Want to help HRForecast team members from Ukraine? Follow this link
HRForcast
×
  • Why HRForecast Customers stories Learn more about our customer success stories HRForecast advantages Find out what makes us unique Trust & security See how we ensure security and data integrity bg

    Find out how Siemens has benefited from our services

    Know more

    bg50%

    of the DAX 30 companies work with us​​

    Know more

  • Solutions Cases IMG Use cases Answer to your HR questions. icon Know the future People Analytics Services We use labor market data to tune your business and HR​. icon Plan the future Strategic Workforce Planning Design your future workforce & create accurate headcount​. icon Build the future Talent Marketplace Platform Discover and develop the skills of your employees.
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Podcast, interviews
    • Webinars
    • Downloads
    • Events
    • Quiz
    • HR Glossary
    information technology skills in demand Eight in-demand IT skills you should gain in 2023 Trends in human resource management Top 5 HR trends for 2023 and beyond Areas of professional development: Key areas of professional development for employees with examples Img Post What is digitalization? Img Post Talk with Partha Neog Img Post Business restructuring in time of COVID-19 Img Post How to transform the HR with future workforce insights Img Post Building a future-proof workforce: what you need to know Img Post Plan the future of HR: your future workforce and talent demands Future of HR report Insights and trends shaping the future of HR Cover Succession planning Succession planning: current state and future trends Upskilling, reskilling, cross-skilling Upskilling, reskilling, cross-skilling Img Post HRcoreBarcelona Img Post People Analytics World Img Post Invite us to your event!
  • Company About us Know who stands for the most innovative approach. Press They talk about us, find out what exactly. Team Because our people are our true power. Speaker's corner Discover the hottest HR tech topics that we cover as speakers Career Hop aboard, maybe this is what suits you. bg

    See why 100+ companies choose HRForecast​.

    Know more

    • English
    • Deutsch
  • Search
  • Contact us
  • Get started
Back to Blog

How can transformative learning help leaders to further develop an engaging learning journey for their team

Why is transformative learning important
Zahara
Zahara SayedFuture work expert2. March 202310 min read

Table of contents

  1. Jack Mezirow’s definition of transformative learning 
  2. The stages of Jack Mezirow’s transformative learning theory 
  3. Examples of transformative learning and how it helps develop the workforce 
    1. Scenario-based learning 
    2. Job swapping 
    3. Job shadowing 
    4. Mentoring and coaching 
    5. Personalized learning paths 
    6. Microlearning 
  4. Create a transformative learning journey for your workforce 

Jack Mezirow’s definition of transformative learning

Transformative learning is sometimes called transformation learning and focuses on the idea that learners can adjust their thinking based on new information. 

Jack Mezirow is considered the founder of transformative learning. Mezirow’s transformative learning is “an orientation which holds that the way learners interpret and reinterpret their sense experience is central to making meaning and hence learning.”

In simple terms, transformative learning means that learners get new information to evaluate their previous ideas and understandings and go beyond the mere acquisition of knowledge. This type of learning experience involves a fundamental shift in learners’ perceptions – learners begin to question everything they have known or thought and examine things from new perspectives to make room for new insights and information.

The stages of Jack Mezirow’s transformative learning theory

Everyone learns differently, and understanding how people learn is critical to educational success. Leaders can significantly benefit from understanding how learning works for different employees. By understanding how learning happens, leaders can maximize their efforts and create a culture where learners can thrive.

Let’s dive into the typical stages in Jack Mezirow’s transformative learning theory that adult learners follow. These stages are key to helping learners transform their prior beliefs as they receive new information and insights.

Disorienting dilemma. The first part of transformational learning is the disorienting dilemma, which is when a learner realizes that what they thought or believed in the past may not be correct.

Self-examination. After a disorienting dilemma, learners reflect on their past experiences and how they relate to what they have just learned.

Critical assessment of assumptions. At this stage, learners accept that some of their past assumptions may have been wrong, making them more open to new information and ideas.

Planning a course of action. Learners at this stage consider what learning strategies they will need to fully understand a problem or situation.

Acquisition of knowledge. By now, learners have begun to learn new things and consider different perspectives to improve their understanding.

Experimenting with new roles. As learners try out new roles, gain new experiences, and make their own decisions, they begin to build greater self-awareness and confidence.

Building self-efficacy. Self-efficacy involves building confidence in beliefs and understanding and continuing to practice the transformative cycle as learners move forward.

Examples of transformative learning and how it helps develop the workforce

There are many ways leaders can implement transformative learning in their organizations.

Scenario-based learning

Scenario-based learning combines storytelling and interactive learning to simulate real-life situations, making the learning content relatable and easy to remember. This training approach allows for showing rather than telling how to solve real-life situations that learners are likely to encounter on the job.

Job swapping

Job swapping involves an employee swapping roles with another employee in a different department or location for a period of time. This gives employees a unique opportunity to get a bigger picture of the company and a clearer understanding of how different departments or areas function.

Job shadowing

Job shadowing is a technique that facilitates on-the-job training and career development by allowing an employee to shadow a person doing a job they are interested in, giving the employee the opportunity to ask questions and learn new skills.

Mentoring and coaching

Mentoring seeks to build wisdom and the ability to apply skills, knowledge, and experience to new situations and processes. Coaching focuses on achieving very specific objectives within a set period of time. Coaching is primarily concerned learner’s performance and the development of specific skills. However, the mentoring or coaching process should evolve as learners achieve set goals and learn new behavior. The process continues until everyone is satisfied that the learner’s goals have been achieved.

Personalized learning paths

A personalized learning path takes into account key learning conditions, such as the learner’s motivation and related feelings of autonomy, ability, and the relevance of what is learned. The goal is to increase the learner’s motivation and commitment to learning, recognizing that learners often have a stronger understanding of what they are capable of and what drives them to succeed. 

Ready to personalize your employees’ learning journey?

Analyzing the skills needed for future growth is critical to better define the return on investment in developing a learning journey in your organization. HRForecast has a curated library of more than 1,000+ training courses so you can focus on closing the most critical employee skills gaps that matter.

Learn more
A man working by the laptop

Microlearning

Microlearning is characterized by the use of short, targeted learning units designed to meet specific learning objectives. Microlearning uses various formats to deliver information in short chunks. Take a look at some effective microlearning formats here.

Create a transformative learning journey for your workforce

Learning is not a one-off event. Professionals want to master their craft and strive for autonomy and purpose. See how HRForecast developed and delivered learning journeys for our client Telekom AG to facilitate employee development in alignment with corporate goals and initiatives.

Stay up to date with our newsletter

Every month, we’ll send you a curated newsletter with our updates and the latest industry news.

Subscribe now

More stories we think you will like

Role of HR in mergers and acquisitions

The role of HR in mergers and acquisitions differs depending on the particular stage of the deal. Learn more about HR involvement at each stage of the M&A process.
17. March 2022/by Zahara Sayed
Top hard skills for 2021

Top hard skills 2022 – What the Future Ep. 42

What are hard skills in demand for 2021? We uncover 10 skills that you should master to get a competitive edge on a labor market.
2. February 2022/by Iryna Chorna
Leadership skills assessment

Leadership skills assessment: tests, surveys, and other tools

Why is a leadership skill assessment so essential for your career? How can you test your leadership skills? See more here.
21. June 2022/by Oksana Lavri
Subscribe

HRForecast newsletter

Get only relevant and insightful letters from us every month

Subscribe
HRForecast

Reach out

icon info@hrforecast.de

Not a customer yet?
Contact us

icon +49 89 215384810 icon +1 929 2495168 icon Contact sales icon Contact us

Career at HRForecast

icon recruiting@hrforecast.de

Why HRForecast

  • Customer stories
  • Trust and security
  • Data analytics approach

Solutions

  • Use cases
  • Market intelligence
  • smartPlan
  • smartPeople

Resources

  • Blog
  • Vlog
  • Webinars
  • Downloads
  • Events
  • Quiz
  • HR Glossary

Company

  • About us
  • Team
  • Press
  • Career
Icon Icon Icon Icon Icon

2022 © Copyright - HRForecast | Imprint | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions (MSA)

The 5 Great workforce trends The 5 Great workforce trends Trends in human resource management Top 5 HR trends for 2023 and beyond
Scroll to top
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}