User:Inessellami/sandbox

Definition
Threshold concepts were introduced by Meyer and Land in 2003. It is the idea of looking at a subject more in depth, meaning that you go-over the common sense and access to a new and 'troublesome' view of this subject. 'Threshold' term comes from the fact that usually, we approach some subjects by setting an imaginary boundary, like a threshold. 'Threshold concept' is the a way to go through this boundary and reach a new knowledge that is described as transformative(considerably changes the w ay of seeing a subject), irreversible(you can't forget it) and integrative (it shows the relations and links that were hidden). Learning and acquiring knowledge can be then divided into different conceptual spaces: what you know, what you struggle to know and what you don't know.

Liminal Space
One of these conceptual spaces is the liminal space where the learner have some difficulties to understand and learn about a concept. The term liminal concerns a state of transition, and in this case, the learner is transitioning from a "non-knowledge" state to a knowledge state. (to be completed)

History: why?
History is generally seen as the study of the past. It can be the study of the past of different fields suWhen we think about the past, we usually think about something that is over and that has no more impact on our current lives. Many would say 'The past is over, focus on the present' but what they forget is that the past affects the present. It represents the roots, the origins and bases that shape our present. We can then distinguish four reasons that make the study of History relevant.

The first reason is the past shapes our identities and thus, humanity. We are all influenced by our past: our ancestors, our traditions and beliefs.

The second reason is that past enables to have a look at origins, roots which makes us more aware of change and the modifications that humanity has known. Thus, we get a better understanding of different trends and what fostered their emergence.

The third reason is that past makes us more moral. Acquiring an experience make us gain a better understanding of what is good and what is bad which makes us more aware of what we do in the present.

The fourth reason is that the past makes the present comprehensible. We understand origins of phenomenas and decisions as well as their impacts on our modern world. For instance, we can think about the steam machine invented in the 18th century as the precursor of our modern industrialized world. So we can say that past is at the base of every understanding whether it is for natural sciences or humanities. "Understanding why things are the way they are is foundational to learning" . As knowledge hasn't always been organized in disciplines, looking at their history will make us aware of their importance in our modern world, and how it shaped the educational body and thus, the society.

Before disciplines
The term "discipline" comes from Latin "Disciplina", derived from "discere" which means "learning". Before the apparition of real disciplines as we know them today, learning and teaching was quite different. In medieval times, everyone (and mostly the upper classes) used to get the same education: Latin, Greek and clergy. But some specific disciplines were applied to specific professions that needed a real specialization just like Law or Medicine.

The scientific revolution
The scientific revolution that occurred between the Renaissance and the Englightenment fostered the emergence of disciplines. It is characterized by the beginning of real scientific research in different fields. The scientific method became the toolbox for every subject: it was about observing, making hypothesis and then experimenting and proving phenomenas ("the substitution of a quantitative for a qualitative view of nature" ).So the scientific revolution lead to a shit to an empirical method of knowledge: everything can be justified through experiments. Thus, theories emerged in different disciplines such as chemistry, physics or biology. Sciences became the new lenses of the world. In this way, researches couldn't have a coverage of many fields, they had to be focused on a precise subject ("While the idea of science as a unified endeavor was still embraced, in practice most scientists knew only one field of inquiry well") .And with the domination of sciences, it lead to a scientific specialization.

A new organization in the production of knowledge
Between 1750 and 1800, universities started changing their organization by creating a new system based on 3 techniques: writing, grading, examination. Students would have to learn a discipline in the seminar (German universities-1760), the classroom (Scottish universities-1760) or the laboratory (French Grandes Ecoles-before revolution) This new organization pushed the universities organization to change: students had to go to seminars/classes or laboratories for specific and then be assessed on them. Each course couldn't fit a broad range of fields, it had to be focused on a unique discipline. Moreover, the nineteenth century was also the emergence of the doctorate. It was first introduced by the Humboldt university in Berlin and was then adopted by Yale University. Doctorate work had to be targeted on a specific research topic, which lead to a better specialization of the production of knowledge. Thus, at the end of your higher education, you get a certification that makes you specialized in a specific discipline and able to enter the world of work. Every student becomes then focused on a field, and he will most probably end up working in this field for his whole life. But as the world was changing, universities shaped and provided the "good way of learning" (The university and the disciplines became an engine of knowledge production that far outstripped any other method of learning devised by any previous civilization")

The professionalization of knowledge
Little by little, fields started fragmenting into the modern disciplines that we know today. On one hand, we had the sciences with physics, chemistry, biology, botany and on the other hand we had humanities with sociology, anthropology and philosophy. What happened then is that sciences knew another leap forward which lead to the professionalization of knowledge. With the rise industrialization and globalization, the world started to need a technological control over what is has created. We now have machines, engines, trains crossing countries, huge boats transporting products and people... All of these new activities needed a supervision but also needed to be profitable, because an economic aspect also emerged. Sciences and technologies have know a profit-maximizing goal: "This era thus marked the transition to an economy increasingly dependent on scientific research and the end of the "tinkerer tradition" of innovation such as Thomas Edison and Henry Ford". As a result, disciplines became even more "disciplined" and distinct, just like education and economic-profit became linked. For instance, we can think about industrial engineering. In this context, social science then followed the trend and became also a response to a changing world. They dealt with new the issues raising from industrialization such as alienation, urbanisation, class conflicts, secularization and the emergence of the modern nation state.