Macon, Celie, Patricia and Me: Deepening Understanding of Transformative Learning through the Lives of Fictional Characters and Dialogue

This article offers a reflective analysis on how the author came to a deeper understanding of transformative learning while collaborating on a research project with Patricia Cranton from 2012-2014, resulting in A Novel Idea: Researching Transformative Learning in Fiction, published by Sense Publishers in 2015. They read six contemporary novels and then analyzed the transformative experiences of the main characters. They created imagined dialogues between the characters to explore emergent themes from the research. They further explored the themes through dialogues between the two of them. Through her work and relationship with Patricia Cranton, Randee had the opportunity to explore new and exciting ways to understand transformative learning and to contribute to the development of theory. This writing is her tribute to Patricia.