Education Commons^™

Exploring A Threshold Concept In Kinesiology 306 Course, Harsh Buddhadev

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

In Fall 2015, the new 5-credit KIN 306 course was created by combining old KIN 306 and 301 classes (3-credits each). This is the first course completed by all students pursuing a major in Kinesiology. Prior to Fall 2015, all Kinesiology majors completed two separate introductory 3-credit courses KIN 301 and KIN 306. The old KIN 306 course introduced students to theories of measurement and evaluation and various health and sport related aspect of fitness. The KIN 301 course, introduced the process of conducting a systematic search of research literature on health and sport related aspect of fitness and it …

Backwards By Design Retreat And Teaching Mini-Assessment, Hilary Schwandt

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

At the Backwards by Design (BbD) retreat last fall for every topic and assignment, I focused on a class I was about to teach the coming fall that is a core class at Fairhaven college. Every student entering Fairhaven, whether a student in their first year of college or a transfer student from main campus or another college or university, must take this class in the first quarter as a Fairhaven student. The class is 201: Critical and Reflective Inquiry. At Fairhaven, professors are encouraged to select a content area of their choosing – as the focus in the class …

It’S All About That Base: Persuading Learners Of Spanish As A Second Language That Verb Acquisition Is The Essence Of Communication, Sean Dwyer

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

The intended result of a series of Spanish courses is the ability to speak fluidly, if not extensively, in Spanish. The quickest way to speak quickly is to learn some set phrases. As a result of strategies that involve this learning tool, perhaps 75% of Americans can parrot “¿Dónde está el baño?” and “Dos cervezas, por favor.” However, a disappointingly high percentage of people who can say those things cannot say anything that would be useful outside a restaurant.

Working backwards from my curricular goal of creating verbal facility in my students, I start by expressing the threshold concept that …

The Value Of Refining A Threshold Concept, Michael Fraas

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

In the summer of 2012, I had the privilege of attending the Backwards By Design workshop, where I was introduced to the “threshold concept” (Cousin, 2006). I learned how the use of this approach could shift the ontological and conceptual dimensions of students’ perspectives. That fall, I implemented the threshold concept into my undergraduate CSD 401 Writing Lab. My intention was for students to gain perspective into the lives of survivors of acquired brain injuries. I hoped the assignment would help them develop empathy for the types of clients they would work with one day as burgeoning speech-language pathologists.