Dancing on the Threshold of Meaning

Abstract

This thinking paper uses theory and data to begin to map the terrain of transformation, particularly the threshold of transformation, the growing edge of peoples’ thinking and sense making. The author reanalyzed a set of interview data from several studies, paying attention to those places when participants reached the edges of their meaning making. She offers three examples of those places as well as an analysis of the different ways participants experienced their growing edge. She suggests that the work of a transformative teacher is first to help students find the edge of their understanding, second to be company at that edge, and finally help students construct a new, transformed place. Ultimately, she argues, this process will help students find the courage they need to transform.