Many professions require continuing education to comply with practice and state licensure requirements, yet little is known about how learned information is transferred into practice. Using a qualitative descriptive case study research design, informed by E-Learning Systems and Knowledge Transfer theories, the application of learned principles…

We explore the need for empathy in diverse groups, conceptualize the epistemology of empathy in relationship to "whole-person dialogue," and examine strategies for creating empathic space that take into consideration the "paradox of diversity." Two examples from our practice illustrate the role of empathic connection in…

As traditional classroom settings are transitioning to online environments, teachers now face the challenge of using this medium to promote effective learning strategies, especially when teaching older age groups. Because adult learners bring a different set of understandings and skills to education than younger students, such as more job and life…

The Communities of Practice (CofP) framework and theories of engaged participation have profoundly shaped how we theorize, investigate, and represent a variety of learning and teaching processes, both in and out of classroom contexts. Within this framework, useful distinctions have been made between a teaching curriculum and a learning curriculum,…

Transformative learning can be rational/analytical or intuitive emotional. It can effect personal or social change, and it can take place in a variety of contexts. (SK)

The author discusses research in human learning and describes the learning process as a process of experiencing the unfamiliar. She then explores how the universal aspects of learning relate to each other and what is meant by teaching. She concludes with a discussion of the relationship between learning and teaching. (CH)

Despite its continuing popularity as both a practical and theoretical basis upon which to ground pedagogical practice, experiential learning is nonetheless recognised as a difficult concept to "pin down." One serious attempt to schematise and systematise the specific components of the learning process has been made, however. Jarvis's model…

Examines the place of caring, constructivist learning, and community in teachers' professional development. Professional-learning communities provide a conversational space for connecting teachers' personal, practical knowledge in the classroom with the larger professional-knowledge landscape. Profiles two professional-development initiatives that…

Kurt Lewin's epigrammatic paradox is particularly true for action learning. Marquardt and Waddill (2004), and previously Yorks O'Neil and Marsick (1999) have approached the issue of the relationship between theory and action learning by looking at a variety of theories which they have placed in "schools". This provides an interesting analysis, but…

Jack Mezirow's theory of transformative learning has evolved into a description of how learners learn by integrating new knowledge with their existing knowledge, beliefs, and experiences. Centrality of experience, critical reflection, and rational discourse are three common themes in Mezirow's theory, which is based on psychoanalytic theory and…

This book describes the theory and process of transformative learning (TL) and presents practical strategies for fostering and supporting TL. In chapters 1 and 2, TL is placed within the broader context of adult learning and Mezirow's 1991 theory of TL is presented. Chapter 3 examines the following: TL's relationship to the instrumental,…

The concept of narrative was used to examine the process of transformative learning and explore the possibilities for using narrative as a central construct for theorizing transformation and thereby expanding the possibilities for research and practice. The concepts of narrative used in the analysis were as follows: (1) it moves from past to…

Critical reflection blends learning through experience with theoretical and technical learning to form new knowledge constructions and new behaviors or insights. Through the process of critical reflection, adults come to interpret and create new knowledge and actions from their experiences. It is generally agreed that critical reflection consists…

This volume consists of four issues that present best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used. Issue 1(A) on adult multiple intelligences has seven articles: "MI (Multiple Intelligences), the GED (General Educational Development), and Me (Martha Jean); "Understanding Multiple Intelligences:…

This book contains 22 papers on reflective learning in practice. The following papers are included: "Our Purpose" (Ann Brockbank, Ian McGill, Nic Beech); "The Nature and Context of Learning" (Ann Brockbank, Ian McGill, Nic Beech); "Reflective Learning and Organizations" (Ann Brockbank, Ian McGill, Nic Beech);…