One of the primary goals of this course (and any course you take over the years) is to expand what you know about a particular subject and what you know how to do with what you know. In a very broad sense, we want you to expand / add to / create new knowledge with the kind of quality information you currently have / know about writing (written communication / communication) and expand the ways you can use this information effectively / more effectively.

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When we say "expand," we mean more than just adding more knowledge or skills, more than adding more information. Instead, we mean that what you are learning, the new information, will combine with / interact with / integrate with what you knew and what you now know and this synthesis will transform what you know and know how to do in ways that are difficult (probably impossible) to undo.

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Here's a simplistic analogy or example, as a way to understand what we mean by "threshold concepts."

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Think of a threshold as a boundary, starting point, beginning, dividing line, start of something new / different, the indication of change of state or status. (For example, some common uses of the word: threshold of pain, of consciousness, of manhood, of a new discovery). Consider opposing words or ways of thinking. Instead of a "threshold" we might see only closing, closure, completion, finale, finish, period, stop, termination, end, ending, or barrier. In other words, "threshold" in the sense we want to use means more, other, different, and we want to see it as something we want to pass through or over. We don't want to think of learning as ending. We don't want to think that we have come to the "end" of our learning about writing (or anything else, for that matter). In our courses, we want learners to be curious, open, persistent, positive.

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For much of the learning we expect in this course, you might consider yourself on one side of a boundary; the course is meant to invite you and help you to cross the threshold (boundary) to new, different, expanded knowledge / information about writing and how to use it. In fact, all of college (or life) could be seen this way. Ideally, you are always entering new cognitive / intellectual territory.

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For most weeks this semester, we will be reading short sections of Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies (NWWK), short explanations of Key Concepts / Key Terms, and short explanations of Habits of Mind.