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.
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