eCampus describes threshold concepts as “essential concepts in the discipline that must be understood in order to achieve mastery but are extremely challenging because once you fully understand them it is almost impossible to conceive of the topic without them (Mastery – Teacher for Learning Module). I have been tasked with extending my thinking on threshold concepts to determine what they are in my discipline.
Luckily, I have thought about this in the past; when I was working toward the University Teaching Certificate at the CTL-University of Windsor, I took a course called Course Design, where we put together a course in our discipline and as such, we thought through just about everything.
Full Disclosure: I regret that I did not finish the requirements for the certificate; a union strike, unwieldy teaching responsibilities, and life all got in my way — something I truly regret not finishing. But, I digress ….
There are a couple of threshold concepts in the field of writing/composition. The most obvious one, in my opinion, is the writing process; once embraced, it becomes just like driving a car, to borrow eCampus’s analogy — it becomes a series of rote actions, where we don’t think about what to do next … it just becomes habit of mind. Another threshold concept is the principles of rhetoric; I always tell students: once you know about the principles of rhetoric, you cannot un-know them, and once you know them, they will change the way you see the world of communication.
For this assignment, I have chosen to extend my thinking on the idea of writing as an act of choice. I had forgotten about this notion until I got out my old notes on threshold concepts in writing/composition.
Using the work I completed a few years ago, I have created a table to summarize the elements of threshold concepts (Meyer & Land, 2003), in relation to the idea of writing as an act of choice.
| Threshold Concept (Definitions quoted from Potter, 2013) | Writing as an Act of Choice – thinking this through |
|---|---|
| Transformative: Once understood, threshold concepts change the way students view, not only a particular discipline, but the broader world. The transformation can be sudden or gradual. | Understanding writing as an exercise in choice is freeing because it gives students a feeling of control over their writing. I think most students approach a writing project by looking for the correct information to include, as though there is only one right answer. Before I began studying, I always thought that the words on a page just flowed from the author in some sort of genius moment; when I learned about the work put into really good writing, my world shifted a little. In fact, I sort of felt cheated and disappointed. Understanding that there were conscious decisions made about what to include in a piece of writing, how to arrange the piece of writing, what to discard, and the type of language to use changes the way you understand what you’re reading as well as the way you approach your writing assignments or tasks. To expand on this, I hope that by coming to understand this concept, students will come to understand their role in writing – that they have a role and it’s up to them to determine how the piece of writing will read. This may be absolutely terrifying to them, or as previously mentioned, it may be empowering. As they see how their choices impact on their school work, perhaps students will come to understand their agency over learning; their success or failure in their course work (in life?) is determined by their choices, their decisions. Woah, things are gettin’ serious. |
| Troublesome: Threshold concepts are likely to be experienced as alien, incoherent, or counter-intuitive. Students may find them emotionally difficult – disturbing, upsetting, or anxiety-inducing. | This is tricky and complicated. Originally, when I wrote about this characteristic of threshold concepts, my thoughts went to the idea that students are taught/prompted to use standard formatting for essays, like the 5-paragraph essay. The troublesome part is wrapped up in their goal of getting it done properly and if there are choices to be made, then, they might not get it right. Now, after some more teaching experience, my thoughts move toward students being unprepared to make decisions. I think, in high school, they were told what to do – find one statistic to support your idea; include one image with your assignment; create a presentation, a report, a slideshow, a reflection. Maybe they are not equipped to make reasoned choices, with respect to writing/communication assignments. |
| Irreversible: They are difficult or impossible to unlearn. Once that door has been opened and one was walked through, one’s former way of understanding the world has vanished. | This is especially evident when reading others’ pieces of writing. Personally, I constantly ask myself why a writer would include a certain piece of information, and I’m obsessed with arrangement and fascinated with the choices (professional) writers make in this regard. Perhaps my way into this area is to ask students to read a professional piece of writing and then, analyze why certain pieces of information were included and what could be added … AND WHY. I was just thinking that one way to know a student has fully embraced the idea of writing as an act of choice when they push back on the constraints of a writing assignment. For example, I would love if a student challenged having to complete a piece of writing when a video or an info graphic make more sense to them/their topic. |
| Integrative: Threshold concepts, once learned, are likely to bring together different aspects of the subject that previously did not appear, to the student, to be related. Information that once seemed disconnected is now united. | Once understood, choice affects many aspects of good writing. Students will begin to ask themselves what would be the result if … , rather than trying to figure how to include/do it. Writing Teachers, haven’t you had students complain that they can’t figure out where to put X piece-of-information in their report? When you read something and become confused, it’s probably because there is information included that does not belong in that location. |
| Discursive: Crossing a threshold permits an enhanced and extended use of language. That is, students become able to talk about things they could not talk about before, or in ways they could not previously talk about them. | Once the threshold is crossed, students will discuss their projects in terms of the choices they made and why they made them. They will be able to explain why they included a piece of information or why they did not; they will be able to discuss how the flow of information was arranged and why. As writers they will be able to explain why all the parts in their piece of writing make sense – the title, the introduction, the conclusion, the rhetorical appeal used for their audience. |
| Bounded: Threshold concepts can determine the boundaries of a discipline. (Emphasis is mine.) | I am not sure about this one, to be honest. When given a topic to write on, no two person’s essays should be exactly the same; some ideas might be the same but they will be expressed in slightly different ways. For example, if I asked a class to write about cupcakes, every student will probably mention the shape, the option of using cupcake liners or not, the potential flavours, and that they are decorated. But the expression of these ideas will be unique to each writer. There is no (agreed-upon) right way to write; there are formatting standards but if fully engaged with, each students’ own ideas, research path, experiences, and creativity will determine the final product and the best way to communicate their ideas. In other disciplines, the writing is more structured. I am not sure that choice is something that distinguishes the boundary of writing as a discipline. Choice is used within many industries, in many different ways. |
| Reconstitutive: The transformed understanding (and resultant changes in behaviour) that follows the comprehension of a threshold concept gradually changes how others see you. | Once one begins to exercise choice in their writing, I suspect their communications will become clearer. Students who take ownership of their writing by thinking about what they are trying to convey and make the key decisions about how/what to communicate will be effective and the ideas will be easy to understand. This will result in others’ seeing them as effective communicators; and sometimes, when this happens, it creates a good reputation and others’ enjoy working with you. |
| Liminal: Threshold concepts are not simply learned one day. They are mastered over time in different ways, returned to, struggled with, discussed back and forth – potentially for the rest of one’s life. They are often not “settled” in their disciplines, but rather ongoing objects of inquiry and debate. | Choice is infinite, isn’t it? Perhaps the challenge is know when to use it and how to use it with purpose – this is where the ongoing discussion can happen. |
Final thought: Threshold concepts are, in fact, a threshold concept in course design strategies.
Meyer, J. & Land, R. (2003). “Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practicing within the disciplines.” Occasional Report 4, Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses. Retrieved from http://www.etl.tla.ed.ac.uk/docs/ETLreport4.pdf
Potter, M. K. (2014, Winter edition). Course design for constructive alignment. Centre for Teaching & Learning, University of Windsor.
This post was written as part of the eCampus Extend Module: Teacher for Learning.
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