Week 5: Responder - Sharon Suess

Transformative Learning is "a learning process of making meaning of one's experience" (Merriam & Bierema, p. 84). This boils down to the idea that a person gains a new perspective on an existing process or idea and then takes new actions based on the new perspective. Once this has happened, a person has experienced a transformation in their learning. As graduate students, some deep in our programs and others just beginning, we have all experienced transformative learning during our academic careers and, most likely, in our professional careers.


I, myself, experienced a transformation in my religious life in my final year of my undergraduate degree at Appalachian State. I went through the process described by Mezirow in our text. This type of transformation was the first I can see that has significantly impacted my life today. As you, Sharon, have stated, kids in Henderson County have a perception of the county and do not want to stay there as they enter adulthood. To change this behavior, and induce transformative learning, the students need a new perspective presented to them that has the opportunity to change their views on the county. However, it is ultimately up to the individual learner to question their longstanding beliefs and then proceed through the transformative process before they will take any actions on any new beliefs (Merriam & Bierema, p. 90). I do, however, like the idea of repetition because it gets these students' brains thinking about the idea of accepting a belief they do not currently hold, and this is crucial for transformational learning. In fact, teachers, managers and leaders are encouraged to foster a climate that will force critical examination of a current perspective (Merriam & Bierema, p. 96). This opens the doors for the transformation. Without it, it cannot take place.


References

Merriam, S. & Bierema, L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Caterpillar to Butterfly