The Seven-Step Learning Journey: A Learning Cycle Supporting Design, Facilitation, and Assessment of Transformative Learning

Abstract

In a world in need of profound change, the importance of transformative education is increasingly recognized. However, barriers abound in our Higher Education Institutions, including that educators often have little notion of how to make their teaching more transformative in practice. This paper builds on our experience of developing a transformative learning intervention in the context of our sustainability education at Utrecht University. For this project, we designed a learning cycle consisting of seven steps, summarized as excavate, absorb, experience, observe, deepen, exchange, and consolidate. We tested this seven-step learning journey in two Bachelor courses, using qualitative student evaluations (n = 305), and then substantiated it by drawing on the learning sciences literature. We conclude this cycle can help educators structure their teaching; include reflective, experiential, and interactive learning methodologies; and invite learners to systematically reflect on their change in meaning making, thereby supporting (transformative) education design in different contexts.