By: Christy on January 23, 2024
Threshold concepts (as described by Meyer and Land in Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding)[1] are often studied by educators [2], however, the impact extends far beyond the scope of academia into most domains of life. Reflecting on my own experiences, I realized how threshold concepts played a pivotal role in reshaping my worldview, challenging preconceived…
By: Graham English on January 23, 2024
As a child, I was told by several teachers and other adults that, “Curiosity killed the cat.” Memorize. Practice. Regurgitate when tested. Asking questions meant that you were not grasping the subject, or worse stupid. So, I kept quiet. This was drilled into me as a child and a mindset I carried with me into…
By: Debbie Owen on January 23, 2024
I vaguely remember being in the choir room at the church where I grew up in northern NJ. The folding chairs were on risers where the choir members sat and rehearsed on Sunday mornings, including my parents. I remember peering cautiously beneath the risers, wondering if I could hide underneath them. I must have been…
By: Adam Cheney on January 23, 2024
I’ll be honest. The idea this week regarding threshold concepts was itself a threshold for me. It took me a while to wrap my head around the concepts of thresholds and liminality presented. Yet, when I made the idea a bit more abstract and took it away from the educational examples that were given, I…
By: Glyn Barrett on January 23, 2024
I enjoyed the overarching theme of the book Threshold Concepts, which revolves around transformative, integrative, and irreversible concepts that, once grasped, lead to a new way of thinking within a particular discipline. Meyer and Land argue that certain concepts are gateways to deeper understanding and disciplinary expertise. The very idea that there are transformative and…
By: Shela Sullivan on January 23, 2024
When I first flipped through the pages of the book, Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge, a wave of questions inundated my mind. The initial thought that struck me was, how will I navigate through the contents of this book? Can I retain all this information? What insights am I expected…
By: Tim Clark on January 22, 2024
I’ve always felt comfortable leading. From early in my life, I could naturally envision a preferred future, could see obstacles to that future, and then rally others around overcoming challenges to accomplishing that vision. I’ve been professionally serving in some form of leadership for over 35 years, and along the way I picked up a…
By: Ryan Thorson on January 22, 2024
I found Meyers and Land’s book on Overcoming Barriers and Threshold concepts very insightful. It provided language and a framework for understanding different threshold moments in my own learning and education and how I can walk alongside others to support them in their learning and process as well. It was a good reminder that learning…
By: Jennifer Vernam on January 22, 2024
A Call to Action In my organization, we have historically been led by a Catholic order of Sisters. Just over 10 years ago, that group of They developed a booklet that we refer to as Hopes and Aspirations. Offered as a gift, it was a collection of guidance for future leaders. It is filled with…
By: Kally Elliott on January 22, 2024
The world is changing and fast. We’ve been reading about some of these changes, especially when it comes to the world of AI. In her blog post, Eve Poole writes, “Whether or not – and when – the robots will take over is a moot point.”[1] It’s happening. With the pace of my personal and…
By: Travis Vaughn on January 22, 2024
When Pulitzer-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy was asked by leaders at the Santa Fe Institute[1] to help “spruce up” their mission statement, McCarthy took what they handed him and promptly “wadded it up and pitched it in the trash.”[2] He then proceeded to develop a mission statement for SFI in a way that only he could.…
By: Jeff Styer on January 22, 2024
I picked up and began to read Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding[1] and came across the concept of “Threshold Concept”[2] I began to wonder what threshold concepts I or my department teach. I am an assistant professor of social work at a small Christian liberal arts university located in the corn fields of Central Ohio. …
By: Jennifer Eckert on January 19, 2024
When I think about shiny, rich yellow gold, the mountains of Montana come to mind, especially the Garnet Mountain range that surrounds a tiny ghost town about 18 miles outside Missoula. This once hustling and bustling late 19th-century community now sits quiet and contained, locking history inside herself. To what and whom is her legacy?…
By: Akwese on January 19, 2024
In Tom Camacho’s “Mining for Gold,” he shares his own journey of what I call leading whole, which is leading from a deep belief that who you are, as you are, is complete, whole, and lacking nothing. It sounds easy enough but unfortunately, it isn’t. Camacho talks about this challenge we face regarding believing the…
By: Jana Dluehosh on January 18, 2024
“The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo “The concept of the Divine Spark has captivated the human imagination for centuries, transcending cultural and religious boundaries to illuminate the profound essence that resides within each individual. Rooted in various spiritual traditions, philosophical teachings, and mystical experiences, the Divine Spark represents a source of divine energy or consciousness…
By: Kari on January 18, 2024
Perched on the edge of the produce stand, the red caught my eye. As I picked it up, I could smell the berries through the packaging. Strawberries, one of my favorite fruits, are rarely seen in my city in North Africa. When they are available, the quality is questionable, and the price tag is extortionate.…
By: Julie O'Hara on January 18, 2024
Tom Camacho’s Mining for Gold took me on a journey. I rode the twin rails of “Julie as a Leader” and “Julie as Human.” These rails were connected by the crossties (sleepers for our friends in the UK) of insights, a-has, and when-will-I-learns from the book. The trip included stops at Unpleasant Memories, Joyful Discoveries,…
By: Chad Warren on January 18, 2024
When I saw the cover of “Mining for Gold” by Tom Camacho, my mind raced back several years to when my wife and I binged a reality TV show called “Gold Rush,” which follows crews mining for gold in the Yukon Territory. By the end of the second season, we were experts ready to set…
By: Erica Briggs on January 18, 2024
From the title of this week’s reading, I expected to learn how to coach Kingdom leaders. Although, Camacho speaks to this, what I gleaned from Mining for Gold was much different. It affirmed my belief that I’m designed to thrive, not just survive. He confirmed that stunted growth is a result of an empty cup…
By: Scott Dickie on January 18, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a double-edged sword, a technological marvel that Eve Poole beautifully encapsulates in her insights. Let’s embark on a journey through the positives and negatives of AI, guided by Poole’s wisdom. The Positives: 1. Amplifying Human Potential: Eve Poole eloquently articulates the positive potential of AI, stating, “AI has the potential to…
