{"id":2851,"date":"2017-01-12T15:37:04","date_gmt":"2017-01-12T20:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/?p=2851"},"modified":"2017-01-12T15:38:11","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T20:38:11","slug":"threshold-concepts-helping-students-break-through-learning-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/2017\/01\/12\/threshold-concepts-helping-students-break-through-learning-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"Threshold Concepts: Helping Students Break through Learning Barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"breakthrough-1027872_960_720\"<\/a>Many, if not all instructors have seen their students struggle to grasp or even fail to understand a concept important to progressing in a course or subject area. This type of learning block can derail a student’s development and have a ripple effect in their studies, particularly if that concept is a building block for future learning. These types of concepts have been identified by researchers in a UK national research project into qualities of strong teaching and learning in the undergraduate disciplines (Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses<\/a>). Erik Meyer and Ray Land, economics professors, found that certain concepts were held by economists that are central to mastering their subject, and that such “threshold concepts” had common features<\/a>. The acquisition of threshold concepts has been likened to passing through a portal, where learners enter new conceptual territory. New ways of thinking or practicing, previously inaccessible, come into view for learners. Without these concepts, which often afford a transformed view of the subject landscape, students often cannot progress.<\/p>\n

Further work over the past decade has examined threshold concepts in a wide range of subject areas, finding that identifying threshold concepts in an instructor’s discipline is a useful first step to tackling “troublesome knowledge”<\/a>. A group of professors has created a process to increase student learning of threshold concepts called “Decoding the Disciplines”<\/a>. The process begins with identifying learning bottlenecks making explicit tacit knowledge of experts (like professors) to help students master the mental actions needed for success.<\/p>\n