Next Steps

Where can I learn more about rhizomatic learning?

Listen to and join the RL conversation by following these hashtags and Twitter handles:

#rhizo14

#rhizo15

@davecormier

What HEA resources should I take a look at?

The HEAtoZ glossary contains an overview and further links.

Further examples can be found using "rhizomatic learning" as a combined search term in
the Knowledge HUB.

How else can the HEA support my professional development?

The HEA provides support for disciplines and common themes where rhizomatic learning is
involved. You may find these under Employability Assessment Flexible learning etc.

Investigate the Frameworks for developing your practices policies processes and partnerships.
See https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/frameworks-toolkits/frameworks

Attend an appropriate HEA event to share your mLearning teaching experiences with others.

The UKPSF offers opportunities to capture your teaching innovations within your practice at many
levels from Fellowship to Principal Fellowship.

Talk and Share

#rhizo14 #rhizo15 @davecormier

About

Resource type: Starter Tools

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Tags

Teaching and learning Flexible learning Technology enhanced learning MOOCs Web 2.0

Leadership and management Culture change Assessment and feedback Curricula development

Employability and entrepreneurship

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Academy.

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