Theoretical learning spaces: exploring threshold concepts, the cultural interface and the zone of proximal development to better understand student learning in Indigenous Studies

Abstract

Threshold Concepts are key ideas, not always explicitly taught, which foster students’ ability to think like discipline experts (Meyer & Land, 2006). These Threshold Concepts are critical to developing mastery in a discipline (Cousin, 2006). A key element of the Threshold Concepts Framework is the ‘liminal space’, in which learners may struggle or encounter troublesome or counter-intuitive knowledge (Perkins, 2008) as they develop broad discipline understanding. The largely non-Indigenous student audience who are learning about Indigenous Australians, either in Indigenous Studies or Indigenous curriculum embedded in a range of disciplines, may encounter both a liminal space and a Cultural Interface (Nakata, 2007). Vygotsky’s (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86, cited in Wersch & Tulviste, 1992) ‘zone of proximal development’ is another theoretical space in which students can learn. The presentation will explore the theoretical relationship between Nakata’s notion of the ‘cultural interface’, Myer & Land’s concept of ‘liminal space’ and Vygotsky’s Zone of proximal development, to explore fresh insights into student learning about Indigenous Australians.