Learner Agency and the Learner-Centred Theories for Online Networked Learning and Learning Ecologies

The connections and networks we make both inside and outside of the classroom are critical to our current and future professional success and to the development of lifelong learning skills. Learner agency plays a central role in establishing and building those connections and networks, and by using a variety of online, networked theories, instructors are able to guide and support students in creating and developing their own network of personal learning. These teaching and learning approaches are not limited to heutagogy (self-determined learning), but also include connectivism and rhizomatic learning – all theories that promote learner agency through connectedness and connectivity in the learning process. This chapter discusses these learner-centred theories for networked learning and their role in promoting learner agency in online learning spaces and within learning ecologies as a whole.