threshold concepts and professional formation

Threshold Concepts and Threshold Concepts and Professional FormationProfessional Formation

James AthertonJames Atherton(at the University of Lincoln)(at the University of Lincoln)

15 November 201115 November 2011

(This is the Lion Gate at Mycenae, through which Agamemnon

may have passed on his way to Troy. 1300 BCE)

Ways of thinking

and practising

The presentation looks at these diffuse but

important features of professional disciplines

Ways of thinking

and practising

The presentation looks at these diffuse but

important features of professional disciplines

Or “WTP”

Ways of thinking

and practising

A major issue in vocational/ professional

education

Ways of thinking

and practising


education

Consider what light threshold concepts can

throw on them

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them

...and implications for curriculum and

pedagogy

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them


pedagogy

Didn’t get to do much on this in the session—I’ll write

about it

10

If this vague and indistinctly bounded shape represents the

WTP of a professional...

11

Political

Background

Legal

AspectsResearchmethods

Ethics

Other contributory

skills

Philosophies / models ofPractice

Discipline-SpecificTheory

ProfessionalStudies

Practiceskills

Technology

Values

12

Political

Background

Legal


Ethics

Other contributory

skills



ProfessionalStudies

Practiceskills

Technology

Values

...all these neat little boxes represent our efforts to

devise organised courses to “cover” the formal

knowledge, skills and WTP

13

Political

Background

Legal


Ethics

Other contributory

skills



ProfessionalStudies

Practiceskills

Technology

Values

But there are always bits of the WTP the formal curriculum

cannot reach

“He’ll pass the assessments and get his degree, but he’ll never think like an engineer.”

“He’ll pass the assessments and get his degree, but he’ll never think like an engineer.”

As a former engineering lecturer

colleague put it of one of his students.

Situated Learning (a.k.a. “sitting next to Nellie”)

Initial interactionis with othernew entrants

Progress isbeing allowedto take on morekey, or risky, tasks

The boundaryis constantly

moving



Note: Lave & Wenger explicitly reject this kind of depiction of their model


moving

Situated Learning (a.k.a. “sitting next to Nellie”)




moving



Note: Lave & Wenger explicitly reject this kind of depiction of their model


moving

We could (and do) rely on the “community of practice” to teach this

for us, and back off from it.

Based on Wenger E (1998) Communities of Practice Cambridge; CUP p. 63

Participation

Reification

meaning

worldexperience

negotiation

living in the worldmembershipacting

interacting

mutuality

forms

points of focus

documentsmonuments

instrumentsprojection


Participation

Reification

meaning

worldexperience

negotiation


interacting

mutuality

forms

points of focus

documentsmonuments


So the learning comes from the workplace

and the existing practitioners


Participation

Reification

meaning

worldexperience

negotiation


interacting

mutuality

forms

points of focus

documentsmonuments


So the learning comes from the workplace

and the existing practitioners

But there is the problem that in the real world, not all practice is

best practice...

Rite of Passage

Initial Status Initiation

Marginal (Liminal) Status

ReturnNew Status

Time

Rite of Passage

Initial Status Initiation

Marginal (Liminal) Status

ReturnNew Status

Time

Whatever the mechanism, the acquisition of a

professional identity entails a period of liminality

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them

So this is where TCs come in.

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them

So this is where TCs come in.

And also where the ideas become more personal/original/

speculative/ dubious/wrong!

• "A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal,

• opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something.

• It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something

• without which the learner cannot progress."

(Meyer and Land, 2006:3)

• "A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal,

• opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something.

• It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something

• without which the learner cannot progress."

(Meyer and Land, 2006:3)

This is the closest we have to a definition

of TCs so far

Hence all the pictures of gates,

doors, arches, etc.

Hence all the pictures of gates,

doors, arches, etc.

But a colleague from (I think) the University of Prince Edward Island

suggested this is the best image. The TARDIS is

bigger on the inside than the outside!

Answer

Facts

Convergent thinking- STEM (?)

Answer

Facts


For present purposes it is convenient to adopt Hudson’s distinction

between “convergent” and “divergent” thinking

Answer

Facts


For present purposes it is convenient to adopt Hudson’s distinction

between “convergent” and “divergent” thinking

On the whole, convergent or “harder” disciplines unfold in a more linear

manner than “softer” ones, so it is easier to find their

threshold concepts

Subject

learning outcomes

1

2

8

7

11

9

106

5

3

4

learning outcomes 2, 3, 7 and 9 are

threshold concepts

Subject

learning outcomes

1

2

8

7

11

9

106

5

3

4

learning outcomes 2, 3, 7 and 9 are

threshold concepts

Asked to operationalise TCs in their discipline, a group of engineers had no trouble coming up

with this.

Answer

Facts

Stimulus

Idea


Divergent thinking- arts and humanities(?)

Answer

Facts

Stimulus

Idea



In softer and more divergent disciplines, however, the routes

are less prescribed and clear

Answer

Facts

Stimulus

Idea



In softer and more divergent disciplines, however, the routes

are less prescribed and clear

There may be several routes and indeed several equally

valid destinations

Threshold concepts have both epistemological andontological elements

Threshold concepts have both epistemological andontological elements

On the whole these are more prominent in convergent and

harder disciplines, characterised by their

technical nature...

...while these more personal aspects are more prominent

in softer disciplines, and characterised by their

normative nature

Time

Kno

wle

dge/

ski

ll et

c.

Time

Kno

wle

dge/

ski

ll et

c.This is a stylised

“learning curve”, a fantasy of

incremental progress

Time

Kno

wle

dge/

ski

ll et




...and this is the more realistic curve

associated with learning a threshold

concept

Time

Kno

wle

dge/

ski

ll et




...and this is the more realistic curve

associated with learning a threshold

concept

in particular, this is the

Liminal Trough

Reversing the normal order of discussion, TCs are frequently

“troublesome”, counter-intuitive and potentially

disturbing

• “Wood is made out of thin air and sunlight? Get real!”


Photosynthesis? You won’t get far in biology without it.


• “Price has nothing to do with the cost of production? Rubbish!”



If you can’t get this, you are at a

dead end in economics



• “So you are saying that the fact that someone’s legs don’t work is not a disability? Come on!”



• “So you are saying that the fact that someone’s legs don’t work is not a disability? Come on!”A little more problematic; but the

argument is that not having working legs is an impairment: it is the fact that

the environment is designed for people who can walk which is

disabling.



• “So you are saying that the fact that someone’s legs don’t work is not a disability? Come on!”

A little more problematic; but the argument is that not having working legs

is an impairment: it is the fact that the environment is designed for people who

can walk which is disables those who can’t.

And many disabled people and workers in the field argue that

accepting this social (rather than medical) model is essential for

understanding and effective practice.

(We’ll return to this later)

Keep your eye on the ball.


Not all TCs are like that. Some are simple

but no less critical


Not all TCs are like that. Some are simple

but no less critical

And not all of them are “concepts”. This is a threshold skill for all ball games (as well

as being a metaphorical principle for many other

activities)

“Well, that was a waste of time. I could have been doing something/anything else more productively”

(Overheard after a course Study Day)

“Well, that was a waste of time. I could have been doing something/anything else more productively”

(Overheard after a course Study Day)

And some of them do not have to be taught; this student

grasps the concept of “opportunity cost” (a TC in

economics) with no difficulty

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them

And some other issues thrown up by

treating ideas as “threshold”...

Three possible forms which “threshold experiences” may

take.

Concepts

PerspectivesSkills

Three possible forms which “threshold experiences” may

take.

Concepts

PerspectivesSkills

Note that “threshold experiences” has been adopted by Perkins (2010) but he does not talk about “skills” or

“perspectives”

Always use a hand basin provided exclusively for washing hands

Use comfortably hot water. Rub your hands vigorously to work in the soap

Don’t forget the areas in between your fingers and around your wrists

Rinse your handsbefore drying them

Wash your hands properly






When a group of catering teachers came up with this as a TC, we thought they’d missed

the point...







the point...

...but they weren’t just talking about

“healthandsafety”; taking hand-washing

seriously betokened...







the point...

...but they weren’t just talking about

“healthandsafety”; taking hand-washing

seriously betokened...

...an ontological shift for their students; they saw

themselves as professionals held to a

higher standard than the general public.

“Patriarchy is a threshold concept in women’s studies—a significant, defining concept that transforms students’ understanding of the discipline. This article reviews our design, implementation, and findings of a lesson study crafted to teach women’s studies students the complex idea of patriarchy as a social system.”

Hassel H, Reddinger A, Van Slooten J (2011) “Surfacing the Structures of Patriarchy: Teaching and Learning Threshold Concepts in Women’s Studies” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Vol. 5, No. 2 (on-line, retrieved from http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n2/articles/Hassel_et_al/index.html 14 Nov 2011)

http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n2/articles/Hassel_et_al/index.html

“Patriarchy is a threshold concept in women’s studies—a significant, defining concept that transforms students’ understanding of the discipline. This article reviews our design, implementation, and findings of a lesson study crafted to teach women’s studies students the complex idea of patriarchy as a social system.”

Hassel H, Reddinger A, Van Slooten J (2011) “Surfacing the Structures of Patriarchy: Teaching and Learning Threshold Concepts in Women’s Studies” International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Vol. 5, No. 2 (on-line, retrieved from http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n2/articles/Hassel_et_al/index.html 14 Nov 2011)This example raises the contestable issue of

a required belief as a threshold idea (note that this is separate from the question of the

validity of the idea)

http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v5n2/articles/Hassel_et_al/index.html

A student whoexceeds expectations

A student who meetsexpectations

A student who fails to meet expectations

Can explain and providespecific examples of thevalues of patriarchy asevident in multipleartefacts of popularculture.

Can recognize and provide aspecific example of the values of patriarchy as evident in one or more artefacts of popular culture.

Does not recognize thevalues of patriarchy asevident in artefacts ofpopular culture.

A student whoexceeds expectations

A student who meetsexpectations

A student who fails to meet expectations

Can explain and providespecific examples of thevalues of patriarchy asevident in multipleartefacts of popularculture.

Can recognize and provide aspecific example of the values of patriarchy as evident in one or more artefacts of popular culture.

Does not recognize thevalues of patriarchy asevident in artefacts ofpopular culture.

These are the assessment rubrics for the course; note the centrality of the concept of patriarchy for differentiation. The more you see of it the better

you pass. The concept is a given.

“[how] my students become “stuck” and hopefully “unstuck” with the threshold concept of Whiteness and its very real implications for their work with urban children and youth. [...] the theorizing and making sense of Whiteness as a structural force that has the great potential to hinder and stall White urban teachers’ work with their students and perpetuate passive racism (Marx, 2006).

“College students from a variety of [...] backgrounds come to college campuses having been socialized into the national rhetoric of a “colorblind American Dream,” in which everyone has the same chance to achieve, and racism is restricted to individual acts of bigotry. As such, the threshold concept of racism as a system of advantage based on race is often something students struggle to understand and with which they are initially uncomfortable. Some students remain highly resistant, and struggle with later concepts that build upon this understanding. In this study, I want to measure how and when student thinking about racism shifts over the fifteen weeks of the semester during which they are enrolled in my class.

“[how] my students become “stuck” and hopefully “unstuck” with the threshold concept of Whiteness and its very real implications for their work with urban children and youth. [...] the theorizing and making sense of Whiteness as a structural force that has the great potential to hinder and stall White urban teachers’ work with their students and perpetuate passive racism (Marx, 2006).

“College students from a variety of [...] backgrounds come to college campuses having been socialized into the national rhetoric of a “colorblind American Dream,” in which everyone has the same chance to achieve, and racism is restricted to individual acts of bigotry. As such, the threshold concept of racism as a system of advantage based on race is often something students struggle to understand and with which they are initially uncomfortable. Some students remain highly resistant, and struggle with later concepts that build upon this understanding. In this study, I want to measure how and when student thinking about racism shifts over the fifteen weeks of the semester during which they are enrolled in my class. Same here...

“Awareness of the concept that 'energy' exists.

Methods that I have used to bring about this awareness include encouraging students to sense each others' energy field, forming Reiki energy balls and working on seeing auras.”

Cert Ed student 2007



Cert Ed student 2007And this one is fascinating;

because whereas one might see the previous two examples as

requiring acceptance of an imposed but contestable

perspective...






perspective......it is possible to see the concept itself as

utter rubbish, and yet still see how it is essential as a TC






perspective......it is possible to see the concept itself as

utter rubbish, and yet still see how it is essential as a TC We might call it a

threshold myth.

Plato; Republic Book lllCitizens, we shall say to them in our tale, you are brothers, yet

God has framed you differently. Some of you have the power of command, and in the composition of these he has mingled gold, wherefore also they have the greatest honour; others he has made of silver, to be auxiliaries; others again who are to be husbandmen and craftsmen he has composed of brass and iron; and the species will generally be preserved in the children. But as all are of the same original stock, a golden parent will sometimes have a silver son, or a silver parent a golden son. [...]

Such is the tale; is there any possibility of making our citizens believe in it?

Not in the present generation, he replied; there is no way of accomplishing this; but their sons may be made to believe in the tale, and their sons' sons, and posterity after them.

Plato; Republic Book lllCitizens, we shall say to them in our tale, you are brothers, yet

God has framed you differently. Some of you have the power of command, and in the composition of these he has mingled gold, wherefore also they have the greatest honour; others he has made of silver, to be auxiliaries; others again who are to be husbandmen and craftsmen he has composed of brass and iron; and the species will generally be preserved in the children. But as all are of the same original stock, a golden parent will sometimes have a silver son, or a silver parent a golden son. [...]

Such is the tale; is there any possibility of making our citizens believe in it?

Not in the present generation, he replied; there is no way of accomplishing this; but their sons may be made to believe in the tale, and their sons' sons, and posterity after them.

... And those have been around for

thousands of years

Ways of thinking

and practising


education


throw on them


pedagogy

This is the part I didn’t really get round to talking about, but in which some of your questions suggested interest, because it does get to the heart of the

matter.

“The idea of threshold concepts carries an important pedagogical message:

where we can find likely threshold concepts, we would do well to organise learning around them …

[T]here is a cost, … but one generally worth paying. Threshold concepts are likely to be troublesome… Their reorganising power brings with it an

unfamiliarity that sometimes proves acute and off-putting.

You can’t re-balance the boat without rocking it.”Perkins D (2008) “Beyond Understanding” in R Land, J Meyer and J Smith (eds.)

Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Rotterdam; Sense Publishers, 2008 p. 13

“The idea of threshold concepts carries an important pedagogical message:

where we can find likely threshold concepts, we would do well to organise learning around them …

[T]here is a cost, … but one generally worth paying. Threshold concepts are likely to be troublesome… Their reorganising power brings with it an

unfamiliarity that sometimes proves acute and off-putting.

You can’t re-balance the boat without rocking it.”Perkins D (2008) “Beyond Understanding” in R Land, J Meyer and J Smith (eds.)

Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Rotterdam; Sense Publishers, 2008 p. 13David Perkins puts his finger on the

issue.

In the current “quality” obsessed HE culture, and even more in the future with a consumerist

mentality among students, it is going to be more difficult to tolerate (let alone promote),

the uncertainty which goes with liminality.

http://www.doceo.co.uk/lincoln/

threshold concepts and professional formation

Education

professional identity

major issue

light threshold concepts

best practice

world membership

community of practice

new entrants progress

world experience negotiation