Written by: Pam Lau on January 25, 2023

The key to learning new concepts in any discipline is the realization that communication consists of confident competency.  It is the orientation of all effort of what we give our lives to that builds not only our knowledge, but our competency. As I listened to the TED Talk by Robert Devon as he asked the question, “Why do we have to reteach concepts?”^[1] I realized through the last three decades of teaching writing and communication to college students, It was for student’s best interests that I overcame barriers myself as the lead communicator and hopefully, a competent one. The problem I am experiencing, however, in reading Breaking Through along with Jan Meyer and Ray Land’s Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge is how the onus is placed mostly, not entirely, on student understanding.  

In 1994, I taught my first college writing class because the dean of the language arts department asked me to fill in at the last minute.  At the time, I was serving as an executive assistant and ghost writer to the college president. Never had I taken a course on how to teach.  Surprisingly, that one class turned into teaching full and part-time for the next 25 years at three different universities. Sitting in the front row seat of observing students who were initially petrified of public speaking or riddled with anxiety because of writing incompetence, is what kept me signing contracts to return: By semester’s end most students overcame their impediments.  

As Meyer and Land describe, “This ‘breaking through’ or transformation can be sudden or it may be protracted over a period of time, (even considerable periods).” ^[2] I spent hours of my teaching life witnessing student understanding, interpreting and viewing “writing and speaking portals” until they themselves embodied what they were trying to say or trying to write. I would argue, however, that I, as the lead learner or professor, had to step into my own portals with each new wave of cultural change.  What I believe the literature is missing are the pressures teachers and professors must consider and undertake in order for students to have metacognitive experiences. What are the pressures that have emerged for teachers/professors in the past three decades that cause stronger feelings of liminality: uncertainty about identity, self, purpose?

Pressure One: Developing Competence

Teaching writing and public speaking concepts in the 90s did not translate the same way in the early 2000s.   Previously if students had a question, needed clarification, or wanted help on an assignment, they would raise their hand in class or stay after class to talk. Something strange occurred when I went back to the classroom after a two-year sabbatical (I had three babies in three years); as soon as class was over, I would return to my office only to find 5-7 student emails asking me clarifying questions or help on an assignment. You see, by 2003, everyone of my students had email. As a young professor, knowing the dimensions of competence was an important first step for me in developing competence.  After all, I spent many years explicitly and implicitly learning how to teach communications. For example, I was explicitly competent in having face to face communication/conversations with my students.  My competence involved knowledge, motivation and skills. But suddenly being faced with electronic communication from my students caused me to question my own tacit knowledge. I felt uncertain about how to teach the concepts I knew so well through a computer conversation. My students were not responsible for my sudden feelings of incompetence–it was an area where I had deficiencies and it took me considerable effort and admitting I didn’t know what I didn’t know (see next point).  In fairness to Land and Meyer, they purport: “social science researchers must extend their methodological thinking beyond mimicry and bring their own voice to a unique inquiry” (157). And so must the professor and teacher.

Pressure Two: Understanding Unconscious Incompetence

Just when I thought I was becoming consciously competent in the classroom and in emails, 2008-2012 produced FaceBook and the iphone. My students had information at their fingertips; information I did not have (yet).  Before I could even build up a rich teaching class experience for my students again, I found myself unconsciously incompetent–meaning that I wasn’t even aware that I was communicating in anything but a competent manner.  In chapter four, “Metacognition, Affect and Conceptual Difficulty,” metacognitive experiences are the “interface between the person and the task. They monitor the person’s response to the task at hand, the fluency of cognitive processing, and the extent to which the goal set has been accomplished.”^[3] 

The way I read this is that I will have good feelings even if a task is difficult when there’s familiarity and knowing. If I can correct my thoughts because I have the good judgment to do so, I will feel confident.  Here’s where I find my second problem with the text.  When I faced a threshold concept as high intrinsic load (The world of information technology), my skills had to increase quickly so that I could advance in my communication competency.  Excellent teachers, communicators, pastors, writers, academics and artists don’t always have the bandwidth or the luxury to have liminal space. My breaking through had to happen suddenly. In fact, IT and my students were fully present helping me in that liminal space.

Pressure Three: Becoming Consciously Competent

Paul writes to the Corinthians, “I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.”^[4] Paul’s willingness to know the One thing that mattered made him consciously competent–communicating well in the moment. A final pressure I experienced as a professor during the last decade was when students cared more about how the group would perceive them than admitting a concept was difficult to understand. Without student entry into liminal spaces through inductive and deductive reasoning, I felt the burden of their individual “portals” multiply.  Something had to give.  I unleashed my own relentless curiosity in the classroom until the questions were safely spoken again.  

Why do we need to reteach concepts to students?  Perhaps it’s not just for the student. “Doctoral candidates reported that “liminality was often hidden from discussion” (158).Considering where the culture has landed, one way I can progress toward communication competence is to become a more mindful communicator–actively and fluidly processing information, becoming more sensitive to communication contexts, and able to adapt to difficult situations.  

About the Author

Pam Lau

Pamela Havey Lau brings more than 25 years of experience in speaking, teaching, writing and mediating. She has led a variety of groups, both small and large, in seminars, trainings, conferences and teachings. Pam’s passion is to see each person communicate with their most authentic voice with a transparent faith in Jesus Christ. With more than 10, 000 hours of writing, researching, and teaching the heart and soul of Pam’s calling comes from decades of walking alongside those who have experienced healing through pain and peace through conflict. As a professor and author, Pam deeply understands the role of mentoring and building bridges from one generation to another. She has developed a wisdom in how to connect leaders with their teams. Her skill in facilitating conversations extends across differences in families, businesses, schools, universities, and nonprofits. Pam specializes in simplifying complex issues and as a business owner, has helped numerous CEOs and leaders communicate effectively. She is the author of Soul Strength (Random House) and A Friend in Me (David C. Cook) and is a frequent contributor to online and print publications. You can hear Pam’s podcast on Real Life with Pamela Lau on itunes. Currently, Pam is a mediator for families, churches, and nonprofits. You can contact Pam through her website: PamelaLau.com. Brad and Pam live in Newberg, Oregon; they have three adult daughters and one son-in-law. One small, vocal dog, Cali lives in the family home where she tries to be the boss! As a family they enjoy worshiping God, tennis, good food and spending time with family and friends.

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4 responses to “Why Reteaching Concepts Helps Me Communicate Competently”

1. Esther Edwards says:

   January 28, 2023 at 2:03 am

   As I think about the statement “Doctoral candidates reported that “liminality was often hidden from discussion”, I transfer my thinking to the congregant in the pew. As a pastor, and more recent coach and coach trainer, all world’s are colliding and bringing much clarity into seeing the need for greater communication competence, not only for instructors, but for leaders and people in the pew that desire and are called to disciple others. Culture HAS landed differently in how it asks to be addressed. The sacred space of processing those “inbetwext and inbetweet” times of new threshold learnings , whether on the fly or over a period of time, are crucial. I ask these quesions:
   1. “How do I deepen my own communication competence for greater effectiveness in ministry?”
   2. “How can the liminal space be entrenched with the Holy Spirit so that He guides into the new thresholds with His protection, wisdom, and grace?”

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2. Pam Lau says:

   January 28, 2023 at 4:04 pm

   Esther,
   Good questions for all of us. I welcome others’ responses here as I believe it’s one reason many of us felt led back into doctoral work.
   1. “How do I deepen my own communication competence for greater effectiveness in ministry?”
   Here’s my attempt at a response to your first question. Last year, I was mentoring a woman who was struggling with her daughter’s choices and therefore her faith. I recommended a specific counselor who in our community not knowing the counselor’s stand on Scripture. After a few sessions with the therapist, the woman came back to me feeling discouraged and belittled for opening up to the Christian counselor who berated her for her feelings toward her daughter’s choices. In fact, the counselor went as far as accusing her of having wrong beliefs. As I listened, I thought, “Oh no! Here we go not understanding the complexities of our own sub-Christian cultures.” As Meyer and Land point out, “It seems that the more ignorant or unskilled one is in a domain, the more unaware one is of the conceptual processing of the demands (“Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding”). Reflecting on this, I am working harder at deepening my own communication competence by not assuming others who are similar to me hold my same views of Scripture.

   I love this next question! It’s one I have been pondering for more than a year. Would others like to respond?

   2. “How can the liminal space be entrenched with the Holy Spirit so that He guides into the new thresholds with His protection, wisdom, and grace?”

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3. Mathieu Yuill says:

   January 29, 2023 at 9:25 pm

   Wow – so interesting. Okay so I am hiring someone new for our team and one of the competencies I need is for the person to be good at learning new technology. Mostly software but they need to be comfortable learning it. Chances are, because this is software a particular client designed to help them manage their membership, all applicants will not have actually used this software before.

   So what I found interesting about your post is I think you are an excellent communicator. You are also (seemingly) comfortable with social media and using the Internet on your smart phone. I was surprised you have found keeping up with changing communication styles as a teacher difficult. I would not have expected that. But thank you for being so vulnerable.

   Okay, so in light of this, I have a question: What steps could one take to overcome the feeling of unconscious incompetence when technology advanced and changes the way one communicates with students in the classroom

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4. Pam Lau says:

   January 30, 2023 at 11:17 am

   Matthieu~
   Thank you for reading the post! The point I was hoping to make was that at times, I didn’t have the luxury to stay too long in that liminal space because technology changed at a rapid rate. I am comfortable with social media and what it takes to stay involved but I honestly do not like the feeling of being behind. Perhaps that was what I meant by being “consciously incompetent.”
   To answer your question, I would say a person has to be honest, ask for help right away, and maybe even hire someone. I chose to learn it so I could do it my own time. The only way forward is to learn what you don’t know. Working with young people has shown me that you cannot fake it.

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