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2013 Annual Conference

November 5–8, 2013

Lexington, KY

It is time to review the schedule for the placement of your session in the AAACE Agenda. This is the final draft of the Schedule. When you look up your name, use the detail listing to check what days/times you asked to be placed. This is a huge program and we can accommodate necessary changes in day and time now, but may not be able to do so after September 1, 2013 except in emergencies. Please carefully check your placement and send any requests to Ginger Phillips, AAACE Conference Planner with AAACE Session Change Request in the subject line. We will respond to your email, but it may take us up to a week to do so. Thanks for your help in "fine tuning" this agenda!

The Intersection of Graduate Studies in Adult Education and Transformative Learning

Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 8:00 AM–8:45 AM EST
TB1
Type of Presentation

Shared

Session Abstract

Educators who experienced transformative learning sparked by their adult education graduate programs were interviewed 3-18 years after program completion to discover the lasting and powerful impact of their transformations.

Target Audience

The intended audience for this session is scholars, peers, or students with an interest in (1) authentically lived stories of adult educators; (2) art as a means of understanding transformative learning; (3) narrative inquiry as a methodology; (4) intentional program design that fosters powerful learning and (5) learning about the enduring impact of adult education in relationship to transformative learning.

Learning Outcomes

Based on the 2013 study Truths about Transformative Learning: The Narrative Inquiry of Adult Educators' Experiences in Graduate Education, attendees will be able to identify the elements of transformative learning proposed by Jack Mezirow; understand the value of sharing rich descriptive stories through narrative inquiry methodology; recognize how the art of adult learners may serve as a way of knowing; and appreciate the value of adult experiences, including graduate studies in adult education, as these experiences provide the possibility of seeing ourselves and others from a new perspective. Attendees will also have time to share their stories or ask questions.

Session Description

This session shares the research of a 2013 study focused on educators who had each earned graduate degree(s) in adult education, but more than that, secured a renewed sense of themselves through transformative learning experiences. As adults, the study participants held false assumptions about themselves based on a lifetime of what others had told them. Participants believed a variety of assumptions such as they were not smart enough to go to college, that experience was not an accurate or welcomed indicator of knowledge, and that college was not an option for women. Through many twists and turns in their mid-life years, however, all of them eventually earned graduate degrees in adult education and believed their graduate programs also sparked their transformative learning experiences. Each reconceptualized their own identify which now transcends to those they serve as professor, clinical educator, librarian, community college chairperson, instructional designer, and non-profit executive.

Efforts are made to try to schedule sessions on the day preferred by the Primary Presenter, though this cannot be guaranteed. Please check your preference.

Thursday November 7

Primary Presenter

Norma Nerstrom, Ed.D., Harper College, Continuing Education
Work Title

Manager Career Programs

Additional Presenters: Enters In Order.

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