Wednesday, August 23 – Exploring Threshold Concepts

August 23, 2016 admin

Read

Adler-Kassner, L., & Wardle, E. (2015). Naming What We Know. University Press of Colorado. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.library.emory.edu/book/40635

In Class

Introductions

Program research

To better understand the multiple contexts and approaches to teaching first-year writing, research and present to the class about a first-year program. You might look at a program from a college or university where you’d like to work or even tell us about the program where you did your undergraduate degree. Try to cover

Curriculum (course offerings, sequencing, outcomes, content)
Faculty (graduate students? lecturers? tenure-track? adjuncts?) and pedagogical training
Program assessment (i.e., Do they use portfolios? Other methods?)
Administrative structure (relationship to departments, relationship to writing center, etc.)

Are there special features or strengths the program emphasizes? (Does it seek to differentiate itself from other first-year composition programs in some way?)

If you don’t have a particular program you’d like to research, you can chose one of the following.

Emory program overview

Naming What We Know

What are threshold concepts and how might seeing through the “threshold lens” impact an instructor’s approach to teaching and learning in writing or literary studies?
Define genre in a way that accords with contemporary theories of writing.
Drawing on the reading, how might you deal with a student who tells you she doesn’t need your class because she’s already an excellent writer?
Why is “planned failure” an important part of any writing class?
What are the implications of writing being a cognitive activity?
How is writing integral to establishing a (disciplinary) identity?

Critical incidents and post-mortems

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