The transformative potential of a community of practice to support staff learning about embedding critical thinking in their teaching: The Case of CritTALK
Conference Thread
Applying Transformative Learning in Teaching
This session will outline how an interdisciplinary community of practice (CritTALK), made up of 30 staff from science, healthcare, business and humanities disciplines at Kingston University London, are learning to immerse critical thinking skills development within their disciplinary teaching (Moore, 2011). Using the lens of transformative learning, these educators are examining how they make sense of critical thinking within their disciplinary contexts and how they access support to facilitate development (Taylor, 2007). We have adopted an evidence-based approach, using data as a foundation to see whether this process of shared critical reflection can enable staff to change their perspectives through experiencing a disorientating dilemma (Merizow, 2000). Through concept mapping interviews, peer observations followed by collective critical reflection, can staff become more conscious of what is expected and the steps taken personally and collectively to achieve these expectations? It is here that transformative learning could take place as staff move away from their previous assumptions and practices and adapt new ones.The audience will be engaged through the facilitation of a dialogue around several authentic case studies enabling delegates to consider application to their own teaching and learning practices.
References
Mezirow, J. (2000) Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Moore, T.J. (2011) 'Critical Thinking and Disciplinary Thinking: A Continuing Debate', Higher Education Research and Development, 30(3), pp. 261-274.
Taylor, E.W. (2007), ‘An update of transformative learning theory: a critical review of the empirical research (1999-2005), International Journal of Lifelong Learning, 26(2), pp. 173-191