transformative learning

The present qualitative research sought to investigate EFL teacher educators’ experiences and attitudes toward critical thinking and its role in teacher professional development. The adopted design was a case study and the theoretical framework was the theory of transformative learning (Mezirow, 1978). For the data collection purpose, 30 EFL teacher educators participated in in-depth interviews. The  whole procedure of  the data collection was audiotaped for further reference in data analysis. The interviews were transcribed to familiarize with the data and the transcribed interviews were member checked with the participants. The collected data were analyzed through reflective thematic analysis. The data analyzed paved the way for generating three themes: cognition, metacognition , and personal growth/self attainment . The findings of the study comprise a number of implicatios for both theory and practice. One aspect of our contribution is that the notion of critical thinking can be conceived as more than cognitive and metacognitive one; it should be conceptualized as possessing both facets as well as other possible subsets. Beyond that, we suggest that critical thinking should be conjectured as being both a process and a product.

The learning approach to persuasion was considered obsolete following the emergence of new paradigms such as cognitive and constructive approaches. However, according to the evolutions of learning theories and especially the re-emergence of the connectivism paradigm, mainly due to what new technologies have provided, the learning approach to persuasion seems to have reappeared as a powerful approach that has a lot to offer yet. Based on research conducted on transformative learning patterns and algorithms, this paper investigates: i) the applicability of using the patterns and algorithms as well as techniques developed in the transformative learning approach for transformative persuasion, ii) how media can be used in the transformation process. The components of a persuasive transformation model, the factors involved, and major elements of each factor are extracted by constructivist grounded theory (CGT), which is used for theory building, accumulating knowledge and experiences of scholars, practitioners, and experts in adult learning. We show how media can use these factors and elements and notions and techniques developed in transformative learning for the persuasive transformation of their respective audience. Borrowing the concepts of transformative learning concerning the states of mind of the adult students in different stages of the transformation process, we suggest how media can appropriately act in each stage to facilitate a transformation through persuasion.

based on the peculiarities of developing AI technology, learning English among EFL learners has become easier and the significance of studying the way English skills interact with AI technology such as Chat-GPT, and EFL learners’ internal and social factors have become highly important. Social factors include may greatly affect the problem-solving skills of the students. It might also lead to a decline in students' writing skills as they rely on the model to generate content rather than developing their own communication abilities. Social factors might include issues related to job or individual growth. Adopting a transformative learning ground, the present study attempted to use a qualitative-method approach to investigate how EFL learners experience AI, on one hand, and how they perceive Chat-GPT in this process through understanding changes in their job, attitudes toward themselves and etc, on the other hand. This study is based on a detailed investigation of the learning experiences of 46 Iranian EFL learners (intermediate and upper intermediate level) from Qom and Tehran provinces; selected based on convenience sampling procedure. Semi-structured interviews were used as the primary data collection method. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the recorded and transcribed data and theme extraction, which combined with an abductive approach helped derive broader meaning. The results indicated an overall positive perception of Chat-GPT among the participants