2020 Transformative Learning Conference

Demonstrating Transformative Learning During the Conference Session

This session details the internal obstacles that arise when academic employees of all levels engage in faculty development opportunities and how those obstacles might be overcome using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques to identify negative thought patterns, reframe negative thinking into positive language, and form new, more helpful behaviors based on the healthier thought patterns built using the CBT process.

Faculty development opportunities are edifying for professionals at all levels but can also cause areas of strife--triggering feelings of inadequacy, confusion, and defeatism as participants are overwhelmed with new concepts, complicated structures, and previously unexplored content (Bendermacher, 2017; Premkumar et al., 2017; Blackwell, Miller, & Lawrance, 2016). Just as our students may experience negative feelings about their aptitude in the classroom environment, faculty and staff learners may feel equally out of their depth in the professional-development environment (Sheets et al., 2018). Such negative perceptions of self and others leads to unhealthy learning behaviors that stunt growth and limit potential in the workplace (Calkins & Harris, 2017; Premkumar et al., 2017; Boyer, 1990).
To combat the limiting obstacles that arise in these challenging learning arenas, this session encourages attendees to explore example scenarios via roleplay and apply the most relevant Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques. This session also provides attendees with the opportunity to work through their own thought-pattern reframing charts and take the first steps to improving their professional mindsets.