0.5 Mirci, p., & Hensley, p. (april 2011). transformational adult  (Page 6/9)

Inclusive worldview and perspective shifts regarding self and others

Through transformative learning participants sought to develop greater consciousness in the service of humanity. Their worldview expanded. Molly captured the essence of this theme, “Once you get little flashes of clarity, you can’t go back to where you were before.” The following were selected as indicators of this theme. According to Frank, “You find yourself being a different person … it is a process of moving from a narrow, small, uninformed sense of the world to the ability to engage in looking at multiple perspectives.”

Nancy reported, “In the past I looked at situations in a reductionistic manner and confused my opinions as if they were facts. I now strive to be systemic. I know I still have blind spots and will always need to monitor my own egocentrism. I strive to look at an issue from multiple perspectives.”

Sharon discussed how her relationship changed,

My relationships with my social group began to change. The source of fear was that I would no longer be who I thought I was, and this change was frightening because if I am not who I thought I used to be, then who am I? I felt that people wouldn’t recognize me. I eventually overcame these fears because it became more important to me that I become an authentic person as opposed to being the person that people were comfortable with me being.

Furthermore, Cecilia reported that she will be able to influence lives,

A lot of time we will look at Dr. Martin Luther King and be excited without realizing the millions of people who took a step with him for justice. The people who proofread his speeches and gave them back to proofread again – the reader was just as important as the writer, and the walker was just as necessary as the speech, and all these different things revealed that you are just as much a part of this as is everyone else. This encourages me. I get to influence lives.

Rosie indicated,

One of my previous beliefs was that if an individual tried hard enough, he or she would be able to get out of whatever situation he or she was in. Whereas now, I would say, that definitely the whole education system and larger society have a tremendous role to play in students’ success.

Marjorie concluded, “Being in the program has opened my eyes to so many things that I didn’t really know were problems. I was so entrenched in the education system that I didn’t realize I was part of the problem.”

Differences between transmissive and transformative learning

Transmissive learning is based on didactic teaching methods. It is synonymous with Freire’s (1970) concept of the banking model of education. Information is transmitted to students through textbooks, lectures, and discussions. Mark illustrated the problem with this approach: “If this is what they want in order for me to succeed in their courses, this is what I have to give them.” A contrast to this type of teaching is what Freire calls a problem-posing model. It is a dialogic approach. Teachers view themselves as co-learners in creating conditions for transformative learning. This model has been resisted in higher education despite the opportunities it provides for transformative learning (Crowther, Galloway,&Martin, 2005). Case studies, dilemmas, and co-investigations are some of the strategies of this model. The following indicators described perceptions of transmissive teaching: Tricia stated,