Learning as Transformation ((3 Credits))

Catalog description

The goal of this elective is to learn about and critically examine various ideas and arguments about "learning as transformation," that is, about one powerful educational outcome: change. The study will have three basic components. The first will focus on theories of transformational learning as set out in the work of educators such as Mezirow, Freire and Hooks. The second will critically examine various efforts to apply these theories to an array of sites of educational practice. And in the third component, students will be asked to use what they have learned about the possibilities, challenges and drawbacks to learning-as-transformation to explore a topic/question/problem relevant to their ongoing work. At the heart of this elective will be a basic question: What are the ripple effects of suggesting that adult learning is intimately tied to change?