Transformative Learning

Fitch, G., O’Fallon, T. (2013). Theory U in transformative development. In Gunnlaugson, O., Baron, C., Cayer, M. (Eds.), Perspectives on Theory U: Insights from the field (advances in human resources management and organizational development (1st ed., pp. 114-127). Hershey, USA: IGI Global.

This paper attempts to detect the influence of Dewey's thought on Mezirow's work. It aims to explore points of convergence but also possible divergences in the theoretical approaches proposed by these two scholars. Through the examination of their work, the conclusion is reached that Dewey's views clearly have had an effect in Mezirow's theory. Such effects relate primarily to the broader philosophical ideas of Pragmatism, and in particular to the phases of the reflective process, to experience and meaning construction, to habits of mind and frames of reference, to dilemmatic situations and, finally, to issues of democracy, dialogue and participation. Dewey's ideas, however, are not just transplanted into Mezirow's texts; rather, they are exploited by the latter in a creative way, so that he ends up introducing his own conceptual universe and formulating an influential theory for adult learning.

Στην παρούσα μελέτη γίνεται μια απόπειρα ανίχνευσης της επίδρασης του έργου του Dewey στο έργο του Mezirow. Στόχος είναι η διερεύνηση σημείων σύγκλισης αλλά και πιθανής διαφοροποίησης της επιστημονικής προσέγγισης των δύο θεωρητικών. Μέσα από την επισκόπηση του έργου τους προκύπτει το συμπέρασμα ότι στη θεωρία του Mezirow εντοπίζονται σαφείς επιδράσεις των θεωρήσεων του Dewey. Αυτές αφορούν πρωτίστως στις ευρύτερες ιδέες του φιλοσοφικού ρεύματος του Πραγματισμού, και ειδικότερα σε ζητήματα όπως οι φάσεις της στοχαστικής διεργασίας, η εμπειρία και η δόμηση νοήματος, οι νοητικές συνήθειες και τα πλαίσια αναφοράς, οι διλημματικές καταστάσεις και, τέλος, το ζήτημα της δημοκρατίας, του διαλόγου και της συμμετοχής. Οι ιδέες, ωστόσο, του Dewey δεν εντοπίζονται αυτούσιες στα κείμενα του Mezirow, αλλά αξιοποιούνται από τον δεύτερο με δημιουργικό τρόπο, ώστε να εισάγει εντέλει το δικό του εννοιολογικό σύμπαν και να διαμορφώσει μια θεωρία για την ενήλικη μάθηση.

Οι εκπαιδευτικοί, εκτός από την τυπική εκπαίδευση (πανεπιστημιακά τμήματα), υπόκεινται και σε μορφές τόσο μη-τυπικής (σεμινάρια, επιμορφώσεις κτλ.) όσο και άτυπης εκπαίδευσης. Και οι τρεις μορφές εκπαίδευσης παίζουν καθοριστικό ρόλο κι επιδρούν στην επαγγελματική ταυτότητα του εκπαιδευτικού, διαμορφώνοντας τις αντιλήψεις και τις παραδοχές τους, οι οποίες επηρεάζουν και τις εκπαιδευτικές πρακτικές τους. Επομένως, για να μπορέσουν να είναι έτοιμοι και ανοιχτοί σε νέες μεθόδους και σύγχρονες πρακτικές, είναι αναγκαίο να διανύσουν πρώτα μια διαδικασία κριτικής εξέτασης και αναστοχασμού των παγιωμένων αντιλήψεών τους. Ο κριτικός στοχασμός των παραδοχών αποτελεί και τον πυρήνα της θεωρίας της μετασχηματίζουσας μάθησης. Ένα χρήσιμο εργαλείο στην ενίσχυση της μετασχηματιστικής διαδικασίας είναι η τέχνη. Τα έργα τέχνης μπορούν να διευκολύνουν το στοχασμό μέσα από την κριτική ματιά που απαιτούν για την ερμηνεία τους. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό εφαρμόσθηκε μία μέθοδος που αξιοποιεί την τέχνη με σκοπό την ενδυνάμωση του κριτικού στοχασμού. Η εφαρμογή της μεθόδου έγινε σε ομάδες εκπαιδευτικών, στα πλαίσια επιμορφωτικών εκδηλώσεων

Το κείμενο αυτό περιγράφει τη μελέτη της εφαρμογής στην τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση - και συγκεκριμένα σε ένα παιδαγωγικό τμήμα - μιας σύγχρονης μεθόδου, της «Μετασχηματίζουσας Μάθησης μέσα από την Αισθητική Εμπειρία». Η μέθοδος αυτή στηρίζεται στη χρήση της τέχνης προκειμένου να ενισχυθεί και να προωθηθεί η ανάπτυξη του κριτικού στοχασμού εντός των εκπαιδευτικών δομών. Παράλληλα, το παρόν κείμενο επικεντρώνεται στη διερεύνηση πιθανών αλλαγών στις παραδοχές των εκπαιδευομένων, οι οποίες συνδέονται με την εφαρμογή της μεθόδου, ιδιαίτερα στη μελέτη του βαθμού διάρκειας και ευρύτητας των αλλαγών αυτών. Μέσα από την ποιοτική επεξεργασία των ευρημάτων της έρευνας, διαπιστώθηκε ότι είναι αποτελεσματική η εφαρμογή της συγκεκριμένης μεθόδου στο πλαίσιο της εκπαίδευσης των εκπαιδευτικών.

This preliminary educational research study examined occupational therapy students' perceptions of the learning through discussion (LTD) method. The study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative strategies. A convenience sample of nine post-professional occupational therapy doctoral students participated. Overall, participating students reported positive experiences when engaging in LTD, reporting that they had actively engaged in critical thinking and learning and experienced transformative learning. However, the results of nonparametric analysis revealed no significant change in the perceptions of the students of their classroom performances. Findings are discussed in light of current educational programs in occupational therapy. Future research studies are recommended to further examine the efficacy of LTD and explore its utility for training allied health professionals.

Routledge Revivals Edition
Salama, A. M. (2021). Transformative Pedagogy in Architecture and Urbanism. Routledge-Taylor and Francis Group,  London. ISBN: 978-3937954-042 (print) - 9781003140047 (eBook)

Earlier Edition
Salama, A. M. (2009). Transformative Pedagogy in Architecture and Urbanism. Umbau-Verlag, Solingen, Germany ISBN # 978-3937954-042.

Research developed over the past two decades indicates that many problems that exist in the built environment have their roots in the current educational system of architecture and urbanism. Since architectural and urban education is the backbone for the practice of producing meaningful environments and since architectural and urban design is the main concern of educators, it is essential to encounter their pedagogical aspects while dealing with the subject as a rich field of research whose con­ tents, methods, techniques, and tools should be examined and questioned. __________

This book introduces a new form of pedagogy in architecture and urbanism; trans- formative pedagogy — a term that refers to interactional processes and dialogues be­ tween educators and students that invigorate the collaborative creation and distribution of power. As a concept, it is based on the fact that the interaction between educators and students reflects and fosters the broader societal pattern. Transformative pedagogy in architecture and urbanism is about balancing the creative act required for successful design and the social and environmental responsibilities that should be embedded in this act. While transformative pedagogy as a concept is not confined to a static definition, it builds on the perspectives of critical pedagogy and its under­ lying hidden curriculum concept. __________

Critical pedagogy aims at reconfiguring the traditional student/teacher relation­ ship, where the teacher is the active agent — the knowledge provider — and the students are the passive recipients of the teacher’s knowledge. Grounded on the experiences of both students and teachers new knowledge is produced through the dialogical process of learning. The hidden curriculum concept is thus concerned with questions that pertain to the ideology of knowledge and the social practices that structure the experiences of educators and students. Adopting transformative pedagogy enhances the capability of educators in architecture and urbanism to interpret the relationship between knowledge and power. In this respect, one should recognize that educational settings — whether studios or classrooms — are not neutral sites; they are integral to social, cultural, and political relations that characterize real life conditions. Transformative pedagogy is about understanding how knowledge is produced, what the components of such knowledge are, and what are the learning processes and social practices that can be used to transmit it. __________

The broad goal of this book is to establish methods and approaches for ameliorating the current design studio pedagogy. The overall argument is based on the importance of internalizing relevant social and ethical approaches to the design studio that elucidate the role of the architect-planner or urbanist in society and that form a basis for future professional judgment. The argument conceives the present value system imbibed in the design studio, based on self-expression and the exclusion of many other important factors, as inappropriate to the present professional milieu, which, in turn, results in the reduction of the influence of the architect-planner in shaping the built environment and of the effectiveness of the profession in society. __________

As a new round of pedagogical dialogue on architecture and urbanism it resets the stage for debating future visions of transformative pedagogy and its impact on design education. This is a forward looking effort that comes to amalgamate concerns, concepts, and practices that Ashraf M. Salama has explored and introduced over a period of two decades. It is about balancing the creative act required for creating responsive environments and the social and environmental responsibilities that should be embedded in this act. It is also about understanding how knowledge is produced, what the components of such knowledge are, and what are the learning processes and social practices that can be used to transmit it. Structured in five chapters the book presents a wide range of innovative and practical methodologies for teaching architectural and urban design. It traces the roots of architectural education and offers several contrasting ideas and strategies of design teaching practices. The book includes five chapters: 1) A New Theory for Transformative Pedagogy in Architecture and Urbanism 2) The Architect, the Profession, and Society 3) The Conventional Approach to Studio Teaching Practice 4) Against the Conventional Studio Pedagogy 5) Empowering Transformative Pedagogy ..

This paper is written by democratic educators who stand for the idea that is it worth developing, through classrooms and schools, a socially just (egalitarian), anti‐discriminatory society where interdependent relationships are valued. This paper significantly develops some of the ideas explored in the authors’ earlier contribution concerned with progress in Northern Ireland towards educational inclusion, and how this might more

One of the enduring mysteries of the human experience is our capacity to undergo profound changes in the values, modes of thought, self-conceptions, and guiding ideals that have given shape to our lives. Moved by an encounter of sublime beauty in a piece of music, thrust into a new way of life after immigrating to a foreign country, inspired by the courage of a character in a novel, or impelled by the example set by a trusted teacher, we decide to follow a new path for ourselves
— one that, just a short time before, was either unforeseeable or seemingly unforgeable for us. We call these experiences transformative, and we often look back on them with gratitude for the person they have made us into and even a bit of awe at the obscurity of their inner workings. . .

In bringing people together that otherwise might have little more than passing contact with one another, tourism is appreciated for its potential to transform mindsets by fostering multi-perspectivity, a cornerstone of global citizenship education, among both ‘tourists’ and ‘locals’. Hence, while tourism plays a significant role in marginalising and exploiting immigrants’ bodies, labour and heritages, it also holds significant potential as a critical pedagogical tool for transcending the limits of multicultural tolerance discourse and combatting exploitation and xenophobia. In this article, we reflect on two Europe-based global citizenship-inspired initiatives bringing together migration and tourism in novel ways: Migrantour guided walking tours and the Roots Guide guidebook. They endeavour to rework guided tours and guidebooks, two of tourism’s most conventional pedagogical tools, into ‘good company’ that supports the Arendtian practice of ‘visiting’ as a key mode of civic learning. In so doing, we explore the representational and structural opportunities and challenges that these two initiatives encounter as they seek to co-create multi-dimensional narratives and routes in ways that recognise guides’ diverse experiences and perceptions of the places they call home, avoid stereotypical representations of ‘communities’ and hold space for the real-life frictions that accompany diversity.

ABSTRACT Time and temporality have received little attention in the consumerism, marketing or, until recently, higher education literature. This paper attempts to compare the notions of timing implicit in education as paideia (transitional personal growth) with that implicit in consumerism and the marketing practices which foster it. This investigation uses Heidegger’s three notions of being and their corresponding concepts of time to understand the phenomena of education and consumerism. It suggests that the consumerist notion of time can changes what higher education might be through how individuals understand their being. In my conceptual discussion I challenge higher education to resist its being temporalized by consumerism.

Page 1. The Qualitative Report Volume 10 Number 2 June 2005 289-327 http://www.nova.edu/ ssss/QR/QR10-2/santo.pdf Transformation of Rural Teachers Earning Graduate Degrees by Distance Susan A. Santo University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota ...

Page 1. The Qualitative Report Volume 10 Number 2 June 2005 289-327 http://www.nova.edu/ ssss/QR/QR10-2/santo.pdf Transformation of Rural Teachers Earning Graduate Degrees by Distance Susan A. Santo University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota ...