Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education
Date of this Version
2019
Document Type
Article
Citation
To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development (2019) 38(1)
Abstract
This essay argues that description of student learning goals as various “skills” presents a conceptual threshold lying between and connecting routinely dichotomized characterizations of student learning—most notably, “concrete” versus “abstract.” Qualitative analysis of instructor interviews shows that “skills” language tends to conceal abstract (that is, affective) learning goals behind more concrete (that is, cognitive) ones. Ultimately, this essay proposes that cognitive and affective student learning goals might be more clearly articulated using threshold concepts within and across disciplines, and that the recognition of “skills” as both affective and cognitive is itself a threshold concept in educational development.
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Comments
License: CC BY-NC-ND