Disorienting Dilemma
Disorienting dilemma and transformative learning are kindred terms coined by education scholar Jack Mezirow. Both refer to learning experiences in which the student’s perspective is transformed as a result of a confrontation with new or unfamiliar kinds of power, authority, or reality. Such an experience provokes or inspires the student to challenge preconceived notions, such as racial stereotypes, and can lead to a more sensitive or sophisticated level of understanding.
           A related concept that may be more familiar to some readers is cognitive dissonance, a condition of discomfort or tension that results when an individual perceives that her conception of the world is being challenged. This tension can stimulate someone to re-frame reality or imagine new possibilities. Although Palloff and Pratt do not discuss the theoretical relationship between cognitive dissonance and the disorienting dilemma, it may be useful to view the disorienting dilemma as a potential context of cognitive dissonance. Educational theorists cite both as potential sources of perspective transformation.