2019 Annual Conference

Adult Development

Concurrent Session (45 minutes)

This presentation will explore how the conflict learners have with emotions throughout the transformative learning process can be used to create intense levels of reflection and learning. The presentation will explore how second wave positive psychology can help to better understand, engage, and navigate emotions throughout their transformative learning experiences.

The target audience for this presentation are adult educators and adult learners in adult and higher education, and adult education practitioners in various settings who are looking to develop a stronger understanding of the emotional conflict that one can encounter during a transformative learning experience. The intended audience will be keen to explore the conflict between emotional comfort zones and chaos and embracing this process can help foster and guide transformative learning. Such a presentation can inspire one to engage in the process of embracing one’s own ‘dark side’ in order to find deeper meaning, perspective, and purpose.

After attending this presentation, attendees will be able to:
1. Understand the historical tension of emotions in transformative learning and current research that continues to explore the influence of emotions throughout the learning process within various perspectives of transformative learning.
2. How the use of second wave positive psychology can be helpful in embracing the dark side to explore deeper one’s emotions, meaning, assumptions, and bias.
3. Better understand that emotions and the meaning of a given reflection is unique to each individual’s perception and as an outsider there is no classification or straight forward meaning behind someone else’s experience.

The discipline of transformative education/learning acknowledges that there is tension between emotions and reason (Taylor & Cranton, 2012). The tension otherwise known as gaps still remain in the literature concerning the attention given to developing learners’ emotional awareness as they engage in transformative learning. Looking at our emotions during the transformative learning process may help us “better welcome them, to let them be, and be with them, so that we can work through them and the assumptions that are covered by them, instead of being automatically disposed to avoid considering the unpleasant issues” (Mälkki & Green, 2014, p. 15). All individuals have current sets of beliefs and assumptions that Mälkki and Green (2014) referred to as one’s comfort zone, outside of the comfort zone is where one encounters edge emotions. Their value on emotions as a part of our assumptions determines that in order to critically reflect on our assumptions, we must acknowledge and accept edge emotions. Ivtzan, Lomas, Hefferon, and Worth (2016) add to this discussion by saying that the ‘dark side’ refers to challenging experiences, thoughts, emotions and behaviors that cause chaos and discomfort in ourselves. Embracing these difficult experiences may help engage and navigate such edge emotions.

This interactive presentation will be facilitated utilizing PowerPoint. First, the presenter will introduce himself and explain the purpose of the presentation. Second, major points on the discussion and synthesis between Transformative Learning, edge emotions, liminality, and second wave ‘dark side’ positive psychology will be introduced. Third, the presenter will provide various opportunities to encourage participants to engage in a dialogue/story telling concerning emotions during the transformative learning process. Lastly, implications and conclusions will be discussed.