[1] Butcher, Samuel Henry. Aristotle’s theory of poetry and fine art: with a critical text and translation of the Poetics. With a prefatory essay, Aristotelian literary criticism. Vol. 42. Courier Corporation, 1951.

[2] Aristotle, Poetics, trans. Michael Heath (London: Penguin, 1996), 10

[3] Ibid, 20, 21

Education Transformation Essay

Transformative learning is a process which requires “critical reflection on assumptions and critical-dialectical discourse” (Mezirow 2001, pg.1) in order for a person to truly understand the transformation they have made. It is a process whereby “adults learn to think for themselves rather than act upon the assimilated beliefs, values, feelings and judgements of others” (Mezirow 2001, pg 1). This is a process that many people will go through in their lifetime and it’s a process that I can relate to personally. My personal experience of transformative learning can be classified under Subjective Reframing (Mezirow 2001, pg 3). My own experiences also relate to the concept of perspective transformation (Mezirow 1991, pg 167) another concept presented by Mezirow. To understand this better here is a story of my experience of transformative learning and its principles.

Sport has always been an activity that I have participated in vigorously, whether the sport was soccer, cricket, rugby, swimming or running. For me sport was a very important part of my life and it was also a part of the environment I was raised in. Both my mother and my step-father were also keen sports people and seeing my family so involved in something like sport, I naturally tried to follow my parents lead and be involved in as much sport as possible. From around six years of age I began playing sport and from there didn’t stop playing sport with soccer being played in the winter and cricket during summer. This continued until the age of around sixteen when I experience my first real sporting injury. It was during a game of cricket and in the process of playing a shot whilst batting felt a sharp burning sensation through my right knee. After later going to the hospital and being cleared of any major damage I returned home in a very sore state. A visit to the specialists a week later revealed that I had dislocated my knee cap. This was something I had no real idea about but the specialist said it simply required a bit of physiotherapy and then I would be able to resume playing sport. After undergoing intense physiotherapy for two months I returned to sport only to damage my knee two weeks later. The specialist’s response this time was to suggest surgery in order to repair the weak ligaments in my leg he believed were causing me these constant injuries. Hoping this would be the final issue with my knee I was willing to have the surgery. This surgery fixed my right knee however in my return to sport after this I managed to dislocate my left knee. Needless to say after this horrendous run of injuries I was very close to stopping sport. However due to the environment I had been raised in the concept of not being able to participate in sport was something I simply couldn’t fathom.

At this point I became incredibly dejected and was forced to undergo more intense physiotherapy. It was also during this period of physiotherapy that I found out the cause of these constant dislocations.  The sockets which my knee caps sit in had been worn flat rather than having a groove for the knee cap to sit. This meant that my knees were incredibly susceptible to dislocating. I was also informed that it was likely that I would likely run the risk of dislocating either of my knee caps if I played sport without any kind of support for my two knees. This was horrifying for me, as at the time I was only eighteen, as the prospect of having to wear a knee brace every time I played sport of any sort was incredibly daunting. However due to my desire to continue sport I took this course of action knowing there was no other choice.  To this day I still wear my knee brace whenever I play a sport of any kind. This limits my ability to just simply muck around with my friends as, mentally, the run of injuries and the knowledge that my knees are so prone to dislocation is a constant worry. So whilst my body has undergone many physical changes throughout this period my mentality towards sport has changed altogether. I’m no longer confident in my own ability to compete in sport without my knee brace and often I refuse to play with my friends for fear of re-injury. So this run of injuries and the discovery that my knees would continue to have these problems for the rest of my life has caused a great deal of both physical and mental changes for me.

Looking back upon the experience I can see how much my perceptions in relation to sport have changed dramatically. Before I would take any chance I could to participate in a sporting activity. However after my experiences my perceptions have now changed immensely. The experience led me to undertake what Mezirow describes as a “Perspective Transformation as a result of a ‘disorienting dilemma’, which is triggered by a life crisis or major life transition” (Mezirow 1995, pg. 20). For me, this two year period represented a great amount of change in my life both physically and mentally. Physically my body was undergoing immense change due to my age as well as my injuries. Mentally, I was undergoing my greatest changes. As Mezirow states Perspective Transformation is triggered by either a life crisis or a major life transition (ibid.) and for me it was a major life transition mentally. Whilst people may not associate physical injuries with a major life transition, it was a major transition for me personally due to the environment I was raised in. My perceptions of sport and my capabilities within certain environments had been forever changed due to the knowledge that my body may not be capable of doing what I desired it to do. I was faced with the prospect of questioning my capabilities and always ensuring that I had my knee brace with me whenever I wanted to participate in some form of sporting activity. This is why; upon reflection of my transformative experience, I can see just how I underwent a Perspective Change both physically and mentally.

I’ve described this experience as transformative learning as I feel that it has been a period where I have learnt a great deal about both myself and my environment. It also relates too many of Mezirow’s ideas such as Perspective Change, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, the idea of Subjective (Self-Reflective) Reframing (Mezirow 2001, pg 3) and also the role of Consciousness and a person’s belief system (O’Sullivan Taylor, pg 6). The idea of changing perceptions, discussed in the previous paragraph, links back to Mezirow’s summary of Transformative Learning. His first point is that “(Adults) cannot fully trust what they know or believe because there are no fixed truths and circumstances change” (Mezirow 2001, pg. 2).  This is something which can be directly applied to my own experiences. Looking back I did trust my own abilities and strengths but now I’m able to relate to this concept of circumstances changing and we can therefore not trust what we know. Nowadays if I was to simply trust my capabilities and place my body on the line there would be an incredibly strong chance of re-injuring myself this is why we cannot trust what we know due to circumstances changing. My experiences clearly highlight Mezirow’s idea of “circumstances changing” (Mezirow 2001, pg.2). For me this concept of circumstances played a significant role in my experience of Transformative Learning and reflecting upon my experience I should have realised that the level of activity I was putting my body through combined with a lack of rest between sports was only going to inevitably lead to a severe injury to my body.

Subjective Reframing is a concept that is introduced by Mezirow in his summary of Transformative Learning. Subjective Reframing, when engaged properly, “requires the support of others, a positive self-concept and freedom from immobilizing anxiety” (Mezirow 2001, pg. 4). It also proceeds to go on and mention the ten phases in the clarification of meaning and without detailing all ten stages I can say that I, personally, went through these stages. This for me is representative of how I undertook a Transformative Learning experience as I can relate with many of the key points in Mezirow’s summary of Transformative Learning. Some of the key points of the ten stages include:

Self-examination with feelings of fear, anger, guilt or shame;

Exploration of options for new roles, relationships and actions;

Provisional trying of new roles; and

Building competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships.

These four examples I’ve selected are the four areas I relate best to. During the period of time I suffered my injuries there was a deep fear that I would be unable to compete in sport of any kind. As a result of this I was forced to explore different roles in order to keep my involvement in sport and also different actions to maintain some physical activity. There was a tentative attempt at new roles in sport where there was a reduction in impact between myself and other players to protect myself and finally I had to rebuild self-confidence in my own abilities as I came back to sport after so much time of being unable to do the things I so desperately wanted to do.

The O’Sullivan and Taylor argument that “The person’s total belief system is an organisation of beliefs and expectancies that the person accepts as true of the world he or she lives in” (O’Sullivan Taylor, pg. 6) is one which again can be linked back to my experiences.  As I stated earlier sport was a big part of my life due to the influence of my family and their constant participation in sporting activities. This concept is what really pushed me to recover from my injuries in order to return to what I expected of myself and also what my parents expected of me, whether this is true or not I’m unsure but it was a belief in my mind at the time. The impact of consciousness on my transformative learning experience is something I failed to realise during the period but upon reflection of the period I realise that I was consciously pushing myself back towards my own self expectations, those being to participate in sport of any kind. This is another example of my transformative learning experience. These are three key reasons why I am describing my experience of knee injuries and the impact it had on me both physically and mentally as a transformative learning experience.

The reason I have selected this topic is that I believe it pertains to Transformative Learning and its capabilities to change our perceptions through experience. The idea of experience changing our perceptions is something that I feel has been a key issue throughout this topic. We have been introduced to topics which require us to break down our pre-conceived notions and take a more holistic approach to our interactions as future educators. The concept of perspective transformation is a topic which was addressed back in our firs lecture highlighting its importance. I feel that my own experiences relate too many of the experiences that have been discussed in both the readings and lectures. Concepts such as Psychotherapeutic Learning and individual learning are both concepts that I experienced throughout my personal experience of transformative learning. My injury led me to undertake Psychotherapeutic Learning as I had to learn through experience as it is easy to simply analyse an injury and its impact on a person but it’s a lot harder to experience the pain of the injury and then have to deal with the mental impact knowing how easily it could occur again. This can be seen as a different approach to Psychotherapeutic Learning but it also links to individual learning as I learnt the importance of Psychotherapeutic Learning through my own individual experiences. The relationship between the Transformative Learning experiences I undertook whilst suffering numerous knee injuries and undergoing numerous physiotherapy sessions pertains to my understanding of transformative learning as many I can relate to many of the concepts that have been discussed in both the lectures and the readings.

Bibliography

Arnold, R. (2005). The Concept of Empathic Intelligence. In Empathic Intelligence:Teaching, Learning, Relating: UNSW Press.

Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. (1995). Transformation Theory of Adult Learning. In M. R. Welton (Ed.), In Defense of the Lifeworld (pp. 39-70). New York: SUNY Press.

Mezirow, J. (2003). Epistemology of Transformative Learning [Electronic Version], 5,

Taylor, E. V. O. S. M. M. Glimpses of An Ecological Consciousness. In.

Taylor, E. W. (1997). The Theory and Practice of Transformative Learning: A Critical Review. The Information Series, 374.

Education Transformation and Change

Education Transformation

Transformative type of learning critically reflects the assumptions used for critically dialectical discourse. This course helps the individual to apprehend the actual transformation made while learning the process. The adult learning process and methods adopted to think in a precise manner in included in this type of learning. Such a learning process focus on the assimilated values and beliefs to judge individuals this method can be used as a life-long learning method, which is associated with the personal learning method. My personal transformative learning experience can be stated as the subjective reframing method. This concept is associated with the perspective transformation method that increases the learning ability and process. Another concept that was used for learning process was Mezirow. I present a detailed task about the learning method adopted for increasing the knowledge about different tasks. (Taylor, 2009).

I have participated in different types of sporting events, and I loved soccer, swimming and cricket. Sports have been always important for me, as it made me physical strong. My step-father and mother were sports personally themselves, and this motivated me to participate in different types of sporting events. From the age of 6 years, I have been paying different types of sports, without affecting my academic works. While playing cricket, I suffered from rigours burning sensation on my right knew. I had to visit the doctor to diagnose the medical condition. A week after the doctors informed me that I was suffering from dislocated knee cap and it required immediate medical assistance.  It was after the treatment that I could resume playing my favourite game. The physiotherapy program was scheduled for 2 months and I had to regularly visit the doctor for treatment. Doctors had also recommended surgery, which would repair my weak ligaments, as it was believed to the cause of the problem (Wyandotte, A. & Huh, 2012).

The surgery had fixed the problem and was able to my game practice. This injury had affected me badly, and had to almost stop playing my favourite games. The positive environment at my home, and love towards sports encouraged me to overcome this challenge. However the process was not easy, as it had to go through rigors physiotherapy program. During this treatment, I learned the actual reason for the occurrence of this problem. Knee caps have sockets, and due to extensive physical activities it was worn out. The problem could have permanently dislocated my knee, thus increasing the problem for a longer time frame. I was also informed by the doctors that I would dislocate either one of my knees, if I participated in the games without any support for both the knees. This information affected me negatively and had to wear brace all the time, while playing (Mezirow, 2003 pp. 58-63).

My willingness to participate in the gaming activity, motivated to try different things that will enable me to play. I wear knee-brace till date, and this always concerns me about the consequences related to the knee injury. Because of this treatment, my body had physically changed and this has also affected me psychologically. This has affected my confidence and I now I don’t feel playing with friends. The problem has affected me and game playing ability for the entire life.

This incidence has changed my perception towards the games and it has affected by ability perform well on the grounds. Before this incidence, I would confidently participate in different types of games and design strategies to win the game. This problem has impacted by game thinking ability, which is required to increase the performances. During this time, I analysed the Mezirow perspective about the transformation factors. As per the theory, such factors causes disorientation dilemma which can cause life crisis (Taylor, 2001 pp. 218-236).

I had to suffer with this problem for almost 2 years, and this changed my life physical and psychologically. My physical body has changed a lot due to the injuries and this has affected my ability to play the games. During my sporting days, I was one of the toughest competitors for my rival team. This has also changed due to the nature and severity of the injury suffered by me.

Perspective transformation is causes serious life transition, and it has a long time impact on an individual. There are instances, where people were not associated with any sort of physical injuries, but still had to suffer from this problem It is necessary to understand the nature of the problem and its impact on the individual development. My apprehension about the sporting events and capability development has changed forever. This happened due to the fact that my body was not able to do things that I wanted to. I questioned my capability and this impacted my confidence level (Taylor, 2008 pp. 5-15).

I always made a conscious effort to wear my knee cap, as it protected me from my injury. This knee cap had protected me from different types of damages that could impact my game and physical injuries. This was one of the reasons I wrote about my personal experience on the transformative experience. I had undergone through the physical and mental changes that is expected to have a longer impact on my personality.

My experience has been presented in the form of the transformation learning method, where I have described about my experience and challenges faced during the learning process. I have included the Mezirow’s idea related to perspective change in this method. Self-reflective method for reframing is also included in this process. This method is used to define an individual’s belief system. The concept of the changing perspective has been related to the Mezirow’s summary for the transformative learning process (Dirkx, 2000).

As per this theory, grown-ups cannot depend upon their knowledge or beliefs about the circumstantial changes. I could relate this statement to my personal experience. In the past I could easily do my strength and ability test, without any efforts. However this has changed, as I am not confident about the task. The changes in my life have affected me negatively, and this is something that I had never expected myself to suffer from. I fear from injuring myself, whenever I play a game again. This has negatively affected my capacity to perform better on the ground.

This can be clearly indicated to the Mezirow’s concept on the circumstantial changing. The incidence had a major impact on my life, and impacted my confidence. I could present my challenges through the transformative learning process, which helps to identify the issue faced at the time of overpowering the problem.  During this time, I realised the fact that I was not as strong as I had assumed myself to be. This was quite surprising and it impacted me and my growth (Dirkx, 2006 pp. 15-26).

In the subjective reframing method, defined by Mezirow the transformative learning process has been clearly analysed. Subjective reframing method reflects the positive self-concept about the thinking ability and freedom experienced b an individual from various immobilising anxiety issues. There are ten phases that clarifies the terms about this concept. I could say that I have gone through these phases, which has affected my life and personality. The transformative learning experience is associated with the Mezirow’s summary program designed to understand the transformative learning process.

Some of the phases included in this method are –

Conducting self-examination which checks on the fear, guilt, and anger

Exploring different options that are required for implementing the action plans and developing relationships were included in the process.

Trying different types of provisional roles

Building effective competence level to increase self-confidence for the people.

The examples mentioned above, are some of the factors that I could easily relate my experiences to. During the time, when I was suffering from the injury, I was not able to compete in different types of sporting events.  But due to a strong sporting urge, I was forced to explore different roles to increase my involvement in the sporting event. The burning desire to participate in the gaming activity encouraged me to analyse the new roles that can be played to increase self-confidence. Through the process, I learned different methods to develop confidence, and ability that was required for analysing the challenges that affected my development process. I analysed different things that had affected my ability to get involved with the sporting event (Elsey, 2010).

AN individual’s ability to analyse self-belief depends upon the expectations from one-self. It also depends upon the organisation that an individual is associated with. I grew up believing that sports were an important part of my life. This motivated me to overcome the challenges that restricted me from learning new methods to overcome the challenges that restricted my playing ability. My personal expectations were one of the biggest driving forces that encouraged me to do new and improved things that were necessary to become an experienced sportsperson. My consciousness motivated me to adopt the best transformative learning process, which I failed to notice or consider during my normal days. I put back my self-expectations and adopted the best learning process to increase my skills. This made me strong physically and mental, and this was required to become an experienced and skilled sportsperson.

I choose this topic to explain in-depth about the relevance of the transformative learning process. In this report, I have presented the capability or change personal perception about life and other factors. These factors were closely related to m experience and other factors that were expected to be considered at the time of presenting the information for this learning method. Experiences changes along with the time and situation, and this is an important factor that I learned from the transformative learning method.

There are different concepts that need to be broken down for improving the pre-conceived views. This is known to be a holistic method, which increases the quality of the interaction which is required to increase the learning process. The concept related to perspective transformation is referred to understanding the perspective transformational method. Psychotherapeutic learning process focus on increasing the personal experiences, which is an integral part of the transformative learning method  (Cranton & Roy, 2003 pp. 86-98).

The injury caused due to the sporting event encouraged me to understand the relevance of the transformative learning process. This method encouraged me to understand the seriousness of the injury and evaluate its impact on an individual ability to cope with the issues. There are different approaches that are adopted to handle the challenges that can restrict the member to improve the performances. For overpowering the issue it is necessary to analyse the challenges that can impact the learning process adopted by the management. Issues such as the ability to cope with the learning process and adoption of new methods to increase the learning process are evaluated (Cranton, 2006).

The ability of an individual to cope with the challenges differs from each other and this is an important factor that needs to be considered at the time of drafting and implementing the changes that would help in coping with the issues. The process followed by the people and individuals in handling the issue needs to be planned effectively, as it helps in coping with the challenge. The outcome desired is based on the interdependent factors, which defines the relationship of an individual with others. Through this process, an effective process to handle the stress and other factors are evaluated. This process needs to be planned, as it helps the member to cope with the challenges that can impact the tasks that are expected to be performed by the members. It is quite important for the students it understand the process that will be followed for executing the tasks. The planning process is evaluated by understanding the challenges that can impact the ability of an individual to handle different tasks that impacts the learning process for the clients. In this method, the techniques and the process has to be defined or undertaken in an effective manner. This helps in achieving the goals that are quite important to handle the issues that are associated with introducing new methods for increasing the value of the learning process to handle the issues (Baumgartner, 2001 pp. 15-24).

References

Baumgartner, L. M. (2001). “An update on transformational learning theory.” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2001(89), 15-24.

Cranton, P.A. (2006). “Fostering authentic relationships in the transformative classroom.” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006(109), 5-13.

Dirkx, J.M. (2000). “Transformative learning and the journey of individuation. “ERIC Digests, 223.

Cranton, P.A. & Roy, M. (2003). “When the bottom falls out of the bucket: A holistic perspective on transformative learning.” Journal of Transformative Education, 1(2), 86-98.

Dirkx, J. M. (2006). “Engaging emotions in adult learning: A Jungian perspective on emotion and transformative learning.” New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006(109), 15-26

Elsey, M. (2010). “The Transformative Educator: Sustaining Initiatives in Adult Teaching and Learning. “Presented at the 29th Annual Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference, Michigan State University.

Mezirow, J. (2003a). “Transformative learning as discourse.” Journal of Transformative Education, 1(1), 58-63.

Taylor, E.W. (2001). ‘Transformative learning theory: A neurobiological perspective of the role of emotions and unconscious ways of knowing.’ International Journal of Lifelong Education, 20(3), 218-236.

Taylor, E.W. (2008). ‘Transformative learning theory.’ New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 5-15.

Taylor, E. W. (2009). ‘Fostering transformative learning. In Mezirow, Taylor, and Associates (Ed.).’ Transformative learning in practice: Insight from community, workplace, and higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Wyandotte, A. & Huh, S. (2012). ‘Of toads, gardens, and possibilities: A phenomenological approach to transformative education.’

Question 1

A Sewage Worker at Work in Kolkata

The intelligibility of a Photograph is not a simple thing to figure out however the photographs are subjects of words which convey a message called as a photographic discourse which could embed a lot of things within itself. The images which we see in a photograph could combine a lot of factors where there could be complexities involved like intertextuality in the photographic context (A Language Photography nd).

There could also be some overlapping series of contexts which could be taken for granted and which could be missed out on. The photographic image also conveys the culture and the work style in the world.

The given statement is “The photograph both mirrors and creates a discourse with the world, and is never, despite its often passive way with things, a neutral representation”.

This statement is a central statement which could convey that every photograph involves a saturated and an ideological context. It is a complex textual message which is written as reference by which an ideology could construct a lot of meanings and it can reflect an essence of stamp of power and authority (Sonntag 2016).  It is a series of complexities in which it has been shot and it is not the way the world is at the moment.

The image causes an endlessly seductive puzzle of sight where the photograph conveys a message which is a practice of signification which tries to reflect the way of life, the way in which the depicted city leads its life, its customs and culture. It is a means of deceptive simplicity which can’t portray a direct message however is being a mirror. Also far from being a mirror the photograph is the most complex forms of representation of the type of work which is required in some of the situations in life pertaining to a specific country and a specific city.

The statement – “The photograph both mirrors and creates a discourse with the world, and is never, despite its often passive way with things, a neutral representation” is a statement which was made to create an advertisement however this is true in some of the cases of some Countries (Clarke 1997).

Images which are long saturated by a cultural history comprise of long and deceptive images as mentioned earlier with resistant essence in it. The history might also go beyond their visual language system. Our interpretations about photographs might represent various meanings however the essence of it conveying the true image should be evaluated in all contexts (John nd).

Question 2

“If the image contains signs, we can be sure that in advertising these signs are full, formed with a view to the optimum reading”.

In Advertising the significance of an image is intentional for sure and the advertised image for a specific product conveys a lot of messages and attributes about a product. It is an image without a code where the proposition of the image is critical and it has to be drawn. This specific message is a continuous message with a specific connotation. An image permits the consideration of a veritable ontology of the process of significance where some might argue that the image is simple and it is showcasing a meaning of language within itself.

As per this statement “If the image contains signs, we can be sure that in advertising these signs are full, formed with a view to the optimum reading” of Roland Barthes he means that an image consists of various signs where we can be sure that the advertising signs are full and they are formed with an optimum reading where the advertisement image is a clear image.

This advertisement also emphasises on the fact that an image conveys two types of messages for someone to interpret like the linguistic message which can be read, the literal image which can be viewed and an image which can express its essence through various symbols.

Likewise in the present image of Louis Vuitton we see a glossy advertisement where Mikhail Gorbachev sits in a car on the backseat and passes through the Berlin Wall. He has a patterned travelling bag seated alongside him in the far seat (Eric 2007).

The impact of the image has changed immediately with the former Soviet Union President keeping it alongside him while travelling. This image is of a luxurious brand wanting to showcase its luxury items and the class of the Consumers using them it does not have any written symbols apart from the view of the expression of the Consumer whom we can see in the image (Pravdareport 2009).

It shows the credibility of the brand within various Countries and the credibility of the fashion side. The advertising ability of luxurious brand like Louis Vuitton can also be seen in the image where they have tried to create a stand for themselves in the luxury market for their travel products.

The image also talks about words which are unspoken as mentioned in the Statement – “If the image contains signs, we can be sure that in advertising these signs are full, formed with a view to the optimum reading”. A Politician who has spent more than half of his life travelling on the Road looks peaceful and confident without portraying any serious and a complicated look. We can analyse this message by using this assumption as well that the brand keeps him happy and comfortable while travelling. The Campaign overall reflects the art of travelling which has been made comfortable for all the people in the World.

References

A Language Photography (nd). Graham Clarke – From the Photograph 1997. Retrived on April 19^th 2016. http://www.photopedagogy.com/graham-clarke.html

Sonntag (2016). Graham Clarke – How Do We Read a Photograph. Retrieved on April 19^th 2016. http://paintingwithlight-photography.blogspot.in/2016/04/graham-clarke-how-do-we-read-photograph.html

John, N (nd). What is Photography? Retrieved on April 16^th 2016. http://www.photopedagogy.com/what-is-photography.html

Eric, P (2007). Mr Gorbachev Show Off This Bag. Retrieved on April 19^th 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/business/media/08adco.html

Pravdareport (2009). Gorbachev’s Louis Vuitton’s Campaign: Best of the Decade. Retrieved on April 19^th 2016. http://www.pravdareport.com/society/showbiz/30-12-2009/111507-gorbachev_louis_vuitton-0/