Collaborative Inquiry as a Framework for Exploring Transformative Learning Online

Abstract

Seven adult students in a full-time, online master's degree program in human and organizational transformation at the California Institute of Integral Studies explored the question, “What transformative learning is occurring in my life right now that this online program has stimulated or supported?” A core focus of the program was transformative learning, a process that assists in widening frames of reference and transforming worldviews. Although initially choosing cooperative inquiry as the research methodology, what ultimately emerged was a multidimensional peer inquiry experience more closely fitting the definition of collaborative inquiry that drew heavily on cooperative inquiry and extended epistemology. The students engaged their inquiry question in four action and reflection cycles over 3 months, identifying key individual and group capacities and dynamics that were deep, connected, and transformative.