2020 Transformative Learning Conference

Applying Transformative Learning in Teaching

Transformative Learning has a goal of helping students open up to broader perspectives and ask bigger questions about life and the world around us. Those bigger questions create both external and internal conversations in students beyond the discipline focus of the classroom, which must then be managed. However, there are few resources and practical examples for how to manage the emotions that come with a transformative experience, or how to structure classes in a way where the potential for transformation is present.. The goal of this presentation is to offer an intentional method to create space for engaging with emotions in our learning spaces. The presenters will provide external (strategies and support) and internal tools (critically-reflective prompting) for productive dialogue and potential transformation. We will argue that we must be more intentional in expressing our learning outcomes, acknowledging the presence and implications of emotions and feelings, and how we can develop a plan to help students along the transformative learning process as they begin to engage with the experiences that we are helping to create for them in our learning spaces.This session offers a framework for how to structure and support TL in the classroom and will allow time for participants to workshop some of the ideas for their own context.