{"id":28974,"date":"2022-10-06T13:44:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T20:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28974"},"modified":"2022-10-06T13:44:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T20:44:15","slug":"learning-how-to-see-things-differently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/learning-how-to-see-things-differently\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning How to See Things Differently"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was in high school, there was a popular series of books and posters called \u201cMagic Eye.\u201d The images look like a mesh of color at first glance, but if you view them in a specific way, a three-dimensional image emerges. I remember looking at them in frustration, trying to see these images my friends swore were there. My friends tried to explain to me the trick to seeing the images, but I could not seem to grasp it. Years later, I finally was able to figure it out for the first time and it was like magic to be able to see the image contained in within the colors. Once I learned the trick, I had no problem seeing the three-dimensional image in any Magic Eye image.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Can you see the image contained in the colors? You have to look through the image in order to see it.)<\/p>\n

Learning about Threshold Concept reminded me of these images. Meyer and Rand state, \u2018A 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.\u201d[i]<\/a> I could not progress, see the Magic Eye image, until I learned how to look at the image in the right way. It was, as Meyer and Rand would describe threshold concepts, a transformative experience. I finally understood what my friends tried so hard to explain to me.<\/p>\n

One example of a threshold concept is that of \u201copportunity cost.\u201d As a Business Economics major in college, my husband studied this concept and taught it to me. I would explain this as the idea that more goes into a decision than a bare cost analysis. Understanding opportunity cost is so ingrained in our thinking, that we cannot imagine deciding without it. For example, I started a Doctor of Ministry in 2016 but withdrew after completing two classes due to my mental health. When the time came to continue my doctoral work, it made more sense to switch programs even though I am starting over. I jokingly say that I came to Portland Seminary so that I can drink. In my previous program, we signed a statement saying we would not drink alcohol. My ministry context is in the middle of wine country and Silicone Valley. I have found that to not have a glass of wine with people is prohibitive to my ministry. The opportunity cost of my previous degree program was too great for my current ministry context.<\/p>\n

In his TED Talk, Dr. Robert Coven discusses threshold concepts in education, stating that in the current education system, \u201cUnfortunately, what you\u2019ve lost is the essence of discovery.\u201d[ii]<\/a> Students do not know how<\/em> to learn, only how to answer a question. They lack the ability to see things differently. He further comments, \u201cUltimately, we have to get away from the obvious solutions and move toward the confusion. To understand ultimately that questions are more important than answers. Answers are easy, you can look them up. Questions are really hard to come by. And once you\u2019ve done that, you\u2019ve gone through the threshold.\u201d[iii]<\/a> To understand the threshold concept is then like learning to see the Magic Eye image, it is looking at something in a different way, with a new perspective.<\/p>\n

[i]<\/a> Jan F.H. Meyer and Ray Land, eds.,\u00a0Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge<\/em>. (New York, Routledge, 2006), pg. 3<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GCPYSKSFky4<\/a> at 6:28<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GCPYSKSFky4<\/a> at 17:18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was in high school, there was a popular series of books and posters called \u201cMagic Eye.\u201d The images look like a mesh of color at first glance, but if you view them in a specific way, a three-dimensional image emerges. I remember looking at them in frustration, trying to see these images my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2378,2377,1429,2376,2369],"class_list":["post-28974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-coven","tag-magic-eye","tag-meyer","tag-rand","tag-threshold-concepts","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28974"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28976,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28974\/revisions\/28976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}