How Can Science and Education Help Shape Sustainable Development
however, articles combining TL and ESD increased steadily, indicating that TL has become an emerging field of inquiry. Even though the review also points out that TL is often used as a buzzword, it holds valuable insights for supporting the design and implementation of ESD. Sterling (2011, building on Gregory Bateson) distinguishes between three orders of learning (Figure 6). The first is “conformative”, addressing the cognitive dimension (intellect): at this level, something new is learned without challenging the established (disciplinary) self-conception. The second order of learning is “reformative”, concerns the affective dimension (emotions), and is characterized by critically questioning and then adapting beliefs, values, and assumptions that make up self-conception. The third order of learning is “transformative”: it goes deeper and, through reflecting on and reconstructing self-understanding, addresses the existential dimension, the empowerment dimension, and the action dimension. It usually consists of several steps, such as: • A transformation of someone’s frames of reference usually results from an irritation or “disorienting dilemma”. It can be triggered by life crises, or a series of previous transformations in meaning schemes, or – less dramatically – a dilemma created through a presentation or video, etc. The goal of the dilemma is to shatter taken-for-granted meaning perspectives and to create insecurity about them. In this phase, emotions play a big role. • Such individual experiences need to be shared and reflected on among peers – the better argument counts, not the power of individuals. This is essential to reconstruct own perspectives, build new ones, and develop new skills, which enable a significant shift in awareness. • Ideally, these new perspectives and skills are eventually integrated into daily life.
1st Order of Learning conformative Efficiency Doing things better
2nd Order of Learning reformative
3rd Order of Learning transformative
Effectiveness Doing better things
Paradigm Shift Seeing things differently
Figure 6: Conformative, reformative, and transformative learning (Adapted from Sterling 2011 by K. Herweg)
Which events, incidences, or experiences in our own lives have disrupted our habits of thinking and acting? Which of these had such a learning effect that it made us change our behaviour? Many of us may conclude that classroom lectures were not among them. Our own “transformative” experiences can help us identify relevant factors of TL, which collectively increase the probability of bringing students out of their “comfort zones”, and thus pave the way to transformation. Certainly emotions play a significant role around those transformative moments. And yet, TL is not automatic and success is not guaranteed, even if we consider all push and pull factors. As stated in Jickling (2017, 27) with reference to Gutiérrez (2016), “we do not create transformative moments, but can create spaces for them to arise.” What transformative experiences have you encountered so far? • Which events, incidences, or experiences in your life have disrupted your habits of thinking and acting? • Which of these have had the biggest learning effects, making you change your behaviour fundamentally? • As a student attending a course, can you recall a “transformative moment” that made you change your mindset or even behaviour?
A problem- and solution-oriented learning approach offers multiple opportunities for transformative moments to arise. Experiential learning under real-life conditions enables deep-level learning to occur.
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