[4] An important part of transformative learning is for individuals to change their frames of reference by critically reflecting on their assumptions and beliefs and consciously making and implementing plans that bring about new ways of defining their worlds.
"[8] For learners to change their meaning schemes (specific beliefs, attitudes, and emotional reactions), "they must engage in critical reflection on their experiences, which in turn leads to a perspective transformation.
Taylor implies that, with available modern technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), these once obscure factors can now be examined through determining which neurological brain systems are at work during disorienting dilemmas and the journey of recovery that follows.
This neurobiological research also stresses the importance of the role of implicit memory, from which emerge habits, attitudes and preferences that are related to unconscious thoughts and actions.
John M. Dirkx, Robert D. Boyd, J. Gordon Myers, and Rosemary R. Ruether link Mezirow's rational, cognitive and analytical approach to a more intuitive, creative and holistic view of transformative learning.
Such a shift involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-locations; our relationships with other humans and with the natural world; our understanding of relations of power in interlocking structures of class, race and gender; our body awareness, our visions of alternative approaches to living; and our sense of possibilities for social justice and peace and personal joy.Positing that understanding transformative learning may have been hindered by perspectives of rational thought and Western traditions, Kathleen P. King[25][26] provides an alternate model grounded in a meta-analysis of research, the "Transformative Learning Opportunities Model".
This dialogue, facilitated by Patricia Cranton, continued via email after the conference and the overview was published in the Journal of Transformative Education.
This includes transforming frames of reference that have lost meaning or have become dysfunctional, and fostering enhanced awareness and consciousness of one's being in the world.
[27] One of the difficulties in defining transformative learning is that it bleeds into the boundaries of concepts such as "meaning making" or "critical thinking".
John Dirkx views transformational learning as a meaning-making process within adult education, aimed at promoting a democratic vision of society and self-actualization of individuals.
Dirkx describes our emotions and feelings as a kind of language for helping us learn about ourselves, our relationships with others and how we makes sense of all aspects of our experiences, both objective and subjective.
According to Stephen D. Brookfield, learning can only be considered transformative if it involves a fundamental questioning or reordering of how one thinks or acts; a challenge to hegemonic implications.
[35] In order to foster transformative learning, the educator's role is to assist learners in becoming aware and critical of assumptions.
[37] This dialogue has the goal of assessing reasons behind competing interpretations through critical examination of evidence, arguments, and alternate points of view.
Educators can encourage critical reflection and experience with discourse through the implementation of methods including metaphor analysis, concept mapping, consciousness raising, life histories, repertory grids, and participation in social action.
One strategy is to encourage procedures that require group members to take on the roles of monitoring the direction of dialogue and ensuring equal participation.
Educators can also encourage dialogue from different perspectives through controversial statements or readings from opposing points of view.
These methods facilitate transformative learning by helping learners examine concepts in the context of their lives and analyze the justification of new knowledge.
[5] The educator's role in establishing an environment that builds trust and care and facilitates the development of sensitive relationships among learners is a fundamental principle of fostering transformative learning.
[42] Teachers need education and professional development that will help them to question, challenge and experience critical discussions on school improvement.
[40] Through the use of real-life examples, case studies provide the opportunity to analyze assumptions, as well as the consequences of choices and actions.
Experiences were created to get teachers to reflect on their assumptions, asking them to consider alternative perspectives and to develop a language for making connections between theory and practice.
The process involved: achieving transparency through negotiation of curriculum, finding a common language through discussion of individual assumptions, getting continuous feedback through critical-incident questions, and testing by teacher application of the program within their classrooms.
A transformative learning framework was used in a Foundations course, for participants to build on individual and collective analysis of teaching experiences, and to help them re-frame their practice.
By using Mezirow's work, along with Robert Kegan's constructive developmental theory, Kligyte found the following themes: a move from non-reflective habitual action to a more conscious practice; a change in perspective to a more sophisticated view of teaching; an increased sense of agency, including the concept that academic practice is an object which can be controlled and shaped, rather than something externally imposed; increased confidence to take risks and experiment; and a more multifaceted idea of what it means to be an academic.
Through creation of a safe social context where "disorienting dilemmas" can be examined, questioned, and explored, participants were able to develop a new "frame of reference" and reintegrate learning into practice.
[46] Kligyte's findings are similar to S. Fletcher's: that transformative learning helps to make sense of a complex and often ambiguous work environment, which requires multiple selves.
Through communicative learning, learners must work towards critically reflecting on assumptions that underlie intentions, values, beliefs, and feelings.
This dialogue provides the opportunity to critically examine evidence, arguments, and alternate points of view, which fosters collaborative learning.
[5] Transformative learning has two components that at times seem to be in conflict: the cognitive, rational, and objective and the intuitive, imaginative, and subjective.