Mezirow’s Transformational Learning Theory December 28, 2007
Posted by thinkphd in : Teaching , trackbackAdults are the products of their individual histories and experiences, which influence their attitudes, thinking processes, and conceptualizations of their worlds. Mezirow believed that adults can be “transformed” through a process involving a “disorientating dilemma” followed by critical reflection and new interpretations of experience. Expanding this theory to teaching, the educator must encourage students to examine their personal assumptions, explore other possibilities and test all for validity. Learning comes from the examinations and new idea formulation. The application of critical thinking skills uses this methodology. Many universities are changing the way learning takes place; rather than lecture they are using methods of discovery which yield transformational learning.
Instructors bring their own experiences and learning to the classroom. Not every instructor is able to separate their personal frames of reference from their teaching. Have you ever been in a political science class where the instructor makes it clear that the class will be taught from only one perspective…his? The best professors are the ones that engage the students in such a way that they learn from making connections from their experiences and those of others. Because thinking is a traditionally solitary endeavor, using team learning is a great way to expose individuals to thinking in other ways.
Instructors must be careful to teach the subject material in such a way that students are exposed to a “disorientating dilemma” which will begin the learning process. By its nature, transformational learning requires being more open to the perspectives of others. However, it is much easier to teach from a personal viewpoint, skipping the critical learning process in which the student questions assumptions. I have had professors that essentially say, “what I say is the way it is.” Transformational learning requires that the students have a vested interest in their own learning process, rather than being “spoon fed” a bunch of information to memorize or accept.
As an instructor, I love to see the “aha” moments when the light clicks on in a student’s eye. He has taken something that I taught, rolled it around, and pulled out the truth – transforming himself by learning.
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how would you approach a topic such as environmental racism or justice when the culture itself seeks to nurture and reward segregated experiences. In other words, how can someone or a group of someones be challenged to recognize privilege when their working assumption is they achieved soley on their merits ?
In any society you will have those who can see through assumptions and those who cannot. As we are the products of both nurture and nature, we cannot deny who we are…but we can recognize the influences of society. Is it enough to accept the role that society has planned for us? How do we see that we may be the product of environmental racism? It is necessary for us to be shown this and then to discover it for ourselves. It will certainly take experiences and personal discovery to recognize our limitations, including those that we do not see readily. It takes someone very brave to stand against the tide of group assumption.
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