Podcasts about threshold concepts

After interviewing physical therapy students, the authors suggest that adaptive expertise is a threshold concept that requires the “troublesome” discovery of the limits of “knowing all the answers.”   Read the accompanying article to this podcast:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/medu.14887

Julie Timmermans is a Senior Lecturer in the Higher Education Development Centre at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Julie is a teacher, researcher, and academic developer with experience facilitating learning in various universities and countries, including Canada, Japan, France, and now, New Zealand. Her research interests focus on academic development and threshold concepts. Julie has been a co-editor of the International Journal for Academic Development since 2020. In this conversation on the Scholarship of Educational Development, we speak with Julie Timmermans to learn how her experiences in multiple institutions and across countries has informed her work and her perspective as one of the Co-Editors of the International Journal for Academic Development. Transcript

(Originally posted Jun 25, 2020) What do you think is the most powerful threshold concept in Vygotsky's work? Andy Blunden weighs in, followed by responses from three other Vygotskian researchers. From Meyer and Land (2003): "Threshold Concepts' may be considered to be “akin to passing through a portal” or “conceptual gateway” that opens up “previously inaccessible way[s] of thinking about something” Meyer and Land, 2003: "Our discussions with practitioners in a range of disciplinary areas have led us to conclude that a threshold concept, across a range of subject contexts, is likely to be: Transformative, in that, once understood, its potential effect on student learning and behaviour is to occasion a significant shift in the perception of a subject, or part thereof. Probably irreversible, in that the change of perspective occasioned by acquisition of a threshold concept is unlikely to be forgotten, or will be unlearned only by considerable effort. Integrative; that is, it exposes the previously hidden interrelatedness of something." Flanagan, 2020: "Examples of the threshold concept must be transformative and involve a traverse through a liminal space. They are likely to be characterised by many of, but not necessarily all of, the other features listed below: Transformative: Once understood, a threshold concept changes the way in which the student views the discipline. - Troublesome: Threshold concepts are likely to be troublesome for the student. Perkins [1999, 2006] has suggested that knowledge can be troublesome e.g. when it is counter-intuitive, alien or seemingly incoherent. Irreversible: Given their transformative potential, threshold concepts are also likely to be irreversible, i.e. they are difficult to unlearn. Integrative: Threshold concepts, once learned, are likely to bring together different aspects of the subject that previously did not appear, to the student, to be related. Bounded: A threshold concept will probably delineate a particular conceptual space, serving a specific and limited purpose. Discursive: Meyer and Land [2] suggest that the crossing of a threshold will incorporate an enhanced and extended use of language. Reconstitutive: "Understanding a threshold concept may entail a shift in learner subjectivity, which is implied through the transformative and discursive aspects already noted. Such reconstitution is, perhaps, more likely to be recognised initially by others, and also to take place over time (Smith)". Liminality: Meyer and Land [4] have likened the crossing of the pedagogic threshold to a ‘rite of passage' (drawing on the ethnographical studies of Gennep and of Turner in which a transitional or liminal space has to be traversed; “in short, there is no simple passage in learning from ‘easy' to ‘difficult'; mastery of a threshold concept often involves messy journeys back, forth and across conceptual terrain. (Cousin [2006])”.

For this episode we welcome three special guests to our podcast! Dr Fiona Chambers is the head of the School of Education at University College Cork, and she has co-authored a book with our very own Dr Anna Bryant and Dr David Aldous. The book, entitled Threshold Concepts in Physical Education covers an enormous amount of fascinating ground, and isn't just for PE specialists. With curriculum design a hot topic, and many of us revisiting some of our most fundamental assumptions about our subject disciplines, this book is a timely addition to anyone's reading list. In the course of our discussion, Fiona, Anna and David explain what threshold concepts are, and what we mean by a design thinking approach. The book itself outlines a collaboration between the three authors and a number of school practitioners. Finally, with three guests, we've got a bumper crop of wellbeing tips, interesting things and ideas to try! The book is Chambers, F. C, Aldous, D. & Bryant, A. (2020) Threshold Concepts in Physical Education: A Design Thinking Approach. London: Routledge.   ----------------------- Recorded remotely on 18th January 2021

On this weeks episode we have Celia sitting down with Kylie Thompson from the University of Waikato. Throughout this episode there is plenty of rich discussion about Kylie's transition from Secondary to Tertiary, initial teacher education, threshold concepts and the challenges facing primary school teachers trying to incorporate quality physical education. Kylie is currently lecturing in Health and PE at the University of Waikato. She was previously an HOD in Auckland, a national moderator at NZQA, an advisor for PENZ, and has just started her doctorate which aims to explore social and emotional learning in PE. Kylie is happiest when adventuring around the north island with her wife and two boys in their bright orange pop top caravan. Follow Kylie on Twitter.

On this weeks episode we have Celia sitting down with Kylie Thompson from the University of Waikato. Throughout this episode there is plenty of rich discussion about Kylie's transition from Secondary to Tertiary, initial teacher education, threshold concepts and the challenges facing primary school teachers trying to incorporate quality physical education.Kylie is currently lecturing in Health and PE at the University of Waikato. She was previously an HOD in Auckland, a national moderator at NZQA, an advisor for PENZ, and has just started her doctorate which aims to explore social and emotional learning in PE. Kylie is happiest when adventuring around the north island with her wife and two boys in their bright orange pop top caravan.Follow Kylie on Twitter.

Today's episode features Amy Kaukau from Rototuna High School! Amy is currently the Poutiaki / Leader of Learning for Health and Physical Education and has over 14 years of experience teaching in New Zealand as well as abroad. In 2017, she completed a Masters in Educational Leadership and has recently been working with Tertiary leaders developing threshold concepts for Health and Physical education which focus on the jewels of the curriculum and what troublesome knowledge students find in our learning area. We spend a lot of time unpacking the Rototuna Senior High curriculum approach with a particular focus on threshold concepts - which I feel are a bit of a game changer when it comes to future focused learning and ensuring our students are critical thinkers across multiple learning areas. Learn a little more about threshold concepts at Rototuna Senior High School here. Follow Amy on Twitter.

Today's episode features Amy Kaukau from Rototuna High School! Amy is currently the Poutiaki / Leader of Learning for Health and Physical Education and has over 14 years of experience teaching in New Zealand as well as abroad.In 2017, she completed a Masters in Educational Leadership and has recently been working with Tertiary leaders developing threshold concepts for Health and Physical education which focus on the jewels of the curriculum and what troublesome knowledge students find in our learning area.We spend a lot of time unpacking the Rototuna Senior High curriculum approach with a particular focus on threshold concepts - which I feel are a bit of a game changer when it comes to future focused learning and ensuring our students are critical thinkers across multiple learning areas.Learn a little more about threshold concepts at Rototuna Senior High School here.Follow Amy on Twitter.

What do you think is the most powerful threshold concept in Vygotsky's work? Andy Blunden weighs in, followed by responses from three other Vygotskian researchers. (Originally published Jun 25, 2020) From Meyer and Land (2003): "Threshold Concepts' may be considered to be “akin to passing through a portal” or “conceptual gateway” that opens up “previously inaccessible way[s] of thinking about something” Meyer and Land, 2003: "Our discussions with practitioners in a range of disciplinary areas have led us to conclude that a threshold concept, across a range of subject contexts, is likely to be: Transformative, in that, once understood, its potential effect on student learning and behaviour is to occasion a significant shift in the perception of a subject, or part thereof. Probably irreversible, in that the change of perspective occasioned by acquisition of a threshold concept is unlikely to be forgotten, or will be unlearned only by considerable effort. Integrative; that is, it exposes the previously hidden interrelatedness of something." Flanagan, 2020: "Examples of the threshold concept must be transformative and involve a traverse through a liminal space. They are likely to be characterised by many of, but not necessarily all of, the other features listed below: Transformative: Once understood, a threshold concept changes the way in which the student views the discipline. - Troublesome: Threshold concepts are likely to be troublesome for the student. Perkins [1999, 2006] has suggested that knowledge can be troublesome e.g. when it is counter-intuitive, alien or seemingly incoherent. Irreversible: Given their transformative potential, threshold concepts are also likely to be irreversible, i.e. they are difficult to unlearn. Integrative: Threshold concepts, once learned, are likely to bring together different aspects of the subject that previously did not appear, to the student, to be related. Bounded: A threshold concept will probably delineate a particular conceptual space, serving a specific and limited purpose. Discursive: Meyer and Land [2] suggest that the crossing of a threshold will incorporate an enhanced and extended use of language. Reconstitutive: "Understanding a threshold concept may entail a shift in learner subjectivity, which is implied through the transformative and discursive aspects already noted. Such reconstitution is, perhaps, more likely to be recognised initially by others, and also to take place over time (Smith)". Liminality: Meyer and Land [4] have likened the crossing of the pedagogic threshold to a ‘rite of passage' (drawing on the ethnographical studies of Gennep and of Turner in which a transitional or liminal space has to be traversed; “in short, there is no simple passage in learning from ‘easy' to ‘difficult'; mastery of a threshold concept often involves messy journeys back, forth and across conceptual terrain. (Cousin [2006])”.

In this episode, Michael spoke with Phil Loring. Phil is an associate professor in the geography department at the University of Guelph, as well as the Arrell Chair in Food, Policy and Society at the Arrell Food Institute, also at the University of Guelph. Michael and Phil discussed several projects that Phil is working on, including on upcoming book, Finding Our Niche, the importance of threshold concepts in sustainability studies, and Coastal Routes Radio, a collaborative podcast that Phil is leading along with others in his group. In a future episode of FS, we will speak again with Phil and the rest of the Coast Routes team!Show notes: Phil's website: http://www.conservationofchange.org/phil-loring Twitter handle: @conservechange Phil's paper on thresholds: https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0037 Coastal Routes radio website: https://coastalroutes.org/ You can find information on Phil's upcoming book here: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/finding-our-niche

This latest entry in our series of Pubcasts, audio-book style recordings of peer reviewed scientific research, is an essay about sustainability. People talk a lot about sustainability, though rarely can people agree on a singular definition. In this essay, I argue in defense of sustainability—that these continued challenges are not fundamental failings of sustainability but rather are symptomatic of how fundamentally different the sustainability world view is from the mainstream, modern way thinking. Pubcasts are hosted by the Conservation of Change Lab (www.conservationofchange.org) and are an ongoing project to experiment with science communication and making research more accessible and digestible to both scientific and general audiences. We were inspired to start Pubcasts via our own love of podcasts, demystifying science and the role of researchers in science, and the power of the human voice. We hope you enjoy and welcome feedback via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ConserveChange or http://www.twitter.com/Coastal_Routes. You can find more Pubcasts from the Coastal Routes project at www.coastalroutes.org/pubcasts Find the published version of this paper at: https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0037

Do you run an open-source project? Does it seem like you never have enough time to support it? Have you considered starting one but are unsure you can commit to it? It's a real challenge. On this episode, we welcome back Philip Guo, who has been a solo maintainer of the very popular PythonTutor.com project for over 10 years. He has some non-traditional advice to keep your sanity and keep your project going while holding down a busy full-time job. Links from the show Philip on Twitter: @pgbovine Python Tutor: pythontutor.com Philip's website: pgbovine.net Python Tutor on github: github.com Dismissing Python Garbage Collection at Instagram: instagram-engineering.com Threshold Concepts in Computer Programming: blogs.kcl.ac.uk SageMath: sagemath.org Sponsors TideLift Clubhouse Talk Python Training

Dr. Laura Steckely talks about Threshold concepts, what they are, how they are relevant to CYC practice, practitioners, and those we work with. Threshold concepts are ideas central to a field that once understood “transform learning and practice” leading to “new ways of thinking and understanding”. Threshold concepts have been identified and discussed in multiple fields, yet only minimally considered in Child and Youth Care. In this episode Dr. Steckley talks about her research into Threshold concepts in residential care and what she has identified so far.   Dr Steckley is the Course Director of the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked in residential treatment in the USA and residential care in Scotland.

Dr. Laura Steckely talks about Threshold concepts, what they are, how they are relevant to CYC practice, practitioners, and those we work with. Threshold concepts are ideas central to a field that once understood “transform learning and practice” leading to “new ways of thinking and understanding”. Threshold concepts have been identified and discussed in multiple fields, yet only minimally considered in Child and Youth Care. In this episode Dr. Steckley talks about her research into Threshold concepts in residential care and what she has identified so far. Dr Steckley is the Course Director of the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked in residential treatment in the USA and residential care in Scotland.

Dr. Laura Steckely talks about Threshold concepts, what they are, how they are relevant to CYC practice, practitioners, and those we work with. Threshold concepts are ideas central to a field that once understood “transform learning and practice” leading to “new ways of thinking and understanding”. Threshold concepts have been identified and discussed in multiple fields, yet only minimally considered in Child and Youth Care. In this episode Dr. Steckley talks about her research into Threshold concepts in residential care and what she has identified so far. Dr Steckley is the Course Director of the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she worked in residential treatment in the USA and residential care in Scotland.

This week! We prove the old adage that everybody likes sausage, right up until they see how the sausage is made and we learn that Starbucks won't let you watch your sick step-parrot porn while you drink your coffee. All that and more on the 100th episode of Another Wasted Hour! Keep a look out for Dr. Matt Ravensthal's new book “Understanding Art Education Through the Lens of Threshold Concepts” which will be published through Sense Publishing in 2019.

This week is the eighth in our uploads from Education Day, prior to the 20th Canadian National CYC conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. Today’s episode is by Graham McPheat. presenting on Threshold Concepts in CYC Education. Threshold concepts are central concepts in a given discipline which are transformative but also troublesome. They are important because they shape thinking and practice, but they are often difficult to grasp. His presentation concerns a research project led by Laura Steckley which explored the relevance of threshold concept theory to child and youth care and began the process of identifying potential threshold concepts in the field. Graham McPheat worked in residential child care practice in Scotland for 10 years before moving into post-secondary education. He is currently the head of Learning and Teaching in the School of Social Work & Social Policy at the university of Strathclyde in Scotland. He teaches in the Masters of Science in Child and Youth Care Studies. 

This week is the eighth in our uploads from Education Day, prior to the 20th Canadian National CYC conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. Today’s episode is by Graham McPheat. presenting on Threshold Concepts in CYC Education. Threshold concepts are central concepts in a given discipline which are transformative but also troublesome. They are important because they shape thinking and practice, but they are often difficult to grasp. His presentation concerns a research project led by Laura Steckley which explored the relevance of threshold concept theory to child and youth care and began the process of identifying potential threshold concepts in the field. Graham McPheat worked in residential child care practice in Scotland for 10 years before moving into post-secondary education. He is currently the head of Learning and Teaching in the School of Social Work & Social Policy at the university of Strathclyde in Scotland. He teaches in the Masters of Science in Child and Youth Care Studies. 

This week is the eighth in our uploads from Education Day, prior to the 20th Canadian National CYC conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia this past May. Today’s episode is by Graham McPheat. presenting on Threshold Concepts in CYC Education. Threshold concepts are central concepts in a given discipline which are transformative but also troublesome. They are important because they shape thinking and practice, but they are often difficult to grasp. His presentation concerns a research project led by Laura Steckley which explored the relevance of threshold concept theory to child and youth care and began the process of identifying potential threshold concepts in the field. Graham McPheat worked in residential child care practice in Scotland for 10 years before moving into post-secondary education. He is currently the head of Learning and Teaching in the School of Social Work & Social Policy at the university of Strathclyde in Scotland. He teaches in the Masters of Science in Child and Youth Care Studies. 

Welcome back to another episode of the EBE Podcast. This month, our Director of Education, Stuart Kime, went to Durham University's School of Education to chat to Ray Land, a pioneer in the field of threshold concepts, troublesome knowledge and liminality. Ray is Professor of Higher Education at Durham University and Director of Durham’s Centre for Academic Practice. He previously held similar positions at the Universities of Strathclyde, Coventry and Edinburgh. He has been a higher education consultant for the OECD and the European Commission and has recently been involved in two European Commission higher education projects in Europe and Latin America. He has published widely in the field of educational research, including works on academic development, learning technology and quality enhancement - as well as on threshold concepts, of course. In short, he has an incredible wealth of expertise! Some of this interview was used in our Assessment Lead Programme, more details of which can be found here. We hope you enjoy this very interesting chat, and please do remember to subscribe to receive the latest episodes straight to your device. If you enjoy it, please share, rate and review! We hope to have a bit of interactivity in the next episode in January, so follow us on Twitter to keep up with that and to get involved...

Dr. Virginia Tucker will present highlights from her research into the transformative learning experiences and critical concepts—threshold concepts—involved as search expertise is acquired. She will discuss implications for the evolving role of the professional searcher, models of the search experience, search interface design, and how we teach advanced search methods and concepts.

Dr. Virginia Tucker will present highlights from her research into the transformative learning experiences and critical concepts—threshold concepts—involved as search expertise is acquired. She will discuss implications for the evolving role of the professional searcher, models of the search experience, search interface design, and how we teach advanced search methods and concepts.