Chris Anson: How Threshold Concepts for Writing Across the Curriculum Can Transform Teaching
All disciplines and practices lay claim to threshold concepts, such as opportunity cost in economics or variation in biology. As described by Meyer and Land, who first theorized them, threshold concepts share several characteristics. First, they are irreversible—the understanding, when it happens, is permanent. They are transformative, causing changes in one’s perception of an area of study. At first, they can be challenging to learn or understand, making them troublesome. They are therefore “akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something” (Meyer and Land, 2003).
In this talk, I’ll take up some of the threshold concepts that characterize the effective integration of writing into courses across the curriculum. These concepts are supported by scholarship on what most benefits students as they move across the landscape of higher education and discover different types of writing with different expectations. But the concepts also draw us, as educators, through a portal, opening up new and previously unconsidered ways of thinking about how we can best support student writing.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
Who
This is an RIT Only Event
Cost | FREE |
Interpreter Requested?
Yes