What do we mean by transformative learning?

While scholar Jack Mezirow is typically credited with coining the term “transformative learning” in 1978, his approach extends similar work from other educational theorists including John Dewey, David Kolb, and Paolo Freire. While interpretations vary, most scholars understand transformative teaching and learning to include experiences that lead students to challenge and reframe attitudes, assumptions, and perspectives in ways that impact their future beliefs and actions.   

How is transformative teaching and learning related to teaching with the SDGs?

According to UNESCO (2023), Education for Sustainable Development “gives learners of all ages the knowledge, skills, values and agency to address interconnected global challenges including climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable use of resources, and inequality. It empowers learners of all ages to make informed decisions and take individual and collective action to change society and care for the planet.”  

Education for Sustainable Development is grounded in cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral dimensions of learning that lead to changes in understanding, perspectives, attitudes, and actions. Experiential learning that transforms learners and leads to behavior changes is at the core of Education for Sustainable Development and transformative learning. Transformative teaching and learning “generates new mindsets, new perspectives, and new behaviors. Thus, inherent in the purpose of good [Education for Sustainability] is transformative learning” (Michel et al., 2020, p. 185).  

How do High-Impact Practices fit in? 

Key elements of transformative learning experiences include collaborative group work, substantive interactions with diverse groups of people, reflection, and the integration of scholarly and practical experiences. These key elements can be found within what are referred to as high-impact practices, or HIPs—teaching and learning practices that decades of research in higher education have demonstrated offer significant educational benefits for students.  

The eleven high-impact practices described by AAC&U represent specific strategies for experiential learning with transformative potential. For example, service or community-based learning offers students opportunities to challenge their preconceived ideas by learning within the context of “real world” initiatives. Students often describe well-designed community-engaged learning as “life-changing” and can articulate changes in attitudes, perspectives, and understanding that resulted.  View examples of high-impact practices in action in our Project Showcase.