Uncertainty Management and Sensemaking as Precursors to Transformative Learning in an International Immersion Service-Learning Experience

Authors

Jan M. Larson, University of Wisconsin - Eau ClaireFollow
Martha Fay, University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireFollow

Abstract

This study is based on an international immersion service-learning/research experience in a remote village in Moldova that provided faculty and students an opportunity to teach journalism and help local students and community representatives create their own online news outlet. Students’ existing conceptions were challenged, they experienced uncertainty and struggled to make sense of both their environment and experience. These were the processes through which we observed transformative learning occur. Using a phenomenological approach, this research grounds the IISL experience in varied disciplines that reveal possible approaches to helping students manage uncertainty, make sense of their circumstances and achieve transformative learning outcomes when facing unexpected challenges beyond student experience.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Larson, Jan M. and Fay, Martha (2016) "Uncertainty Management and Sensemaking as Precursors to Transformative Learning in an International Immersion Service-Learning Experience," International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Vol. 10: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2016.100106