Threshold concept: Difference between revisions
m (username removed) (log details removed): typo in lemma |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:Treshhold concept 1743096802788.png|thumb|300x300px|A threshold concept it akin to a portal or a liminal space, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something.]] | [[File:Treshhold concept 1743096802788.png|thumb|300x300px|A threshold concept it akin to a portal or a liminal space, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something.]] | ||
A '''threshold''' concept is a core concepts which, once understood, transforms perception of a given subject, phenomenon, or experience. Its acquisition is inherently difficult. Metaphorically it involves being stuck by repeatedly bumping into a threshold until one manages to overcome the threshold. Other metaphors used are portal and liminal space, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. The | A '''threshold''' concept is a core concepts which, once understood, transforms perception of a given subject, phenomenon, or experience. Its acquisition is inherently difficult. Metaphorically it involves being stuck by repeatedly bumping into a threshold until one manages to overcome the threshold. Other metaphors used are portal and liminal space, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. The term threshold concept was coined by Jan Meyer and Ray Land.<ref name=":0">Meyer J H F and Land R 2003 "Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising" in ''Improving Student Learning: Ten Years On''. C. Rust (Ed), OCSLD, Oxford.</ref> | ||
Like [[Decoding the Disciplines]] and Perkin's troublesome knowledge, threshold concepts are a theory of difficulty, i.e. a theory explaining aspects of learning and teaching by focussing on difficulties inherent to them.<ref>Pace, D. (2017): [[The Decoding the Disciplines Paradigm: Seven Steps to Increased Student Learning]]. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p. 21</ref> | Like [[Decoding the Disciplines]] and Perkin's troublesome knowledge, threshold concepts are a theory of difficulty, i.e. a theory explaining aspects of learning and teaching by focussing on difficulties inherent to them.<ref>Pace, D. (2017): [[The Decoding the Disciplines Paradigm: Seven Steps to Increased Student Learning]]. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p. 21</ref> | ||
Revision as of 08:17, 28 March 2025
A threshold concept is a core concepts which, once understood, transforms perception of a given subject, phenomenon, or experience. Its acquisition is inherently difficult. Metaphorically it involves being stuck by repeatedly bumping into a threshold until one manages to overcome the threshold. Other metaphors used are portal and liminal space, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. The term threshold concept was coined by Jan Meyer and Ray Land.<ref name=":0">Meyer J H F and Land R 2003 "Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising" in Improving Student Learning: Ten Years On. C. Rust (Ed), OCSLD, Oxford.</ref>
Like Decoding the Disciplines and Perkin's troublesome knowledge, threshold concepts are a theory of difficulty, i.e. a theory explaining aspects of learning and teaching by focussing on difficulties inherent to them.<ref>Pace, D. (2017): The Decoding the Disciplines Paradigm: Seven Steps to Increased Student Learning. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p. 21</ref>
Properties of threshold concepts
Threshold concepts typically have the following properties:<ref name=":0" />
- transformative: Once a threshold concept has been understood, it can change the perception of a subject or part of it.
- irreversible: The change in perspective that the acquisition of a threshold concept entails is difficult to forget or can only be unlearned again with considerable effort.
- integrative: Threshold concepts reveal previously hidden connections.
- bounded: Every concept has boundaries with thresholds to neighboring new conceptual areas.
- troublesome: The internalisation of concepts is troublesome for a variety of reasons. Concepts can seem strange, implicit, conceptually difficult, counter-intuitive or characterized by over-complexity.
Threshold concepts are not only discussed for students who are familiarising themselves with a subject, but also for teachers and their understanding of teaching processes. According to Meyer and Land the idea of threshold concepts is a threshold concept by itself.<ref>J. H. F. Meyer, R. Land: Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. In: Higher Education. Band 49, Nr. 3, 2005, S. 373–388</ref>
Give example of threshold concept
Relation to Decoding the Disciplines
Relationship comes mostly via Bottleneck.
In categorial terms every threshold concept is a bottleneck while not every bottleneck is a threshold concept.
Shopkow <ref>Shopkow, Leah (2010). “What ‘Decoding the Disciplines’ has to offer ‘Threshold Concepts,’” in Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning, ed. Jan H. F. Meyer, Ray Land, & Catherine Baillie (Rotterdam: Sense Publications), 317-32.</ref>