The Professor's Apprentice

Thesis Work: October 24, 2012

Working on my literature review today, comforted with hot and delicious loose leaf tea and a ziplock bag full of my favourite chocolate pieces. I started out my work today with a bit of an attitude - psychologically, mentally, and emotionally I am so very ready to be finished this body of work. However, I was reminded how much I love they way transformational learning (TL) connects effortlessly to other areas of knowing and study. Jack Mezirow (2009), the Father of TL writes about how TL is connected to Jungian Psychology. He writes,

“The content or process of formal learning evokes images realized through dialogue. In the course of this interaction, both content and ourselves are potentially transformed. Individuation is an ongoing psychic process. When entered into consciously and imaginatively, it provides a deepening awareness of the self, and expansion of one’s consciousness, and an engendering of soul. We become more fully who we are, and we are more fully able to enter into the community of humans. In Jungian terms, this is transformation - the emergence of the self” (p.24).

To me this is an incredibly beautiful connection.

- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice

Mezirow, J., Taylor, E.W., & Associates. (2009). Transformative learning in practice: Insights from community, workplace, and higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Metamorphosis with Richard Syrett, CBC Radio »

I’ve always been drawn to stories that deal with human transformation. I swear I’ve seen the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol, starring Alistair Sim, a hundred times. And yet, even after a hundred viewings, I continue to be moved by the redemption of a bitter old miser. But then again, I cried and cheered on the one and only one occasion I stumbled upon an episode of The Biggest Loser, a reality show featuring morbidly obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight.

I think the reason stories of human transformation are so powerful, and so important is because they fulfill the very human need to believe there are better versions of ourselves out there. And when we witness a genuine transformation in others, our own desires to transform are awakened and made all the more urgent.

Let me take a few moments to tell you what Metamorphosis is NOT about. I am compelled to add this because the word ‘change’ can be problematic.

First, most of us at our core, are not comfortable with change. As author Fredrica Mathews-Green wrote ’ everyone wants to transform, but nobody wants to change.’ Second, change has become a commodity. Everywhere, everyone is telling us how easy it is to change. Change is available in books, on dvds, in bottles, in pill form. Personal transformation is only a weekend seminar or three hypnosis sessions away. If only it were that easy.

Over the course of this summer, you’re going to hear ten stories of remarkable human transformation. Physical, spiritual, psychological transformation that came about through a devastating natural calamity, a near-death experience, and even unbearable guilt and shame. I hope you’ll be inspired, I hope your own desire to transform is reignited.

With apologies to the current occupant of the White House, Metamorphosis is change you can believe in.

Enjoy!

- Richard Syrett

Attending to spirituality in higher and adult education, particularly as it relates to emancipatory and transformative approaches to education, is about the engagement of passion, which involves the knowledge construction processes of the whole person. The engagement of people’s passion is generally not only about critical reflection or ‘rational discourse’ it is also about engaging people’s hearts and souls, as well as their minds - or as Abalos (1998) suggests, the engagement of all four faces of their being: the personal, political, historical, and sacred faces. When new ideas and critical reflection are applied to and rooted in learners’ culture, history, personal life experiences, and spirituality, education can be both passionate and transformative.

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—	Elizabeth J. Tisdell. (2003). Exploring spirituality and culture in adult higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. D. Abalos. (1998). La Communidad Latina in the United States. Westport, CT: Praeger.

bell hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation

Thinking critically is at the heart of anybody who wishes to transform their life. - bell hooks

How do we teach students to think critically about their sense of agency, entitlement, privilege, and world view in a way that enhances or transforms their lives?

The Creativity Gap: 10 of the world's most revolutionary offices »

“The more we understand about how creativity works—psychologically, socially, neurologically—the better we understand the optimal conditions for letting our brains get busy. And that includes our offices. All around the world, companies are looking to boost innovative thinking by embracing a radical idea: Maybe you can change how people work by changing where they work. Here, in no particular order, are ten of the most interesting new workspaces.”

- James Martin, Globe & Mail

What could this mean for teaching and learning environments? How can Education learn about the importance of transformational learning environments from the creative workspaces that are being adopted by top companies from around the world?

Lorne Ellingson, thank you: One student’s tribute to an outstanding professor

Trent University lost a unique and inspirational professor on Sunday, January 15, 2012. For those who had the privilege to be taught by Lorne, whether it was through conversation or as a student, it is clear that the world lost an incredible individual.

To encompass all of what Lorne gave the students of Trent University in just a few hundred words would be impossible. But as a recent student of his I will try to describe his passion for education and for the learning experience of his students in this small space.

Lorne’s classroom was unlike any other; chairs and couches were arranged in a circle, name cards were distributed, and student-to-student sharing was just as important as any words that Lorne lectured. To call his classes “lectures” would be incorrect. He acted more as a facilitator than a lecturer, prompting and inspiring students to reach their own conclusions about how they could exist in this world as proactive and conscious individuals.

The class that I took with Lorne was a cross-listed Business Administration and Indigenous Studies course called “The Meaning of Work in the Contemporary World.” But Lorne once told me that he had wanted to call it “Conversations that Matter,” which is also the title of his book. That is what his class was—three hours of immensely important conversations of which the students were the topic. Lorne taught self-reflection in which no answer was wrong, and to know oneself was the ultimate goal. It was not easy. Lorne demanded attention and toil in this search for the self and it was clear when someone was not fully engaged in the process.

Once a few weeks of class progressed we started to feel like a family. It became a sacred space with a special group and I experienced the highest amount of respect I have ever felt in a room filled with strangers. Lorne taught us to listen, to share, and to look deep within ourselves. The type of learning experienced was transformational. My fellow students and I recognized how different this learning was from the typical classroom experience in a university setting. Many of us expressed that this course, or a course taught in this style, should be required in every curriculum.

When I heard the news of Lorne’s passing I found it so hard to believe. Individuals such as he, who live so fully and are so influential, seem immortal. The incredible thing about his teaching is that he showed you how to teach yourself. Through being a student of Lorne’s I learned how to recognize my environment as either one of growth or as one I need to change.

I know I will forever be indebted to Lorne as a teacher. He lived and breathed education, and that passion was so deeply felt in his classroom. He as a teacher and his classroom as a transformational learning environment are models to be emulated throughout universities everywhere.

In my last class with him in my final year at Trent, one of the last times I saw him, the whole class participated in a ceremony of saying goodbye. It was a goodbye circle in which everyone went around to all of their classmates both giving and receiving goodbyes. Lorne began the ceremony and said that we could say goodbye in whatever form we wished; he chose to give hugs. The rest of us imitated him and by the end my face hurt from smiling so hard at what was such a meaningful moment.

Lorne made this goodbye significant, and I felt important and full of worth. In the short time that I knew him Lorne Ellingson was attentive, pensive, and generous with his time and wisdom. He will be dearly missed, but his teachings will live on in the thousands of individuals he touched throughout his life. I know I join in with many other students in saying thank you, Lorne.

Written by Mary Dirmeitis, http://trentarthur.ca/index.php/local/2775-lorne-ellingson-thank-you

I strive for a day when the very act of putting down on paper your ideals of education is normal. I strive for a day when all teachers approach teaching as an art, as a reflective practice of growth. Crafting your own ideals and philosophies of education can be the first step in creating real and meaningful reform in the world. I strive for a day when teachers see themselves as philosophers and look within to find truth. I strive for a day when learning how to teach is not learned from textbooks and college courses, but an active practice of reflection and sharing of ones life.

“

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Personal Creeds and Philosophies of the Right Kind of Education. « Cooperative Catalyst (via adventuresinlearning)

The transformative learning pedagogy and teaching methods of my great mentor, the late Lorne Ellingson have deeply influenced who I am and who I wish to grow into as an educator. Yesterday we celebrated his life, his teaching, his coaching, and his incredible ability to care about people. For seven years I had the privilege and joy of learning from Lorne by watching him teach, support, and care about students. We would meet each week outside of class time to talk about our pedagogy, to reflect on what was happening in the classroom, and to discuss how we could improve as educators. Through our conversations, interactions, and strong working relationship I learned how to be an educator. Working with Lorne provided me with opportunities that have helped me grow.

Lorne was a philosopher and the only truth he ever taught came from within. He believed so much in the process of reflection; the only assignments in our class were weekly self-reflection papers. He shared himself through meaningful stories, poems, and book passages, everything was always relevant and full of inspirational truth. I am grateful to have learned how to be an educator by watching a phenomenal teacher in his element conducting his soulcraft.

-Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice

Lorne Ellingson was an Adler trained life coach who taught in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Trent University. He authored ‘Conversations that Matter: A path to personal and professional growth’ as well as a blog about transformational learning: http://transformationallearning.tumblr.com/ . His long-term interest in transformational learning experiences stemmed from his interactions with many clients and students who he had watched make significant changes in their lives through the process of reflecting on themselves and their environments. During his tenure at Trent University Lorne changed the lives of many people. I am one of those people.

Transformational Learning: A meeting with Lindy Garneau on her research at Trent University »

As I work towards the completion of my master’s thesis on transformational learning environments in the post-secondary classroom I am reminded of the road I have travelled that has lead me to this place. I am reminded of the extraordinary colleagues and students who have inspired me and accompanied me while I gather knowledge and undergo my own transformational learning experiences.

Transformational learning is a process, a learning journey, and a story that is always unfolding. Transformational learning is an ever evolving relationship between self-understanding, meaning, values, and validation.

When I look back on my own transformational learning journey I can see where I took risks and chances, where I have grown, and I can begin to understand which direction I want to journey in next. This article fills me with gratitude for the great mentors and teachers I have had the opportunity to work with. It is a reminder of where I have been and of how I am called to do this work. This work brings me great joy and gives me purpose and with that I am given the push I need to complete this leg of my journey.

- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice

In Dirkx’s (1997) view, transformative learning involves personal, spiritual, emotional, and imaginative ways of knowing - the way of mythos rather than of logos. Mythos is a facet of knowing that we see in symbols, images, stories, and myths. We experience soul through art, music, and film; it is that magic moment that transcends rationality and gives depth, power, mystery, and deep meaning to learning. In nurturing soul, we pay attention to the small, everyday occurrences in life; understand and appreciate images; and honour the complex, multifaceted nature of learning.

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Patricia Cranton & Brenda Wright. (2008) The transformative educator as learning companion. Journal of Transformative Education, 6(1), p. 33-47.

When we provide space for our students to be creative and to share themselves through artwork, poetry, and stories we allow them to bring their spirit into their learning experience. In many ways it is far more difficult for students to soulfully participate in learning because many are unfamiliar with this aspect of themselves. Likewise, many instructors prefer for students to ‘check their soul at the door’ because teaching with the spirit in mind can be a risky business. If we require students to bring their soul’s to class than we must bring our soul’s to class as well. Teaching is an art and as I continue to refine my technique there is one thing I am constantly asking myself:

How can I create a learning environment which opens up the possibility for everyone to show up physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

How do you create your learning environment?

Reflections on Mezirow’s Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice (1997)

The overall focus of this paper is the importance of being able to understand the meaning of our own experiences as they are validated by us, not as they are validated by other people – to be autonomous thinkers. According to Mezirow (1997) this is the definition of adult education. Within adult education there must be elements of transformational learning in order for adults to develop their ability to think for themselves and trust themselves. This builds confidence and self-trust and can be an empowering experience.

“Transformational learning is the process of effecting change in a frame of reference” (Mezirow, 1991, 1995, 1996; Cranton, 1994, 1996, as cited in Mezirow, 1997, p. 5). This process refers to creating change in pre-set associations, concepts, values, feelings, and conditioned responses that are already attached to the way adult learners think and perceive the world around them.

It is important in today’s working society that adults know how to make their own interpretations. It is equally important that adults engage each other in conversations about competing interpretations as this process helps adults to learn more and gain confidence about expressing their own ideas. This is how as a society we build collective beliefs and ideas. It is also important to note that the more information that is gathered on a topic the greater the likelihood of change regarding the interpretation of that topic. With additional information adult learners have the ability to critically reflect on what they know about the topic. In some cases the new information can cause a transformation within a learner’s point of view and possibly impact their frame of reference.

This works through the Four Processes of Learning:

Elaborate on existing point of view
Establish new points of view
Transform old point of view
Become aware, and critically reflect on our biases.

This process happens best when we are learning outside of our comfort zones. We become more exposed to transformational learning when we step outside of what we already know to be true.

As we grow older our minds become more aware and more critical, better able to recognize frames of reference, and imagine alternatives. We also become more responsible and more effective at working with others. This is important for learning in adulthood because learning is a social process and the better able we are to talk about our ideas the better able we are for learning new things.

The workforce of the 21^st century requires employees that are able to adapt, change, be critical and flexible, as well as be able to make decisions. It is imperative that the workforce today be able to think for themselves. They must be critically reflective and able to talk with others about their ideas and beliefs. We need people who will not just trust what authority figures believe to be right and true. We need people who will challenge the status quo, who are able to critically examine situations, and who are able to effectively communicate and discuss their ideas without the fear of not being validated by peers and employers.

I never thought about how transformational learning has the ability to prepare adult learners for work in the 21^st century. Showing people how to open up their minds as well as their own assumptions and then think critically about why they believe what they believe is a powerful concept.

How are my assumptions true?

How are my assumptions not true?

Asking ourselves these questions opens us up for a transformational experience. This is especially true in situations when an already well-developed idea or belief is being examined. Sometimes even just reframing the way we believe can have an impact on our overall understanding.

It is the responsibility of adult educators to create a learning environment where learners can grow into autonomous thinkers, develop critical reflection skills, and practice discourse. The best way to create this environment is to include the following:

Learning Contracts
Group Projects
Role Play
Case Studies
Stimulations
Actively Engage Learners
Critical Incidents
Metaphor Analysis
Concept Mapping
Consciousness Raising
Life Histories
Repertory Grids
Participation in Social Action

The role of the educator is to challenge learners to think about how or why they think the way they do. Through this process the educator becomes a facilitator and each learner takes turns leading the class through discourse. It is important that there be little to no hierarchy in terms of authority in this learning environment.

This article has helped me to realize the importance of transformational learning within workforce education today. I never thought about transformational learning as having an impact on how employees view their jobs, their voice, their beliefs, and their ideas.

I also learned about the process in which transformational learning takes place. It is helpful to know that autonomous thinking, critical reflection, and discourse are the key components in transformational experiences. It is also helpful to have a list of class exercises that can be used to facilitate these components and give learners an opportunity to engage with each other.

Definitions:

Frame of Reference:

Structures of assumptions through which we understand our experiences
Selectively shape and delimit expectations, perceptions, cognition, and feeling
Composed of two dimensions: Habit of Mind & A Point of View
Result of cultural assimilation or ideals of primary caregivers

Habits of Mind:

Broad, abstract, orienting, habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and acting influenced by assumptions that constitute a set of codes
Codes may be cultural, social, educational, economic, political, or psychological
Durable and hard to change
Example: Ethnocentrism

Point of View:

The constellation of belief, value judgement, attitude, and feeling that shapes a particular interpretation
Changeable
Example: Feelings, beliefs, judgements, and attitudes we have regarding specific individuals or groups

Instrumental:

Learning to manipulate or control the environment or other people to enhance efficacy in improving performance.
May involved empirical testing.

Impressionistic:

Learning to enhance one’s impression on others, to present one-self.

Normative:

Learning oriented to common values and a normative sense of entitlement (members of the group are entitled to expect certain behaviour).

Communicative:

Learning to understand the meaning of what is being communicated.
Involves at least two persons striving to reach an understanding of the meaning of an interpretation or the justification for a belief.
Involves researching a consensus (ideally)
Understanding: Purpose, values, beliefs, and feelings – less amenable to empirical tests
Critical reflection

Question to consider:

In what situation(s) does transformational learning not work?

References:

Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and promoting transformative learning: A guide for educators of adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cranton, P. (1996). Professional development as transformative learning: New perspectives for teachers of adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1995). Transformative theory of adult learning. In M. Welton (ed.), In Defense of the Lifeworld. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Mezirow, J. (1996) Contemporary paradigms of learning. Adult Education Quarterly, 46(3), 158–172.

Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, no. 74 (pp. 5-12). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. http://www.ecolas.eu/content/images/Mezirow%20Transformative%20Learning.pdf

- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice