{"id":30411,"date":"2023-01-25T06:35:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T14:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=30411"},"modified":"2023-05-24T12:24:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T19:24:23","slug":"to-boldly-go-where-no-man-has-gone-before","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/to-boldly-go-where-no-man-has-gone-before\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTo Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not a trekkie! I\u2019ve never been a Star Trek<\/em> fan. I don\u2019t particularly like science fiction. Back to the Future<\/em> is as far as I go. To the trekkies out there, please don\u2019t take offense. My family is full of Star Trek<\/em> lovers. Believe me, I have viewed all iterations of\u00a0 Star Trek<\/em> dating back to the 1960s.<\/p>\n

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

What does Star Trek<\/em> have to do with our reading this week? Let\u2019s take a cosmic journey through my exploration of threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompassion: that\u2019s the one thing no machine ever had. Maybe it\u2019s the one thing that keeps men ahead of them.\u201d \u00a0–\u00a0 Dr. McCoy<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t like ebooks. My first thought, \u201cThere is no way I can read these books online!\u201d My eyes can\u2019t take it and I easily get lost. How can an ebook ever be an efficient or enjoyable way to read a book? I quickly reached for my phone, tapped on my handy Amazon App, and was shocked to discover the first book was a hefty $59.95! I entered the portal\u2026the brave new world of ebooks. I am grateful for my new travel companions. Inspectional and analytical reading skills, “Engage!” [1]\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n

Here is what I discovered\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

\u201cThings are only impossible until they are not.\u201d – Captain Jean-Luc Picard<\/p>\n

The learning journey is going to require me to tolerate the uncomfortable feelings that accompany not knowing where I am, where I am going, or what I will find once I get there. I\u2019m tackling a new course of study where the core concepts and next steps are not clearly understood. I quote Jesus for comfort, \u201cFor nothing will be impossible with God.\u201d[2]<\/a> My spiritual journey contains threshold concepts. I seem to be OK with that!<\/p>\n

I get lost without a definition, \u201cA 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[3]<\/a> All subjects have troublesome core material that must be mastered. These are threshold spaces where hard to grasp concepts are not yet understood and present challenges to new learning. As a student, I must move through these spaces of discomfort in order to move forward with my learning. Thresholds are like portals. You never know where you will end up, but you have to go through the scary portal to get there.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBeam me up, Scottie\u201d –\u00a0 Captain James T. Kirk<\/p>\n

When considering my NPO, to help ministry leaders safely connect with one another, I recognize that I am inviting them to experience threshold spaces that will be uncomfortable, uncertain, frustrating, require practicing new skills, and a different and more vulnerable way of being with others. It\u2019s risky. Like Scottie, I want to be reliable, wise, and ready for any adjustments. I must enter threshold spaces first if I am going to help others brave new experiences. My question becomes, how do I help others see what I see\u2026 and beyond? How do I help ministry leaders see what they alone are designed to see? Good leadership is required of me. Compassion, humility, and deep listening are necessary tools.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cTo seek out new life and new civilizations\u201d –\u00a0 Captain James T. Kirk<\/p>\n

Alien Knowledge? We don\u2019t know what we don\u2019t know. \u201cForeign\u00a0 or\u00a0 alien\u00a0 knowledge\u00a0 comes\u00a0 from\u00a0 a\u00a0 perspective\u00a0 that\u00a0 conflicts\u00a0 with our\u00a0 own. Sometimes\u00a0 the\u00a0 learner\u00a0 simply considers foreign knowledge wrong and makes no attempt to see\u00a0 or even\u00a0 recognize\u00a0 the\u00a0 knowledge\u00a0 as foreign.\u201d[4]<\/a> In other words, I have to be OK with being wrong, to ask questions with curiosity and wonder, to look at things from another person\u2019s point of view, a different angle or lens, set aside judgments and prejudices, follow outrageous ideas, and risk new experiences. Alien knowledge is not wrong, it\u2019s just different. My understanding broadens by considering new possibilities.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt\u2019s highly illogical\u201d\u00a0 –\u00a0 Spock<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t speak Vulcan! Coming to terms with the vocabulary and the author is a significant challenge in research.[5]<\/a> I thought I knew what words meant. Terms I understand in different contexts now have new meaning to interpret. This is one example of troublesome knowledge.<\/p>\n

I never considered liminality as, \u00a0\u201c\u2026a suspended state in which understanding approximates to a kind of mimicry or lack of authenticity (Palmer (2001).[6]<\/a> Have I spent my entire academic life mimicking and not really thinking or learning? Familiar terms take on differently nuanced meanings and new sets of questions. For example, Meta Cognitions are my thoughts about my thinking. I must ask myself, What do I think about being in a threshold learning space? This might sound like, \u201cI can\u2019t do this therefore I\u2019m stupid.\u201d What do I think about those thoughts? Meta Affect is what I feel about my feelings. What are my feelings about tackling a threshold concept? I might feel anxious, bored, or excited. What might those feelings be telling me? Meta Experience is a new term for me. \u00a0Meta Experiences are what the person experiences during the cognitive endeavor.[7]<\/a> This might be my brain pinging with connections and ideas, and too much caffeine, or numbed out, distracted, fidgeting, or avoiding my studies for days. Self-regulation, a term I do understand, is an invaluable and learnable set of skills which come with new threshold experiences.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cTo infinity and beyond!\u201d Buzz Lightyear”<\/p>\n

Oops, wrong show. Maybe I do like a bit of science fiction after all! Inspectional and analytical reading has made this assignment less overwhelming. I wondered if I could break my stubborn habit of reading every single word on every single page. Like Captain Kirk\u2019s nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, the ebook has been my nemesis. With Adler\u2019s reading tools I may triumph in the end.<\/p>\n

This doctoral program is a bold journey. I am making new discoveries, surprising connections, learning how to read smarter, work faster, take efficient notes, ask better questions, use unfamiliar technological tools, and think more critically. It\u2019s hard work. Not in a million lightyears did I ever expect Star Trek<\/em> to aid my learning journey! I now wrestle with the threshold concept of citing an ebook. Be patient with me. I\u2019m still learning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cHow to Read a Book: The Ultimate Guide by Mortimer Adler,\u201d accessed November 2, 2022, 4. https:\/\/fs.blog\/how-to-read-a-book\/<\/a> p.4.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Luke 1:37<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Meyer, Jan, F.H and Ray Land., eds.<\/em> Overcoming Student Barrier to Student Understanding:\u00a0 Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge.<\/em> (London, UK: Routledge, 2012), 3. https:\/\/georgefox.idm.oclc.org\/login?url=https:\/\/www.taylorfrancis.com\/books\/9780203966273<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Meyer and Land, eds., Overcoming Barriers<\/em>, 39.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Adler, Mortimer J, and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book. <\/em>(New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1940), 97.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Meyer and Land, eds., Overcoming Barriers<\/em>, 16.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid., 49.<\/p>\n

All Star Trek quotes complied by TechRepublic.com https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/20-star-trek-quotes-to-help-you-boldly-go-through-the-workday\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not a trekkie! I\u2019ve never been a Star Trek fan. I don\u2019t particularly like science fiction. Back to the Future is as far as I go. To the trekkies out there, please don\u2019t take offense. My family is full of Star Trek lovers. Believe me, I have viewed all iterations of\u00a0 Star Trek dating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"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":[2545],"class_list":["post-30411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp02meyer","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30411","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\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30411"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32663,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30411\/revisions\/32663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}