No abstract

This essay explores the relationship between communication pedagogy, notions of change, and assessment. The authors draw on our teaching experiences and student writings in electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) collected during a 2-year research project on the scholarship of teaching and learning in communication. Our research contributes a framework for understanding transformative learning comprised of four communicative capabilities-emotional discernment, openness, dialogue, and reflection-that emerged both from existing literature and from analysis of student e-portfolios. The authors advance a new conceptualization of communication terms to enhance educators' thinking, teaching, and assessment of transformation in the classroom. The authors argue for a more robust and meaningful approach to counting change-a vision urgently needed in the current climate of institutional assessment.