Expanding by STLR Reflecting: Student Teachers Look Back To See How They Moved Forward
Conference Thread
Expanding Transformative Learning Contexts
The UCO teacher education program meets expanding transformative learning contexts through various experiential opportunities with an emphasis in diversity and inclusivity. Teacher candidates spend over 400 hours in practicums, clinical experiences, field trips, and in class learning ways to empower all of their Pk-12 students. Many of these opportunities are not directly tied to Transformative Learning with critical reflection. Teacher candidates do not always have the opportunity or thought to review each interaction and experience to see how it may guide their interpretations of future events. According to Addleman et.el (2014) a transformative learning process is triggered by experiential data that does not always align with students' previous frames of reference. The dissonance can lead to critical reflection. During a capstone, students can look back on educational experiences and may recognize pieces that were life-changing. Students can unpack those moments (Peet, 2017) by using carefully worded prompts and critically reflect on how the experience moved them in a new direction.
As a pilot, 6 out of 162 students reflected on their transformative experiences in their program. The presentation will share student teachers' experiences, when they occurred in the program, and insights gleamed that could improve or further transformative learning in other fields. Instructional ideas will be shared on how to create similar reflections in various programs using integrative and embodied language (Peet, 2017) and by providing opportunity. Participants will leave with ideas on how they can enhance capstone courses to capture transformative learning that may not otherwise be formally identified.