Synopses & Reviews
Drawing on numerous examples from nearly twenty years of experience as an adult educator and researcher, Cranton relates transformative learning to current adult education perspectives. She describes how learners undergo transformative learning. She examines individual differences among learners, and she presents practical strategies for fostering and supporting transformative learning--including questioning techniques, journal writing, consciousness-raising exercises, and experiential activities.Jack Mezirow's theory of transformative learning has developed over nearly two decades into a comprehensive and complex description of how learners construe, validate, and reformulate the meaning of their experiences. But what exactly is transformative learning? How does it differ from other concepts of adult learning? How can educators actively foster transformative learning with adult learners?In this book, Patricia Cranton describes the theory and process of transformative learning in terms of experiences with which we are all familiar: from the learner who is struck by a new concept or a different way of thinking about something to the learner who changes her personal life based on new insights. Cranton also describes approaches the educator can use--such as fostering group interaction and encouraging learner networks--to provide support for the transformative learning process and help learners to support each other.
Review
"Researchers and students seeking an understandable intro to this field…will find this text a very helpful place to begin." (
TC Record, March 14 2007)
"very strongly recommended" (Library Bookwatch, June 2006)
Synopsis
In the second edition of her landmark book, Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning, Patricia Cranton helps translate theory to practice and guides readers through the many and varied new developments in transformative learning that have emerged in the decade since publication of the first edition.
As in the first edition, the book explains the transformative learning theory, describes the process from the learner's perspective, explores individual differences in transformative learning, presents strategies for fostering transformative learning, and discusses how adult educators themselves are transformative learners. The second edition of this important book draws on the most recent scholarship in adult education and contains information about new theoretical developments including the role of imagination and spirituality in transformation, the importance of affect in the process, the idea of connected knowing, contributions from critical theory, and a holistic model of transformative learning.
Throughout the book, Cranton offers illustrative examples of her strategies in action, clearly showing how adult educators in a wide variety of settings can use these techniques to improve their skills and practice.
Synopsis
In the second edition of her landmark book,
Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning,Patricia Cranton helps translate theory to practice and guides readers through the many and varied new developments in transformative learning that have emerged in the decade since publication of the first edition. As in the first edition, the book explains the transformative learning theory, describes the process from the learner’s perspective, explores individual differences in transformative learning, presents strategies for fostering transformative learning, and discusses how adult educators themselves are transformative learners. The second edition of this important book draws on the most recent scholarship in adult education and contains information about new theoretical developments including the role of imagination and spirituality in transformation, the importance of affect in the process, the idea of connected knowing, contributions from critical theory, and a holistic model of transformative learning.
Synopsis
Praise for Patricia Cranton"Perceptive, provocative, and lucid, Patricia Cranton's clear and careful analysis and her down-to-earth examples of transformative learning concepts move my work significantly closer to the practitioner. Highly recommended!"
—Jack Mezirow, professor emeritus of adult education, Teachers College, Columbia University
"Patricia Cranton shows us how teachers and facilitators can and must be understood as adults engaged in transformative learning. By highlighting case studies of how individual educators learn about their practice, she helps us rethink the way professional development is conceived and conducted."
—Stephen Brookfield, distinguished professor, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota
"Patricia Cranton has given us a book that is insightful and inclusive, practical as well as analytical. She provides a skillful integration of theory and practice about the complex issue of professional development for adult educators without denying that complexity or losing contextual concerns."
—Dorothy MacKeracher, professor of adult education, University of New Brunswick
Synopsis
Perceptive, provocative, and lucid...Patricia Cranton's clear and careful analysis and her down-to-earth examples of transformative learning concepts move my work significantly closer to the practitioner. Highly recommAnded! --Jack Mezirow, professor emeritus of adult education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-243) and index.
About the Author
Patricia Crantonis visiting professor of adult education at The Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg, as well as adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she teaches courses in transformative learning both online and in workshop format. She has been writing about, teaching, conducting research on, and giving workshops and invited addresses on transformative learning for more than a decade. Cranton is the author of numerous books including the first edition of Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning and Professional Development as Transformative Learning, both from Jossey-Bass.
Table of Contents
Part One: Adult Learning as a Process of Transformation.
1. The Many Dimensions of Adult Learning.
2. Understanding Transformative Learning.
3. The Theoretical Context of Transformative Learning.
4. How Transformative Learning Occurs.
5. How Transformative Learning Varies Among Individuals.
Part Two: Promoting Transformative Learning.
6. The Educator's Role.
7. Empowering Adults for Transformative Learning.
8. Stimulating Critical Self-Reflection.
9. Supporting Transformative Learning.
10. Educators as Transformative Learners.