threshold knowledge

Threshold knowledge is a term in the study of higher education used to describe core concepts—or threshold concepts—which, once understood, transform perception of a given subject, phenomenon, or experience.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.

The term was introduced by Jan Meyer and Ray Land,Meyer JHF, Land R (2005). "Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning" Higher Education, 49(3), 373-388.Land, R., Cousin, G., Meyer, J.H.F. and Davies, P. (2005), "Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (3): implications for course design and evaluation", in C. Rust (ed.), Improving Student Learning − equality and diversity, Proceedings of the 12th Improving Student Learning Conference. Oxford: OCLSD. Meyer and Land also discuss the related idea of troublesome knowledge, ideas that appear alien or counter-intuitive. The theory holds that:

{{Quote|... there are certain concepts, or certain learning experiences, which resemble passing through a portal, from which a new perspective opens up, allowing things formerly not perceived to come into view. This permits a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something, without which the learner cannot progress, and results in a reformulation of the learners' frame of meaning. The thresholds approach also emphasises the importance of disciplinary contexts. As a consequence of comprehending a threshold concept there may thus be a transformed internal view of subject matter, subject landscape, or even world view. Typical examples might be 'Personhood' in Philosophy; 'The Testable Hypothesis' in Biology; 'Gravity' in Physics; 'Reactive Power' in Electrical Engineering; 'Depreciation' in Accounting; 'Legal Narrative' in Law; 'Geologic Time' in Geology; 'Uncertainty' in Environmental Science; 'Deconstruction' in Literature; 'Limit' in Mathematics or 'Object-oriented Programming' in Computer Science.{{cite book |editor1-last=Meyer |editor1-first=Jan |editor2-last=Land |editor2-first=Ray |editor3-last=Baillie |editor3-first=Caroline |date=2010 |title=Threshold concepts and transformational learning |series=Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice |volume=42 |location=Rotterdam; Boston |publisher=Sense Publishers |page=ix |isbn=9789460912054 |oclc=649651179 |url=https://www.lamission.edu/learningcenter/docs/1177-threshold-concepts-and-transformational-learning.pdf |access-date=2017-12-18 |archive-date=2019-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214212350/http://www.lamission.edu/learningcenter/docs/1177-threshold-concepts-and-transformational-learning.pdf |url-status=dead }}}}

These ideas have been explored by several subsequent researchers in a variety of disciplinary contexts including:

• International theoryKorosteleva, E. A. (2010) Threshold Concept Through Enactive Learnings: How Effective Are They in the Study of European Politics?, International Studies Perspectives, 11, 37-50.
• Science educationPark EJ, Light G (2009). "Identifying Atomic Structure as a Threshold Concept: Student mental models and troublesomeness" International Journal of Science Education, 31(2), 233-258.Baillie C, Goodhew P, Skryabina E (2006). "Threshold concepts in engineering education-exploring potential blocks in student understanding" International Journal of Engineering Education, 22(5), 955-962.
• Economics{{Cite journal|last1=Davies|first1=Peter|last2=Mangan|first2=Jean|date=December 2007|title=Threshold concepts and the integration of understanding in economics|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075070701685148|journal=Studies in Higher Education|language=en|volume=32|issue=6|pages=711–726|doi=10.1080/03075070701685148|s2cid=143662293 |issn=0307-5079|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Peter|date=January 2019|title=The construction of frameworks in learners' thinking: Conceptual change and threshold concepts in economics|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1477388018300069|journal=International Review of Economics Education|language=en|volume=30|pages=100135|doi=10.1016/j.iree.2018.05.002|s2cid=158978997 |url-access=subscription}}
• Healthcare educationClouder L (2005). "Caring as a 'threshold concept': Transforming students in higher education into health (care) professionals" Teaching in Higher Education, 10(4), 505-517.
• MiscellaneousBradbeer J (2006). [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.96.1604&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=16 "Threshold concepts within the disciplines"]. Planet, no. 17, 16-7.Lucas, U., Mladenovic, R. (2007), "The potential of threshold concepts: an emerging framework for educational research and practice." London Review of Education, 5(3), 237−248.
• StatisticsBulmer, M., O'Brien, M., Price, S. (2007) [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.597.3009&rep=rep1&type=pdf "Troublesome concepts in statistics: a student perspective on what they are and how to learn them"], UniServe Science, Proceedings of the Assessment in Science Teaching and Learning Symposium, University of Sydney, September 28−29, 2007, 9–15.
• Information literacy{{Cite news|url=http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework|title=Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education|date=2015-02-09|work=Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)|access-date=2017-10-19|language=en}}
• Writing studies{{Cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15nmjt7|title=Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies|date=2015|publisher=University Press of Colorado|jstor=j.ctt15nmjt7 |isbn=978-0-87421-989-0}}

The theory has also been criticised.Rowbottom DP (2007). "Demystifying threshold concepts". Journal of Philosophy of Education, 41(2), 263–270. {{doi|10.1111/j.1467-9752.2007.00554.x}}

The notion of threshold concept is related to the notion of bottleneck in the Decoding the Disciplines framework. It can be considered a special case of the latter.Shopkow L and Joan Middendorf J (2020). “Caution! Theories at play! Threshold Concepts and Decoding the Disciplines.” Threshold Concepts on the Edge edited by A. Timmermans and R. Land, 37-50. Leiden: Brill/SenseShopkow, L (2010). "What decoding the disciplines can offer threshold concepts." Threshold concepts and transformational learning, 317-331. Leiden:Brill.