I was not looking forward to preparing for this week\u2019s blog. I didn\u2019t know why but I suspect it was because I elected not to purchase the book but to download it. I knew that it probably was not a good decision because I have never been a fan of e-books, I am old school. I like to touch and feel my material\u2026I love actual books, especially hard bound books. I still go the library and check out books. There is something about the smell of a library book that brings back fond childhood memories. I went to the library every Wednesday after school as a child, I would catch the bus from in front of the small Catholic School that me and my siblings (and everyone that we knew) attended to the front door of the Main Library in Downtown Nashville. For two wonderful hours I would explore every inch of the building and at 5:10 my Daddy would walk through the door, grab my hand and carry my books to the car. The staff knew me and Daddy by name and they knew my reading preferences. They were so familiar with us that they would call my Daddy when I arrived to let him know that I had arrived safely. We have raised our children to be avid readers. I have passed my love and appreciation to libraries and books to my children. They are 30, 14, and 12 and if given the choice they will choose the library over Barnes & Noble any day of the week. It is one of our happy places.
\nI knew that I had no choice but to work past my dislike of e-books and get started and find out what exactly is a threshold concept and why are we reading about it. So, with my newly found inspectional reading skills I looked for the answer, there it was on the first few pages. \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(1) I felt a shift reading this. I have not only been struggling with the reading for this week\u2019s blog, but I have honestly been struggling with how my NPO has changed since my Discovery Workshop. I have not really made peace with what I now understand my actual stakeholder group is and what I originally thought it was. I have felt a bit stalled. I needed (need) \u201can opening up to a previously inaccessible way of thinking about\u201d my NPO. I need a greater investment of time, energy, excitement and commitment to my topic. School has always been easy for me, this new feeling of not having a grasp on things is totally unfamiliar territory for me and I don\u2019t like it. As I continued reading, I discovered that a threshold concept has some distinct characteristics, it is to be: Transformative, Probably Irreversible, Integrative, Often Bounded, and Potentially Troublesome. BOOM! That was my AHA moment! This work is not supposed to be comfortable, easy. There is no opportunity to learn, explore, discover in what is familiar and comfortable. I needed to have a true \u201cMetacognitive Experience (ME) the interface between the person and the task.\u201d(2) This interface, full immersion is the only way that I can master my research, and for me the goal is mastery.
\nTo achieve a greater level of engagement, I know that I must make some hard decisions. There are some things that I have to let go, at least for now. I have been hesitant to make these decisions because they are activities and commitments that bring me joy. This hesitancy has negatively impacted my ability to be fully engaged, to fully launch. Efklides explains the difference between being fully engaged and moderately engaged. \u201cSpecifically, our research has shown that the more students get engaged in a knowledge domain, the more aware they become of their capability to deal with the concepts and procedures specific to that domain. They also become aware of the features and processing demands of the tasks that presuppose these concepts. Thus, they make informed decisions how to regulate their learning to advance their skills or quit learning efforts. Students who continue to work are the \u2018ideal\u2019 students. These students realize the importance of threshold concepts and invest effort on them based on intrinsic feedback and intrinsic motivation from their ME. \u2018Ideal students\u2019 are, however, the very minority.\u201d(3)
\nShe further explains where many students are. \u201cThe majority of students will follow different routes. One route is followed by students who, despite their competence in a knowledge domain, underestimate their capability, overestimate the difficulty experienced and effort invested, lack confidence and, finally, gain no satisfaction from engagement with task in that domain. These students will not work on threshold concepts, or they will only do it if they have to. Yet, they will not capitalize on their work.\u201d(4)
\nFor me, it goes back to the motivation, wonderment, excitement, and exploration that I had in my early days of learning. To merely stay on the surface was not an option for me then. I had to get to the core of the concept, master the task. I had to be the \u201cideal\u201d student\/learner. This desire is still present for me. Although, I have a healthy understanding of my limitations, I still strive to be better each day. I am pleased to discover that my discomfort with my NPO and my stakeholder group is common and also characteristic of the need for a Metacognitive Experience. I am pruning away the areas that are limiting my ability to fully engage, fully launch. Keep me in Prayer and I\u2019ll keep you posted. <\/p>\n
1. Jan Meyer and Ray Land, Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge London: Routledge, 2012, 3.
\n2. IBID. 51
\n3. IBID.64-65
\n4. IBID.65<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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