Transformative Learning in a Graduate Level Classroom: A Third Party Empirical Observation

1. Transformative Learning in a Graduate Level Classroom: A Third Party Empirical Observation Presented by Nick Gwozdziewycz, M.A. with a video from Daniel Janik, M.D., Ph.D *10 to 15 Minute Presentation*

2. What is Transformative Learning? INSERT VIDEO HERE

3. Let’s Consider a Traditional Classroom… • Teacher is the expert and authority • Teacher assigns books to read, homework to complete, and then tests what students learned • Students are expected to be obedient and not question the authority of the teacher and administration • e.g. be quiet, salute the flag, and line up for lunch

4. Is a Traditional Classroom the only way for Our Students to Learn or can We do better? • According to the US National Research Counsel (2000) • “At different points in history, scholars have worried that formal education environments have been better at selecting talent than developing it.” • NRC goes on to state, “Deep understanding of subject matter transforms factual information into usable knowledge.”

5. Is this what Education is about? “Talk to schoolmasters, and they say that our intense specialization, like nothing else on earth, is dictated by the Oxford and Cambridge scholarship examinations.” - C.P. Snow (British Scholar, educator, and author)

6. Can We do Better? Goethe said, “Every object rightly seen unlocks a new faculty of the soul,” yet for many people education has unlocked very little. -J. F. Gardner (American educator) “I don’t pretend that any country has its education perfect.” -C.P. Snow (British scholar, educator, and author)

7. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom - Introduction • Graduate Level “Biological Bases of Behavior” • 15 classes – 3 direct hours per week • The class was not scaled on a “bell curve” • Cooperative Venture: Students could help each other as much as they liked as long as they did not plagiarize

8. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom • Teacher was not an absolute authority • Teacher played the role of a colleague • At first the students were uncomfortable with this • Frankly, they resisted and questioned the competency of the professor • The university’s administration was also very skeptical • Perhaps they feared the absence of traditional norms i.e. the teacher is the expert

9. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom Continued • The students determined their course content • They picked topics the professor would have but chose a few he would not have – this occurred without cuing the students • Interestingly, the students picked almost the same course content as the teacher would have • The students determined how mastery of the subject matter would be measured • They chose attendance, a paper, and presentations of their “discoveries”

10. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom Continued • During typical classes the professor lectured about the Biological Bases of Behavior (expert authority role) • Students seemed comfortable but not entirely engaged • 3 of 15 classes were devoted to the students teaching themselves in small groups (3 to 5 students) • Students read literature of their choosing and taught each other in small groups • Cooperation was observed in the small groups • Students seemed engaged and interested • During the final hour of class the students reconvened and the instructor facilitated discussion (again an authority) • The discussion pertained to what was discussed in the small groups

11. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom Continued • On Final Day of Class Students Reported… • They initially did not like the approach but came to enjoy it • Was fun and encouraged critical reading, writing, listening, and thinking • E.g. Critical Thinking - the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion

12. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom Continued • Professor and Teacher’s Assistant noted… • Students seemed to enjoy the class, were interested in the material, and read on their own not because they had to but because they wanted to • Surprised by how much unprompted “work” they did • No classroom management problems

13. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom Continued • Limitations: • Not congruent with standardized tests nor the memorization of bulk data • Students and administration were initially skeptical of transformative learning • Limited outcome data on transformative approaches • This presenter is not demonstrating a transformative learning classroom nor is the audience experiencing it***

14. Observations of a Transformative Graduate Level Classroom Continued • Advantages: • Transformative learning is hypothesized to promote higher level thought and enable students to apply what they learned to real world situations better than traditional classroom learning • Our students seemed to like this approach and read because they were interested in the subject matter not because the teacher required it • Did it promote a higher level of understanding/learning? The jury is still out.

15. ? Questions / Discussion ?

16. References • Cameron, B. & Meyer, B. (2006). Self Design: Nurturing Genius through Natural Learning.Boulder, Colorido, USA: Sentient Publications, LLC. • Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning: A Guide for Educators of Adults. San Francisco, California, USA: Jossey-Bass. • Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, New York, USA: Free Press. • Gallo, M. L. (2001). Immigrant workers’ journeys through a new culture: Exploring the transformative learning. Studies in the Education of Adults. 33(2) • Gardner, J. F. (1978). The Experience of Knowledge. New York, New York, USA: The Myrin Institute, Inc. for Adult Education. • Herber, M. S. (1998). Perspective Transformation in Preservice Teachers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Memphis, Tennessee, USA: University of Memphis. • Huang, J., and Brown, K. (2009). Cultural factors affecting Chinese ESL students’ academic learning. Education. 129(4), 643-653. • Janik, D. (2004). A Neurobiological Theory and Method of Language Acquisition.Munich, Germany: LincomEuropa. • Janik, D.S. (2005). Unlock the Genius Within. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Rowman and Littlefield Education.

17. References Continued • King, K. P. (2000). The adult ESL experience: Facilitating perspective transformation in the classroom. Adult Basic Education, 10(2). • Mezirow, J. (1996). Toward a learning theory of adult literacy. Adult Basic Education, 6(3), 115-126. • Mezirow, J. (1978). Perspective Transformation. Adult Education, 28, 100-110. • Mezirow, J., and Associates (2000). Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco, USA: Jossey-Bass. • Montessori, M. (1996). The Secret of Childhood. New York, USA: Ballantine. • National Research Counsel (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, D.C., USA : National Academy Press. • Oliver, Z. (2010). Falling but Fulfilled: Reflections on Multiple Intelligences. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA: Savant Books and Publications. • Snow, C. P. (1998). The Two Cultures. University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. • Taylor, E. W. (2007). An update of transformative learning theory: A critical review of the empirical research (1999-2005). International Journal of Lifelong Education, 26(2), 173-191. • Taylor, E. W. (2008). Transformative learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 5-15.