December 2010 – Page 6 – Silence and Voice

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2010-12-11

Just attended Michael Storrings's book and ornament signing at the Waldorf=Astoria. #
Working on an extensive revision of a draft paper I submitted last week. Lots to do before the 15th due date. #
I think this is both an excellent introduction to Evernote and en excellent example of eLearning http://bit.ly/iju3JP #

What are Threshold Concepts?

Since I am working with a colleague on a research project around the idea of Threshold Concepts in doctoral education, I thought it may be useful to provide a fundamental definition of this to potentially assist those who supervise doctoral students to consider participating in this research.

As per Jan Meyer and Ray Land, the originators of this area:

A 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. As a consequence of comprehending a threshold concept there may thus be a transformed internal view of subject matter, subject landscape, or even world view (Meyer & Land, 2003, p. 1).

While there is certainly more to it, threshold concepts exist within disciplines of study and often result in a transformed perspective of something.

Reference:
Meyer, J., & Land, R. (2003). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Linkages to ways of thinking and practising within the disciplines. Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses Project Occasional Report 4, May 2003. Retrieved November 5, 2010, from http://www.etl.tla.ed.ac.uk//docs/ETLreport4.pdf

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2010-12-10

At Lord and Taylor in #NYC for Michael Storrings' ornament signing. #
What academic distribution lists have PhD faculty who may be interested in our research in Threshold Concepts? http://bit.ly/esM1Ut #phdchat #
Realized in emails to distribution lists yesterday that the url was not accessible for our research study http://bit.ly/esM1Ut #phdchat #phd #
Are there any (good) reasons why not to upgrade to the new Facebook profile? #
#poll Please choose a topic for #phdchat on Wednesday 18th Dec 2010 (7.30pm-8.30pm GMT London) http://twtpoll.com/grl6b1 #
Are groups in #Mendeley similar to the entire site of Academia.edu? #phdchat #phd #

Do You Supervise Doctoral Students?

Do you (or somebody you know, such as your doctoral supervisor or mentor) supervise, mentor, advise, or teach doctoral students?

Have you ever seen an aha moment occur with your doctoral students, when they suddenly grasp something related to their study in a way that helps them move into a new place in their work or thinking or experience? If so, we would love to speak with you for a research project we are engaging in that we are calling Faculty Support: Doctoral Student Threshold Concepts.

More information about what we are planning to do may be found here, including our research consent form.

Please consider forwarding a link to this study to anybody who you think may be interested in this work or email me if you have any questions or wish to participate.

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2010-12-09

Have to run; will see my #phdchat colleagues again online soon. #
That is a limitation for #CAQDAS in that it is formulated for grounded theory and there are many newer qualitative methods #phdchat #
I even believe the #CAQDAS apps were built in response to the demands of grounded theory. #phdchat #
My experience with grounded theory is that there are more notes and comments and connections than data itself. #phdchat #
Seeing some useful book, article, and website references today regarding research data analysis in #phdchat #
One other thing about analyzing data with grounded theory; I nearly had a meltdown without using a #CAQDAS app. I bought #MAXQDA #phdchat #
I have found grounded theory to be a most powerful way to analyze data. As a warning, it is almost a beyond belief amount of work. @phdchat #
Planning to join #phdchat now; the subject is 'Analysing Data.' The session runs about an hour, so come join if you can. #
Extending earlier research: Supervising the Doctorate Experience – Invitation to Participate in a Study http://bit.ly/dPuwn3 #phdchat #phd #
Attended a department research seminar this morning at #Lancaster my university, that started to stream them online. #phdchat #phd #