Monitoring Assessments toward the Development of Transformative Learning for Iraqi College Students

Abstract

 Transformational kind of learning has two basic types: instrumental and communicative. Instrumental learning focuses on learning through task-oriented problem solving and determination of cause and effect relationships. Communicative learning, on the other hand, involves how individuals communicate their feelings, needs, and desires. Both kinds of transformational learning have a little outlet in most English Departments in Iraqi universities, where students study for the sake of final exams rather than developing skills that will help them in their real life outside classrooms. The purpose of this article is to investigate the adaptation of such kind of learning in one of the courses taught at the Department of English at the College of Education/Ibn Rushd at the University of Baghdad and describe the assessment model adopted in that course. After an explanation and discussion of the course and the assessment pursued, a suggestive presentation and assessment were provided for one poem which is included in the course in question.