Transformative Learning
Experiencing Perspective Shift

How can education open the door to meaningful transformation? In today’s world we are repeatedly confronted with challenges that call on us to rethink what we believe we know and how we act. This workshop invites teacher education students of all school types as well as lecturers to explore what it means to experience transformative learning and to reflect on the conditions that make such change possible. Together we will imagine how educational environments can be re-envisioned to nurture transformation as an ongoing process, equipping learners to respond creatively and responsibly to an unpredictable future. We will explore how questioning assumptions, engaging in critical dialogue, and encountering new perspectives can open possibilities for growth at a time when the world faces rapid social, technological, and ecological change. 

This workshop is highly participatory and designed as a shared journey of discovery rather than a lecture. Through structured activities, collective reflection, and open discussion, participants will have the chance to examine their own learning journeys in the light of current global challenges and to reflect on moments that have shifted their ways of thinking.

About Eunice Chiu

Dr phil Eunice Yin Yung Chiu completed her doctorate in Education at Heidelberg University in 2025, with a dissertation on teachers’ emotional experiences and transformative learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research focuses on the intersections of phenomenology, emotional reflexivity, and educational transformation. She has previously worked on research projects at universities in Hong Kong and Germany, and has taught and designed courses on transformative learning. She began her academic career studying cultural anthropology, archaeology and policy studies. Her most recent publications and conference contributions address the role of emotions in learning, teaching, and social change.

Further information and registration

The workshop will be held in English. Teacher education students of all school types as well as lecturers are warmly invited to participate. Please register with Eunice Chiu by 3^rd February, 2026.

The workshop is financed by quality assurance funds from the teacher training working group (AK Lehramt) at Heidelberg University.