Exploring How Transformational Experiences of Faculty Participating in Global Learning Workshops Inform Practice

Abstract

This case study addresses gaps in the global learning, transformational learning, and professional development literature. Research is lacking on the questions of if and how university faculty members view global learning curricula as transformational learning as a result of professional development and how this transformational learning applies to their teaching of global learning curricula. This study’s purpose is to explore whether university faculty members who have attended global learning professional development workshops perceive global learning as transformational learning and if they do, how they see global learning as transformational, and how this transformational learning informs their teaching. Research questions were answered by using a survey and interview guide developed by the researcher. All faculty members at FIU who have attended a global learning professional development workshop were invited to take the survey to identify faculty members who have had a transformational learning experience related to global learning. Thematic analysis of the survey and interview questions helped describe how faculty members perceived global learning as transformational learning and how faculty members applied this transformational learning to their teaching of global learning curricula. The study found that many university faculty members who have attended a global learning professional development workshop report a resulting transformational learning experience. These university faculty members perceive global learning as individual and collective opportunities and challenges. They apply this transformation to their teaching of global learning curricula through conceptual and individual instructional changes that facilitate and inform systematic awareness and systematic change. This study is significant because how a global learning curricula is viewed by a faculty member affects how it manifests in the curricula, how it is taught, and what students glean from it. How FIU explores this topic could be adopted by other institutions. This study also builds on the work of Dr. Jack Mezirow in transformational learning.