There has been a move in education for a number of years now that has focused on what Jan Meyer and Ray Land call Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge (Meyer and Land, 2006).  These are ideas that students really struggle to grasp.  We've all experienced it.  For me it was mathematical formulae.  I could never understand why it was that the maths teachers stepped through equations the way that they did.  I didn't know the rules and they did an appalling job of explaining them to me.  I fumbled around trying to make sense of my ignorance before giving up.  But the fact that I've never forgotten this, and keep returning to it is a telling point. Meyer and Land argue that these … [Read more...] about Why a grand vision might be bad for your practice (and your soul)