{"id":29025,"date":"2022-10-08T17:55:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T00:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29025"},"modified":"2022-10-09T11:18:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T18:18:56","slug":"crossing-the-threshold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/crossing-the-threshold\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossing The Threshold"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ancient phrase <\/span>crossing the threshold<\/span><\/i> originates from a tradition in Roman mythology when grooms carried their bride across the threshold of a room after their wedding ceremony.\u00a0 Now we use this phrase to describe many kinds of transitions that occur in life.\u00a0 <\/span>In 2003, J. Meyer and R. Land published an article called \u201c<\/span>Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge.”<\/span>\u00a0In this primary source article, they applied the idea of crossing a threshold to the study of learning<\/span>. Meyer and Rand recognized that some learning concepts are particularly difficult or troublesome to comprehend. They likened these <\/span>threshold concepts <\/span><\/i>to a portal or gateway that must be accessed in order to enter into a transformational understanding in which the learner (just like someone crossing a threshold in life) cannot return to the state he or she experienced prior. These threshold concepts must be mastered before true advancement in that field of study can continue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Threshold concepts are found in a variety of fields and many case studies have since been studied to explore the best way to help students master them. However, I noticed a lack of examples in the Meyer\/Land articles in areas like human development, psychology, and spiritual studies (the areas I am focusing on in my doctoral journey). Recognizing that Meyer and Land focused on educational settings rather than real-world practice, a cursory Google search reassured me that other practitioners and leaders ARE INDEED applying threshold concept theory to my particular areas of interest, although perhaps not as widely as fields like mathematics, economics, medicine and education (which largely seemed to be the fields represented in the reading).<\/span><\/p>\n

As a way to digest and apply the idea of threshold concepts, here are initial thoughts about how the Meyer and Land framework intersects with my doctoral portfolio project areas of study: 1) Spiritual formation in females 2) Development of resilience in early-adolescent females.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Spiritual Formation, Liminality and Troublesome Language<\/b><\/h2>\n

Over my lifetime, I\u2019ve realized that spiritual formation is a journey<\/span>\u2014<\/span>a long and winding road with similar landmarks for each person, but often a different route to get there. Although I know that spiritual formation is not a formula that can be applied, I often notice myself trying to make it one. Development of discipleship models, spiritual growth models and other step-by-step guides to growing more Christ-like often seem like a good idea until one realizes that some aspects of spiritual formation are exactly like the liminality of threshold concepts, with people becoming suspended in a state of understanding that is not yet fully developed. This state of liminality, or limited understanding, often results in the learner imitating and operating in a non-authentic way because they have yet to pass through the portal of true understanding. As a spiritual director and church leader, it can be frustrating to see so many people living in this spiritually inauthentic space, knowing that they have not yet experienced the fullness of life in Christ. It\u2019s even more frustrating to come to the conclusion that for some, this liminality of spiritual development can last quite a long time. <\/span><\/p>\n

In an educational class, one can often \u201cfake it till they make it,\u201d but that attitude can be dangerous when it comes to the spiritual journey. Unfortunately, I think this is where many modern-day Christians find themselves. And even more unfortunate is the human tendency to return to this state of spiritual liminality due to sin. Like the woman in the image above, it can seem as though there is an ocean between our current position and the relationship God yearns to have with us. The question then becomes, \u201chow do we continuously help each other through this liminality stage into embodied knowing of Christ,\u201d especially when the difficulty and ambiguity of religious language is often a barrier to such knowing? Perhaps there is something to explore here in terms of heart-centered and experiential faith contrasted with intellectual faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Development of Resilience in Early-Adolescent Females and Joining a Community Via Threshold Concepts\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

My portfolio project focuses on developing resilience in early-adolescent females (the ability to \u201cbounce back\u201d from difficult circumstance). As I read about the experience of learners who master threshold concepts becoming part of a community of others who have also experienced the shift, it made me think about the journey that young females make through early-adolescence into womanhood. In our culture, we have largely lost the rituals and rites of passage that help guide children to become adults. In fact, with females in particular, the beginning of puberty is often accompanied by intense shame instead of pride. So perhaps it is time to shift the narrative of becoming a woman and think of it more like a threshold concept. What transformation (or threshold concept) of thought must occur for a young girl to become part of the community of womanhood in addition to the physical developments that happen naturally?\u00a0 And…how can adult women guide, celebrate and welcome them as they undergo the process?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ancient phrase crossing the threshold originates from a tradition in Roman mythology when grooms carried their bride across the threshold of a room after their wedding ceremony.\u00a0 Now we use this phrase to describe many kinds of transitions that occur in life.\u00a0 In 2003, J. Meyer and R. Land published an article called \u201cOvercoming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"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":[2347,1429],"class_list":["post-29025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp01","tag-meyer","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29025","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\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29025"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29032,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29025\/revisions\/29032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}