PB3A

The topic I have chosen is “Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge” by Jan Meyer and Ray Land. The article focuses on “threshold concept”, a concept that lead to new ways of understanding in order to progress in a particular discipline. Thinking about the definition of “threshold concept” sparked some ideas for my genre transformations. The key words “order” and “progress” stuck to me which led me think of my genre for older audiences: restaurant menus. I thought of “order” as in ordering from a menu, and “progress” as in you can’t skip the entrée and go to desert. A restaurant menu has multiple different compartments from appetizers to drinks and I think there are plenty of material I can use. The article also mentions barriers that the topic of food will easily connect to. There are people who have restrictions on what they eat, whether it be because of their diet, allergies, or simply their personal preference. Threshold concept leads to new ways of thinking, and for someone who is trying a certain type of food for the first time and likes it, they may be opened up to a more diverse food palate. To be more specific, I will probably choose Japanese cuisine as I think it is too exotic for some people’s comfort zone. And sushi is also my favorite food. I will try to utilize the vast variety of food menus and add other options in the menu such as vegetarian options, spiciness, and combo meals.

For my genre for younger audiences, I could not help but think of a story of a protagonist learning something new and being able to use that newfound knowledge to conquer his problems. For example, in the videogame Pokémon, the player must teach their Pokémon moves that would help them continue on to new destinations that were restricted before. Videogames provide many of these examples about obtaining something new, a skill or an item, and then progressing in the game. However, these newly obtained items do not fit the whole “new way of understanding” concept which goes much deeper than just simply getting new things. But since the required genre is for younger audiences, I may be able to get away with it and just find a way to connect it to the article’s idea of “threshold concepts”. I want to avoid doing a simple children’s story so I might do something pertaining to videogames. I’m not too sure exactly what genre I will do but what comes to mind is an interactive storyline on Powerpoint for elementary schoolers. If I do take that route, I will provide a story of a protagonist that has multiple endings. I will set it up like a videogame where the player can win or lose depending on the choices they make. If they do lose, I will give an explanation as to why the players lost. The storyline will revolve around “threshold concepts” and will teach the players about it. Instead of the protagonist picking up items and skills, they will pick up knowledge to get them through their journey, emphasizing how new ways of thinking contribute to progress.