Skip to main content

Integrated Threshold Concept Knowledge

  • Chapter
Threshold Concepts in Practice

Part of the book series: Educational Futures ((EDUFUT))

Abstract

After more than a decade of flourishing international research on threshold concepts in the disciplines, we have reached a key point in the maturation of our field – a point where, as a community of scholars, we must ask ourselves questions, such as: How do we translate the rich findings of this research into a theoretically sound and actionable form, so that they are of use to instructors, students, and educational developers? And how may we do this in a way that brings unity to the approach while remaining non-prescriptive and adaptive to the various contexts in which threshold concept research and practice occur?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Baillie, C., Bowden, J. A., & Meyer, J. H. F. (2013). Threshold capabilities: Threshold concepts and knowledge capability linked through variation theory. Higher Education, 2, 227–246. doi:10.1007/s10734-012-9540-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becher, T. (1989). Academic tribes and territories. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becher, T., & Trowler, P. R. (2001). Academic tribes and territories: Intellectual enquiry and the cultures of disciplines (2nd ed.). Buckingham, UK: SRHE/Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, A., Loughran, J., & van Driel, J. H. (2008). Revisiting the roots of pedagogical content knowledge. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1271–1279. doi:10.1080/09500690801998885

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthiaume, D. (2007). What is the nature of university professors’ discipline-specific pedagogical knowledge? A descriptive multicase study (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, P. (2010, July). Transforming knowledge structures: A procedure for developing students’ understanding of threshold concepts. Paper presented at the Third Biennial Threshold Concepts Symposium: Exploring transformative dimensions of threshold concepts, Sydney, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donald, J. G. (2002). Learning to think: Disciplinary perspectives. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henze, I., van Driel, J. H., & Verloop, N. (2008). Development of experienced science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of models of the solar system and the universe. International Journal of Science Education, 30, 1321–1342. doi:10.1080/09500690802187017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hokstad, L. M., Rødne, G., Braaten, B. O., Wellinger, S., & Shetelig, F. (this volume). Transformational learning in architectural education: Re-thinking architecture and the education of architecture.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, D. B., Callaghan, D. C., Baldock, T., & Meyer, J. H. F. (2014). Identifying threshold concepts: Case study of an open catchment hydraulics course. European Journal of Engineering Education, 39, 125–142. doi:10.1080/03043797.2013.833175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Land, R., & Meyer, J. H. F. (2010). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (5): Dynamics of assessment. In J. H. F. Meyer, R. Land, & C. Baillie (Eds.), Threshold concepts and transformational learning (pp. 61–78). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Male, S. A., & Baillie, C. A. (2014). Research guided teaching practices: Engineering thresholds; an approach to curriculum renewal. In A. Johri & B. M. Olds (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of engineering education research (pp. 393–408).Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marton, F. (1986). Educational research: Then and now. Reflections on practices and impact. The Australian Educational Researcher, 13, 5–31. doi:10.1007/BF03219264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marton, F. (1989). Towards a pedagogy of content. Educational Psychologist, 24, 1–23. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep2401_1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. H. F. (2012). ‘Variation in student learning’ as a threshold concept. The Journal of Faculty Development, 26, 8–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. H. F., Knight, D. B., Baldock, T. E., Callaghan, D. P., McCredden, J., & O’Moore, L. (2014). What to do with a threshold concept: A case study. Paper presented at the 5th Biennial International Threshold Concepts Conference, Durham, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, J. H. F., Ward, S. C., & Latreille, P. (2009). Threshold concepts and metalearning capacity. International Review of Economics Education, 8, 132–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, D. (1987). The origin of arithmetic skills: A phenomenographic approach. Göteborg, Sweden: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pace, D., & Middendorf, J. (Eds.). (2004). New directions for teaching and learning, 98. Decoding the disciplines: Helping students learn disciplinary ways of thinking. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, A., & McGill, D. (2014). Modularisation of learning outcomes in terms of threshold concepts. Waikato Journal of Education, 19(2), 105–114. doi:10.15663/wje.v19i2.102. Retrieved from http://www.wje.org.nz/index.php/WJE/article/view/102

  • Ross, P. M., Taylor, C. E., Hughes, C., Kofod, M., Whitaker, N., Lutze-Mann, L., & Tzioumis, V. (2010). Threshold concepts: Challenging the way we think, teach, and learn in biology. In J. H. F. Meyer, R. Land, & C. Baillie (Eds.), Threshold concepts and transformational learning (pp. 165–177). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, N., & Martin, R. (2014). Dancing onto the page: Crossing an academic borderland. Waikato Journal of Education, 19(2), 25–36. doi:10.15663/wje.v19i2.96. Retrieved from http://www.wje.orgnz/index.php/WJE/article/view/96

  • Shulman, L. S. (1985, April). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Presidential address at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15, 4–14. doi:10.3102/0013189X015002004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57, 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C., Tzioumis V., Meyer, J. H. F., & Ross, P. (2014). Using a mixed methods approach to explore student understanding of hypotheses in biology. In C. O’Mahony, A. Buchanan, M. O’Rourke, & B. Higgs (Eds.), Threshold concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice. Proceedings of the National Academy’s Sixth Annual Conference and the Fourth Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference (pp. 83–87).

    Google Scholar 

  • Timmermans, J. (2010). Changing our minds. The developmental potential of threshold concepts. In J. H. F. Meyer, R. Land, & C. Baillie, (Eds.), Threshold concepts and transformational learning (pp. 3–19). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Driel, J. H., & Berry, A. (2012). Teacher professional development focusing on pedagogical content knowledge. Educational Researcher, 41, 26–28. doi:10.3102/0013189X11431010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Driel, J. H., Verloop, N., & de Vos, W. (1998). Developing science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, 673–695. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098- 2736(199808)35:6<673::AID-TEA5>3.0.CO;2-J

  • Ward, S. C., & Meyer, J. H. F. (2010). Metalearning capacity and threshold concept engagement. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 47, 369–378. doi:10.1080/14703297.2010.518429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimbardi, K., Meyer, J. H. F., Chunduri, P., Lluka, L. J., Taylor, C. E., Ross, P. M., & Tzioumis, V. (2014). Student understanding of the critical features of a hypothesis: Variation across epistemic and heuristic dimensions. In C. O’Mahony, A. Buchanan, M. O’Rourke, & B. Higgs (Eds.), Proceedings of the National Academy’s Sixth Annual Conference and the Fourth Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference: Threshold concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice (pp. 123–127).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Meyer, J.H.F., Timmermans, J.A. (2016). Integrated Threshold Concept Knowledge. In: Land, R., Meyer, J.H.F., Flanagan, M.T. (eds) Threshold Concepts in Practice. Educational Futures. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-512-8_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-512-8_3

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-512-8

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics