Troublesome Knowledge for Entry-Level PhD Nursing Students: Threshold Concepts Essential for the Research-Focused Doctorate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah E. Tyndall ◽  
Kerri B. Flinchbaugh ◽  
Nicole I. Caswell ◽  
Elaine S. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Troublesome Knowledge

Transforming the economics curriculum by integrating threshold concepts

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 492-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashan Shayanka Mendis Karunaratne ◽  
Yvonne A Breyer ◽  
Leigh N Wood
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Higher Education Economics ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose – Economics is catering to a diverse student cohort. This cohort needs to be equipped with transformative concepts that students can integrate beyond university. When a curriculum is content-driven, threshold concepts are a useful tool in guiding curriculum re-design. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The evidence for this pedagogic need can be seen in the UK’s higher education economics curriculum framework which is formulated around the threshold concepts of economics. Through a literature review of the application of threshold concepts in economics, the researcher has systematically re-designed an entry-level economics course. This research has been applied to the course structure, the learning and teaching activities, as well as the assessments. At the end of the semester, students students were surveyed on the student experience of the curriculum design and the course activities. The course grades noted the achievement of the students’ learning outcomes. Findings – When comparing the survey responses and the student course results to the previous semesters, there is a significant improvement in student experience as well as student learning outcomes of the course curriculum. Practical implications – This research provides curriculum developers with a benchmark and the tools required to transform economics curricula. Social implications – An engaging, transformative and integrative entry-level economics course is often the only exposure most business graduates have to the economics way of thinking and practice. Originality/value – This is the first comprehensive study that applies a curriculum re-design based on threshold concepts across an entry-level economics course.

scholarly journals Quantifying “deep learning” in geomatics engineering by means of classroom observations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Rangelova ◽  
Ivan Detchev ◽  
Scott Packer
Keyword(s):  
Deep Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Main Method ◽  
Teaching And Learning Research ◽  
Behavioural Engagement ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Troublesome Knowledge

On the spectra of soft-hard and pure-applied disciplines, geomatics engineering can be categorized as hard and applied, similarly to other engineering disciplines. One can expect that geomatics engineering would score lower in deep learning as such patterns have been observed for other engineering disciplines compared to soft and pure ones. Some students in upper level courses in geomatics engineering may still struggle with fundamental knowledge from lower level courses. This makes it hard for instructors to create an environment for deep learning. They may have to spend a significant amount of class time reviewing basic concepts, and not as much time is left for building up more complex concepts and problem solving. In order to be more successful in tackling higher level learning outcomes, it would be useful to identify areas of troublesome knowledge and specific threshold concepts in key geomatics engineering courses. By addressing these concepts, instructors can eliminate, or at least minimize, the bottlenecks in the learning process. This is the aim of the teaching and learning research study presented in this paper.The main method for collecting data for this study is classroom observations complemented by minute papers at the end of each course unit. Even though the study is in its early stage, some correlations between the type of lessons delivered and the student cognitive and behavioural engagement can be seen, and some concepts can already be identified as probable threshold concepts. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first study on threshold concepts in geomatics engineering

scholarly journals CROSSING THE THRESHOLD: ENHANCING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICAL ENQUIRY IN SCHOOL SCIENCE THROUGH THRESHOLD CONCEPTS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Deacon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Time Allocation ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
School Science ◽  
Curriculum Planning ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Diverse Learning ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Troublesome Knowledge

The higher education sector has been working with threshold concepts since they were first postulated in 2003. Threshold concepts offer a way to focus on areas of content which students find challenging to master. Once mastered, threshold concepts explain and integrate further areas of learning. In this sense threshold concepts can be regarded as liminal. Although well established in the higher education sector, the use of threshold concepts has not been extensively explored in schools. This article focuses on Science in the upper secondary school. Yet it is possible to imagine scenarios where highly targeted teaching of liminal content leads to space being created for practical enquiry. There is an established theoretical pedagogical framework within which threshold concepts can sit comfortably and will be familiar to schoolteachers. This framework also provides a route by which troublesome liminal knowledge can be taught. There is then the question of defining and identifying threshold concepts. Threshold concepts do suffer from a lack of definition. Much of the literature explores ideas as diverse as complex physics and attitudes and values of nursery workers. This diversity has led to a discipline specific approach to defining concepts. It is argued that teachers can work with a range of stakeholders to identify troublesome knowledge. This could alter curriculum planning, particularly time allocation, to specific troublesome content and provide time for a more diverse learning experience for pupils.

scholarly journals Introduction: Threshold Concepts in the Undergraduate Biblical Studies Classroom

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-60
Author(s):  
Thomas Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Biblical Studies ◽  
Special Topic ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Threshold Concept ◽  
Troublesome Knowledge

This Special Topic section of the journal includes an essay by John Van Maaren, “Transformative Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge,” followed by three companion essays by Richard S. Ascough, Tat-siong Benny Liew, and Jocelyn McWhirter, each of which describes a particular teaching strategy the author uses to address a key threshold concept in biblical studies courses.

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