Transformational Learning Theory Application

Someone you loved has died.  

You may feel gutted. Maybe you’re still grieving. You’ve definitely changed. When people you love die, what you thought you knew, who you thought you were, and your sense of belonging could be devastated.    

To be bereft is to be deprived, robbed, or broken (etymonline.com). It is a thick line in your life, BtD and AtD, representing Before the Death and After the Death. In bereavement, someone was taken from you and the brokenness you feel may be overwhelming. By volunteering with those facing loss after your own, your grief is set to work by going to the bedside of someone dying and bringing your whole self, transformed. This may seem like a giant leap, so let’s back up.  

There is such a thing as a good death. 

Hospice is a model of care that can provide a good death in many situations because with admission comes the acknowledgement that death is coming and you can prepare with support. It is the greatest honesty. 

With the assistance of hospice volunteers who have the lived experience of loving a dying person (and then loving a dead person), a transformation can occur, turning the loss into connection and a whole new way of seeing and existing. The concept is rooted in the science of transformational learning theory. Let’s learn more about it and the case for why it’s better to grow and make meaning, especially after heartbreak. 

The process of change, reflection, connection, and new life. 

Transformational learning:

• is an opportunity opened through a change in how you see, rooted in a pivotal experience and developed as you create meaning from the new perspective; 

• has the power to take something unplanned, confusing, and disruptive and sculpt it into a turning point for your betterment and your world of influence;

• is the practice of cultivating wisdom over despair, in alliance with others in their own pivotal experiences. 

Transformational Learning Theory was developed by sociologist Jack Mezirow. His theory is heralded as a paradigm change in identity (Levine, 2014). There are ten steps in Mezirow’s theory, starting with a “disorienting dilemma,” which is the perfectly emotionally-detached term to describe bereavement. That disorientation instigates the process of taking a new perspective, questioning previously held beliefs, and making meaning in a broader context (Merriam & Bierema, 2013). For you, that context can include bonding with people who’ve also lost someone and holding sympathy for those naive to loss.  

Transformational learning is a foundational theory for hospice volunteer programs that benefit all involved, because it enables healthy grief and reintegration after loss. While you may feel alone and confused, hospice volunteers may guide you. They have the knowledge of change, reflection, connection, and action, and can:

• listen and reassure you that you are not alone,

• show you how to bond with others who are dying or losing their loved one, 

• share what helped them reimagine their identity and role in the world, and

• help you make meaning from so much change.    

While you cared for someone dying, you may have had support from a hospice volunteer who also experienced a loss and now in your bereavement, you are able to volunteer with others who are in hospice care, both patients and their loved ones.

Separation

Your absence has gone through me

Like thread through a needle.

Everything I do is stitched with its color.

By W. S. Merwin (1993)

For the loved ones of a hospice patient, the first thirteen months AtD are spent in counseling with a social worker and in support groups with others newly bereft. After that grief work, learning to live through all the anniversaries and seasons, you (the bereaved) may become a hospice volunteer. Your experience is critical to learning and application of the volunteer training, which emphasizes listening skills and providing small acts of comfort like meal preparation and hand massages. You already know much of the work, but will approach it in a novel way. 

Stitched with the colors of shared loss

During training, you will learn from experienced hospice volunteers and social workers. Sharing personal stories, asking questions, and reflecting on differences and similarities will help you grieve in a healthy way while learning how to be of assistance to others. This critical reflection and social context are key factors in the transformational learning process, which can create changes not only in the individual, but at a community level. People who are bereft can serve and connect at another bedside, taking your experience and using it to grow and help others. As volunteers, you gain insight into your own and others’ lives.

Whether this is for you right now, someone you know, or for the future, remember the possibilities in transformational learning. Rather than being stuck at gutted: 

• Love. Love well for as long as possible. 

• Let the loss happen with courage, presence, and hospice, when possible.

• Cry. Be sad. Lose your sense of reference. 

• Do the grief work. The only way is through. Question everything you thought BtD.

• Connect with others. Share your experience, fears, and new sight with others grieving. 

• Consider all your new roles, relationships, and opportunities. Love in a new way.

• Volunteer with a hospice and go back to the bedside of another person who is dying. 

• Be open to changing and sharing, again and again. Learn skills in your new role.

• Be confident in your gained knowledge and relationships.  

• Keep living and adapting what you learn into the chapters of your life. 

To learn more, reach out to a hospice near you through the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

References

Bereave (v.). Etymology. (n.d.). Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/bereave#etymonline_v_11054 

Boney, E. (2018, December 19). Fostering a Culture of Transformative Learning Through Informational Learning Experiences. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/transformative-learning-informal-learning-experiences-fostering-culture 

Diamond, H., Llewelyn, S., Relf, M., & Bruce, C. (2012). Helpful aspects of bereavement support for adults following an expected death: Volunteers’ and bereaved people's perspectives. Death Studies, 36(6), 541–564. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2011.553334 

Levine, J. (2014, October 11). Jack Mezirow, who transformed the field of adult learning, dies at 91. Teachers College - In Memoriam . Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2014/october/jack-mezirow-who-transformed-the-field-of-adult-learning-d/ 

Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2013). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. ProQuest Ebook Central. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Merwin, W. S. “Separation” from The Second Four Books of Poems. Copper Canyon, 1993. 

Stanford University. (n.d.). Transformative Learning Theory. Tomorrow's Professor Postings. Retrieved March 8, 2022, from https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/621