What Is Transformative Learning- When someone learns something that changes their understanding and view of the world, this is called transformative learning. For this process to work, one must change their point of view and think again about their assumptions, ideals, and beliefs.

Find out why transformative learning is becoming more and more important in adult education, professional growth, and transformational Education. When transformative learning is part of coaching and training, workers are better able to remember important things.

By reading this, you will get a deep understanding of radical learning and the ideas that support it. You will also get useful tips on how to use radical learning in the workplace to help employees grow.

What Is The Transformative Learning Theory

Understanding the different ways people learn is important for doing well in school, and it helps both teachers and students. Teachers can change their lessons and make good learning situations when they know how students learn.

The transformational learning theory explores the idea that new knowledge can change people’s minds. It focuses on teaching adults and young adults. Jack Mezirow came up with this idea after studying older women who went back to school. Mezirow said that people need new points of view to understand things instead of just applying what they already know to new scenarios. He stressed how important critical thinking and thought are for creating educational experiences that change people.

Mezirow says that Education for adults has a different effect on changing people than Education for children. It shows how thinking critically can help change our thoughts and beliefs. This point of view says that learning throughout our lives changes our views and makes it easier for us to understand new ideas.

Mezirow’s transformative learning model is one example of a learning theory that can help both present and future teachers. These ideas can be used in the classroom to improve teaching, raise performance, and get students more involved, especially older ones.

Understanding Mezirow’s transformative learning theory.

Mezirow’s transformative learning theory is based on the idea that people must constantly think about their past experiences to give their present events meaning and improve their learning. Basically, this means that when students learn new things, they also think about what they already thought, which leads to critical thinking and, ultimately, a big change in how they see the world. This approach is more than just teaching facts; it focuses on how students find meaning in their lives and understand things better.

In order to make room for new information, this life-changing learning process needs a big change in how people think. Old beliefs have to be questioned, and new points of view have to be adopted. A lot of experts and students think that this way of learning really helps with intellectual freedom and understanding.

Mezirow says that transformative learning is based on two main ideas: instrumental learning and social learning. Instrumental learning involves fixing problems and figuring out how one event can lead to another. Communicative learning involves how people say what they need, want, and feel. Both are important for changing learning because they force students to question what they think they know by looking at things from different angles and accepting both logical and emotional points of view.

Mezirow also talks a lot about how meaning frameworks or plans can help with transformative learning. People’s biases and assumptions affect how they think things will work and how they understand information. These structures include meaning schemes and views. Through critical thinking, self-directed learning, and self-reflection, students can question what they think they know and rethink what they believed as a child in light of what they know now. By using this method, individuals can learn more about themselves and how they learn best. Mezirow’s idea of transformative learning is based on how we understand and accept new points of view.

The phases of transformative learning.

The paradigm of transformative learning separates a number of steps that most adult students go through when they are learning. As students learn new things, these steps are very important for helping them change their ideas about things they already think they know.

Being in a tough spot: This is the start of radical learning, where students are presented with situations that go against what they think they know. It pushes people to make changes and often leads to epiphanies or times of clarity.

Looking within: When students face a difficult situation, they reflect, thinking about their points of view and past events. When students are aware of their flaws, this process might cause them to change their minds.

Examining preconceived ideas critically: At this point, students look at their preconceived ideas critically and accept that they might be wrong. Students gain new ideas and information by questioning these assumptions, which leads to a change in viewpoint.

Making a plan: After gaining new insights, students devise a useful way to improve their learning. They figure out what needs to be done to learn more about a subject or problem, like talking about it in depth and getting different points of view.

Getting the knowledge or skills to carry out the plan: In this phase, students actively follow the suggested course of action while also gaining the knowledge and skills that will help them on their road to transformation. Students might need to consider different points of view and learn new ideas to fully understand the subject.

Taking on and discovering new roles: As part of transformative learning, students are told to try out different roles and situations. By actively engaging with the material, students can move from just understanding it academically to using it in real life and growing as people.

Benefits of transformative learning

Better ability to solve problems

To improve in science, you need to think critically and do things with your hands. Moreover, the skills you gain through transformative learning can greatly enhance your ability to solve problems that you need to be successful in your career.

Changes to Well-Known Views.

People in a company look up to leaders who set a good example for others. This is because of their work ethic, attitude, and determination, among other things. Because these role models have such a big effect on how strongly employees believe things, transformative learning theory must be used in training programs.

Taking care of things related to change

There are times in everyone’s life when they start to question what they believe. Critical thinking and a method for changing your point of view are needed to get through these times of change and rebuild your outlook on life.

What is the transformational learning process?

Transformational learning is a ten-step process that teachers use to help students understand things and make big changes:

Being in a tough situation

When people encounter an idea or situation that contradicts what they already think and believe, they are in a tough spot. The difference between what they knew in the past and what they are going through now is what makes them want to change. For example, adults going back to college may find that their surroundings and expectations have changed a lot, which may make them question their beliefs and look for a way to deal with the problem.

Taking a better look at oneself

During this time, students think about how the challenge changes their ideas and beliefs. They think about the events and feelings they had in the past, usually processing the event with fear, anger, shame, or humiliation.

I was thinking about beliefs in a critical way.

The third step is for students to think critically about their points of view to eliminate biases and determine whether their theories are true. They are willing to learn new things and accept what they think may be wrong. This process changes what they believe now into what they thought before.

What is meant by transformative learning?

Transformative learning involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thought, feelings, and actions. It is a shift of consciousness that dramatically and irreversibly alters our way of being in the world.

Different kinds of situations are needed for transformative learning to work, so that changes of any size can occur. Transformative learning theories can be used in many places to help online students reach their long-term goals or get more done at work.

So, what exactly does radical learning mean? This well-known idea involves educating adults and young adults. It is also called “transformation learning,” and its main idea is that people can change their minds when they gain new knowledge.

Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning stresses how important each person’s events and performance are in the learning process. This idea says that how people understand their events shapes what they know, which in turn changes how they act, think, and believe. When people take part in transformative learning, they go through big changes that affect what they do and how they act in the future. For instance, students might find out they have hidden skills or realize that long-held views are wrong.

Who introduced transformative learning theory?

Jack Mezirow, who is often called the “father of Adult Learning” developed Transformative Learning theory as a consequence of his work with adult women students who returned to formal education by attending community college in the 1970s.

Transformational Learning Theory, another name for transformative learning theory, was first used in the 1970s. The school’s Humanist background, on the other hand, has helped shape an important part of Western educational theory.

Transformation learning theory is an attempt to study and promote growth in people through learning. Transformation is a big change in how you see things that go beyond just gathering facts over time. After going through this change, a child can’t fully return to their old point of view.

Take the old cave allegory as an example. Plato is thought to have come up with it. Supporters or practitioners of transformative learning say that the most important thing for a teacher is to help their students find and gain from moments of perspective change. From this point of view, a teacher is more than just a guide, which is what constructivist theory says. Instead, they are compared to a “host” who takes students to worldviews that get more complex and advanced.

Like many other learning theories, transformative learning theory has a lot to do with the work of one person. The “father of adult learning,” Jack Mezirow, came up with the Transformative Learning hypothesis in the 1970s while studying older female students returning to school at community colleges. Mezirow learned that transformative learning is made up of ten stages while studying these women.

What is the principle of transformative education?

Transformative Education shall encourage and promote the use of simulation and experiential learning programs such as Model United Nations, Model Governments and Model Corporations to build dynamism, active complex problem-solving, emotional, social and cultural intelligences and other core elements of human capacity.

People who go through transformative Education learn to see differences as sources of strength and flexibility. This is important for finding long-term solutions in a complicated and diverse world. It also accepts differences in culture.

Taking into account the unique situations and needs of emerging countries, especially the least developed and most at risk of environmental damage, is very important to it. Transformative Education also stresses how important it is to pay attention to the needs and interests of all countries, especially developed ones that are struggling with poverty, racial injustice, and economic inequality, so that we can all work together to stop and lessen economic inequality.

As part of transformative Education, nonviolent conflict resolution methods, such as alternative dispute resolution processes, are taught and promoted as a way to settle disagreements without using violence or going to court.

Educating the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—also requires a comprehensive method that takes into account physical, social, and emotional growth. It shows how different and creative types of intelligence are needed to solve problems in a complicated world.

What are the aims of transformative education?

Transformative education builds on many of the insights of authentic pedagogy, to be sure, but ups the ante. Its aims are no less than to change the life chances of the learner and to change their world. The transformative education that we identify is emergent.

Politicians and commentators who have written about the “new economy” have stressed how important information is in today’s world. Teachers should understand this and see themselves as drivers of change. In the future, Education is likely to become even less like it was in the industrial age. This change is very important. As a pro, it is our job to lead this change and teach people how to learn in the future.

Over the past 100 years, there have been several advanced efforts to improve classroom instruction. Still, the “New Learning” needs to be real and change things. Authentic Education tries to show life as it really is, while transformative Education tries to change it. Its goal is to give students better chances in life and change the way they think, pointing them in the direction of moving between generations and making new choices in their lives.

Transformative Education is a new field that has much promise but has yet to be used. Still, some signs point to this method. By building on their ideas, it tries to fix the problems with both real and didactic Education. Transformative Education builds on past ways of teaching to make the future better.

 Visualizing how learning will look in the future and putting good ideas into action are needed to make this vision come true in the way that Education is presently given. Instead of a set goal, it is a continuous process that shows how things are always growing and changing.

Each part of this book goes into more detail about how the idea of “New Learning” is changing. Transformation goes against standard ways of teaching and learning that are based on facts, but it also builds on them. When ideas from other fields are brought together, they form a complete theoretical framework for the field of Education.

What is an example of transformative learning?

As an example, it can be anything from an adult who transforms their ability to spread their opinion after learning how to use social networks and the internet to a person who has a transformative experience on the way they view life due to a traumatic experience.

The Nestrom Transformative Learning Model is made up of four parts that together make a clear picture of transformative learning:

What we experience is everything that happens in our lives because of how we connect with other people and things in the world. Making these connections gives you new skills, ideas, and details.

Assumptions: The things we do and see shape our opinions and views. Because they shape how we see the world, these beliefs affect our worldview.

Perspectives that are hard to accept: When we combine new experiences and difficulties with analytical thought, we are forced to rethink our core beliefs and assumptions about the world, which opens us to new points of view.

When we act on a new perspective that changes our earlier judgments and turns our underlying beliefs and assumptions on their heads, this is called transformative learning. 

For example, if someone had a bad experience with a cat in the past that made them scared of them but then had a good experience with one, they might change how they feel about all cats.

An important part of transformative learning is helping people learn more about their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and life purpose. People are taught to reevaluate and rearrange their experiences, assumptions, and beliefs during this process, which leads to the creation of new expressive perspectives.

Transformative learning is supposed to include self-motivation, self-regulation, rational thinking, teamwork, and empathy. People might think about parts of their lives they had not considered before and make better decisions as a result. 

Being in new places makes their experiences richer by letting them compare and contrast them with people they have met before. This changes how they think about things they might have ignored or strongly held in the past.

Take the case of a worker who gets promoted within their area. The new tasks and information that come with this job promotion change the way I look at things. The employee may have thought that some parts of the company were very rigid or not very useful, only to find out after getting promoted that what they thought before was not needed to be more accurate and sufficient.