Chris Anson: How Threshold Concepts for Writing Across the Curriculum Can Transform Teaching

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Event Poster. Title of Event Chris Anson, How Threshold Concepts for Writing Across the Curriculum Can Transform Teaching. Wednesday, Feb. 23 10 am to 12 pm. RSVP at https://bit.ly/AnsonRIT

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.


Contact
Phil Shaw, Writing Center Coordinator, University Writing Program
Event Snapshot
When and Where
February 23, 2022
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Room/Location: 2610
Who

This is an RIT Only Event

CostFREE
Interpreter Requested?

Yes

Topics
student clubs and organizations
student experience