Transformative Learning by Tanner, Ian and Eric

 Project 3, Week 6: EDAC 634, Fall 2023

Adult football athletes better understand their own roles through transformative learning exercises and experiences

Tanner Trask: Rationale and References

Ian Walker: Design and References

Eric Wiebe: Goals and Learning Objectives

All 3 Participants, Zoom Calls to discuss, plan and execute project three for one seamless submission via both Canvas and Blog.

Goal: 

Adult football athletes better understand their own roles through transformative learning exercises and experiences

Learning Objectives: 

Upon completing the guide below, participants should better understand the following:

●      This will be a different exercise and one that pushes them out of their comfort zone

●      Athletes better understand their own role on the field and on their team through exercises designed to trigger transformative change

●      Coaches minimally participate to ensure maximum opportunity for athletes to drive changes but help them in reflection

●      Athletes should better understand their own optimal approach to learning based on the key components shared.

Rationale:

We will focus on different transformative learning activities introduced this week to reach our goal and objectives tied to teaching adult athletes more about their own role on the team.

Below please find the central ideas of experiential learning as it relates to our design/project:

1. Daloz’s psycho-developmental perspective: Utilizing Daloz’s perspective on psycho-developmental learning for adult learners, we incorporate the aspect of constructive views and personal change; asking the athletes to use their intuition from their learning to help them develop in their next phase.

2. Mezirow’s psycho-critical approach: This next approach will be broken into two of its component parts. The first part pulls from Mezirow’s approach focusing on experience, critical reflection, reflective discourse and action as the four main components.

3. Mezirow’s psycho-critical approach: The second phase is focused on Mezirow’s orientation which holds that “the way learners interpret and reinterpret their sense experience is central to making meaning and hence learning” (Western Governors University What is transformative learning theory, 2020).

Design: We focused on Mezirow’s psycho critical approach to transformative learning including the 10 step process within his learning theory.

Module #1- Disorienting Dilemma: The jolt that rattles our current perspective, the uncomfortable recognition that your current experience doesn’t match your past knowledge, leaving you to resolve the conflict.   Athletes will better understand their own role on the field and on their team through exercises designed to trigger transformative change.	Activity: Athletes reverse roles from offense to defense and defense to offense during the week to create a significant contradicting experience event. Adult athletes will reverse roles to create a disorienting dilemma that will ultimately stimulate transformative thinking about their traditional role and see a different side of the field. Athletes will work with coaches from the other side to learn about strategy development, scouting, and ultimately play calling. Understanding how the other side develops this against them (with their help) will aid in the understanding of how to counter that when they go back to their traditional role. Athletes share their “ah ha” moment (or how their assumptions were changed) with their teammates at the end of the week.
Module #2- Self-Examination and Critical Assessment: This is where you self-test your beliefs and question how they map onto the disorienting dilemma. Here we begin evaluating and validating our past assumptions and knowledge. By critically reviewing them and doing our best to remove any biased perspective, we should spot those which don’t hold up.   Coaches minimally participate to ensure maximum opportunity for athletes to drive changes but help them in reflection	Activities: Coaches create brutally honest scouting reports for their own players and share them individually. Athletes will then be asked to reflect on the report and share their own perspectives. Critical reflection includes are they in the right role, are they helping or hurting the team, and what can they do to address weaknesses and capitalize on outlined strengths. Making self-scouting work for the whole team.
Module #3- Acquisition of Knowledge, Trying New Roles, and Building Confidence: Time to start implementing the plan and acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary for our transformation. At this stage we put our new skills to the test by provisionally acting on them. Doing this allows us to take advantage of experiential learning—to get hands-on and active. As we try new roles, gain new experiences, and make our own decisions, we should begin building greater self-awareness and confidence.	Activities: Athletes leave the complex completely and are sent to become the coaches to instruct younger players in a youth league, generating passion, developing game strategy, scouting their own team, and development of plays and tactics. They’re not the players this week – they are the coaches and they need to justify their actions taken with their team at the end of the week.

 

References:

Merriam, S. B., & Baumgartner, L. (2020). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. Jossey-Bass. 

Dirkx, J. M. I. (1998). Transformative learning theory in the practice of Adult Education: An Overview. Indiana University of Pennsylvania. https://skat.ihmc.us/rid=1LW068032-1XZRLTS-1Z5M/Copy%20of%20Dirkx%20article%20on%20Transformative%20Learning.pdf

Western Governors University, W. (2020, October 21). What is the transformative learning theory. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-transformative-learning-theory2007.html#close

Brinson, S. (2022, October 18). The 10 phases of Mezirow’s transformational learning theory. DIY Genius. https://www.diygenius.com/transformational-learning/