Threshold Concepts: Undergraduate Teaching, Postgraduate Training, Professional Development and School Education

A Short Introduction and a Bibliography fom 2003 to 2018

The Meyer and Land Threshold Concept

           The idea of threshold concepts emerged from a UK national research project into the possible characteristics of strong teaching and learning environments in the disciplines for undergraduate education (Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses). In pursuing this research in the field of economics, it became clear to Erik Meyer and Ray Land [1-7], that certain concepts were held by economists to be central to the mastery of their subject. These concepts, Meyer and Land argued, could be described as ‘threshold’ ones because they have certain features in common.           
           Glynis Cousin, An introduction to threshold concepts             

Over the past decade this concept has been embraced by many disciplines outside economics; indeed the above quote is from Glynis Cousin’s excellent short introduction to the concept written for earth scientists. The threshold concept has been seen as a valuable tool, not only in facilitating students’ understanding of their subject, but in aiding the rational development of curricula in rapidly expanding arenas where there is a strong tendency to overload the curriculum (Cousin, [
2008, 2006]). This web page will describe, briefly, the characteristics of a threshold concept and list selected references to the work of those examining its value in a broad range of disciplines.

Features of a Threshold Concept

  • Transformative: Once understood, a threshold concept changes the way in which the student views the discipline.  >  More ...

  • Troublesome: Threshold concepts are likely to be troublesome for the student. Perkins [1999, 2006] has suggested that knowledge can be troublesome e.g. when it is counter-intuitive, alien or seemingly incoherent.   >  More ...

  • Irreversible: Given their transformative potential, threshold concepts are also likely to be irreversible, i.e. they are difficult to unlearn.  >  More ...

  • Integrative: Threshold concepts, once learned, are likely to bring together different aspects of the subject that previously did not appear, to the student, to be related.  >  More ...

  • Bounded: A threshold concept will probably delineate a particular conceptual space, serving a specific and limited purpose.  >  More ...

  • Discursive: Meyer and Land [2] suggest that the crossing of a threshold will incorporate an enhanced and extended use of language.  >  More ...

  • Reconstitutive: "Understanding a threshold concept may entail a shift in learner subjectivity, which is implied through the transformative and discursive aspects already noted. Such reconstitution is, perhaps, more likely to be recognised initially by others, and also to take place over time (Smith)".  >  More ...

  • Liminality: Meyer and Land [4] have likened the crossing of the pedagogic threshold to a ‘rite of passage’ (drawing on the ethnographical studies of Gennep and of Turner in which a transitional or liminal space has to be traversed; “in short, there is no simple passage in learning from ‘easy’ to ‘difficult’; mastery of a threshold concept often involves messy journeys back, forth and across conceptual terrain. (Cousin [2006])”.  >  More ...


            Last update: 29 March 2020
          
Updating of this site is now suspended due to the unavoidable absence of the compiler
USING THIS WEB SITE
NEW & RECENT ADDITIONS (29 Mar 2020)
NEWS AND EVENTS (27 September 2019)
THRESHOLD CONCEPT: FEATURES
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AUTHOR INDEX
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Mick Flanagan’s Home Page


LARGE PRINT CONTENTS LIST

Examples of the threshold concept must be transformative and involve a traverse through a liminal space. They are likely to be characterised by many of, but not necessarily all of, the other features listed above.
 

USING THIS SITE

This site is primarily a bibliography of papers on the Threshold Concept Framework organised by topics and by authors and also includes lists of the key Meyer and Land originating papers, books, overviews, critiques, theses and selected presentations. It additionally includes information on relevant activities, e.g. conferences on threshold concepts, special interest groups, awards, social networks. Links to these different parts of this bibliography and to these relevent activities may be found above in the Contents List on the right hand side of this page or on the larger print version of the Contents List. One such link, New and Recent Additions, provides a list of the most recent references added to the bibliography.

Clicking on an author name in references listed on this web site activates a link to a list of that author’s papers on threshold concepts and, where available, a link to that author’s home page.

New to the Threshold Concept: Where to start
The Threshold Concept Framework has grown significantly since this web site was first created and this bibliography, though found useful by many lecturers, teachers and researchers familiar with the threshold concept, is now so large as to be less helpful than it originally was for anyone, new to the concept, wishing to incorporate the framework into either their teaching or research. It is far from obvious where such an individual starts. This section will list papers in which the authors have addressed this issue and have suggested a guide to working with the framework:

  Timmermans, J. A. and Meyer, J. H. F. (2017) A framework for working with university teachers to create and embed ‘Integrated Threshold Concept Knowledge’ (ITCK) in their practice,
International Journal for Academic Development: Available online 17 Oct 2017; DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2017.1388241.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2017.1388241           (last accessed: 3 November 2017)

Hopefully, as the framework is now maturing, more such papers will appear.

Extent of this site's coverage of the Threshold Concept Framework
This bibliography initially reflected the interests of the
compiler but, over a decade, has been massively extended to cover most disciplines and topics in which there are published papers on the threshold concept framework. However, the compiler makes no claim to the site being an exhaustive bibliography. Please feel free to e.mail Mick Flanagan [m.flanagan@ucl.ac.uk] with any comments or relevant references.

The Threshold Concept Framework has matured to the extent that the term, threshold concept, is entering common and passing usage in a significant number of pedagogic research papers, i.e. is referred to in passing with no cited reference. Such papers are no longer included in this bibliography unless they also contain a substantial discussion of some aspect of the threshold concept framework.

SOURCE REFERENCES, BOOKS, OVERVIEWS, PRESENTATIONS, BIBLIOGRAPHY

Key Meyer and Land Papers

The papers cited in this section track the inception and original development of the Threshold Concept framework by
Erik Meyer and Ray Land with seminal contributions by Peter Davies and Glynis Cousin.

1. Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (2003) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: linkages to ways of thinking and practising,
In: Rust, C. (ed.), Improving Student Learning - Theory and Practice Ten Years On. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD), pp 412-424.
[See also for an on-line version: Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses, ETL Project, Occasional Report 4, May 2003   last accessed 25 June 2008]

2. Meyer, J.H.F. and 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.

3. 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 - diversity and inclusivity, Proceedings of the 12th Improving Student Learning Conference. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development (OCSLD), pp 53-64.
[https://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~mflanaga/ISL04-pp53-64-Land-et-al.pdf   last accessed 10 August 2009]

4. Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (2006) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: Issues of liminality,
In: Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (eds.), Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge, London and New York: Routledge, pp 19-32,   [book details].

5. Meyer, J.H.F., Land, R. and Davies, P. (2006) Implications of threshold concepts for course design and evaluation,
In: Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (eds.), Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge, London and NewYork: Routledge,    pp 195-206,   [book details].

6. Meyer, J.H.F., Land, R. and Davies, P. (2008) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (4): Issues of variation and variability,
in: Land, R., Meyer, J.H.F. and Smith, J., (eds), Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines. Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, pp 59-74,   [book details].

7. Land, R. and Meyer, J. H. F. (2010) Threshold concepts and troublesome: Dynamics of Assessment,
in: Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning, Land, R., Meyer, J.H.F. and Baillie, C., (eds), Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, pp. 61-79,   [book details].

Books on the Threshold Concept or with a significant emphasis on the Threshold Concept

Books on the threshold concept in general

Threshold Concepts in Practice (2016)
Edited by Ray Land, Jan H. F. Meyer and Michael T Flanagan

Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, Michael A Peters (Series Editor), volume 68
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei, 2016
ISBN: 978-94-6300-510-4 (paperback), ISBN: 978-94-6300-511-1 (hardback), ISBN: 978-94-6300-512-8 (e-book)

Threshold Concepts in Practice brings together fifty researchers from sixteen countries and a wide variety of disciplines to analyse their teaching practice, and the learning experiences of their students, through the lens of the Threshold Concepts Framework.

The majority of chapters in this book are developments of talks first presented at the Fifth International Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference: Threshold Concepts in Practice, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom, 9-11 July, 2014.

Click here for Further Details and Table of Contents.





Hamilton, C. (2016) Critical Thinking for Better Learning: New Insights from Cognitive Science
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland USA, 31 Jul 2016, ISBN: 978-1-4758-2778-1 (hardback), 978-1-4758-2779-8 (paperback), 978-1-4758-2780-4 (ebook)
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475827781/Critical-Thinking-for-Better-Learning-New-Insights-from-Cognitive-Science

Didau, D. (2015) What if everything you knew about education was wrong? ,
Crown House Publishing, Carmarthen, Wales, UK, ISBN-10: 1845909631, ISBN-13: 978-1845909635
https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/publications/what-if-everything-you-knew-about-education-was-wrong           (last accessed: 12 November 2015)

From personal practice to communities of practice (2014)
Edited by Catherine O'Mahony, Avril Buchanan, Mary O'Rourke and Bettie Higgs
NAIRTL, Ireland, January 2014, ISBN: 978-1-906642-59-4
Conference e.book
This is the conference book of talks first presented at the Fourth Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference: From personal practice to communities of practice, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 27-29 June 2012.

Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning (2010)
Edited by Jan H. F. Meyer, Ray Land and Caroline Baillie
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 2010
[Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, Peters, M.A. (Ed), Volume 42]
The majority of chapters in this book are developments of talks first presented at the Threshold Concepts Conference: from theory to practice,
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 18th - 20th June 2008.

Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines (2008)
Edited by Ray Land, Jan H. F. Meyer and Jan Smith
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 2008
[Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, Michael Peters (Ed.), volume 16]
ISBN 978-90-8790-267-4 (paperback), ISBN 978-90-8790-268-1 (hardback).
The majority of chapters in this book are developments of talks first presented at the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, 30 August-1 September 2006.

•  Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2006)
Edited by Jan H. F. Meyer and Ray Land
Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York, 2006
ISBN10:    0-415-37430-8,        ISBN13:    978-0-415-37430-9.

Books on the theshold concept in a specific discipline

Threshold Concepts in Problem-based Learning (2018)
Edited by Maggi Savin-Baden and Gemma Tombs
Brill Sense Publishers, 2018, ISBN: 978-90-04-37511-6
Chapter Headings

Barrett, T. (2017) A New Model of Problem-Based Learning: Inspiring Concepts, Practice Strategies and Case Studies from Higher Education,
Publisher: All Ireland Society for Higher Education (AISHE), Maynooth, Ireland, ISBN: 978-0-9935254-6-9
http://www.aishe.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Full-Book-A-New-Model-Of-Problem-Based-Learning-Terry-Barrett_book.pdf#page=73           (last accessed: 30 June 2017)

Disciplinary Applications of Information Literacy Threshold Concepts (2017)
Edited by Samantha Godbey, Susan Beth Wainscott and Xan Goodman
Americal Library Association, ACLR Publication ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-8970-8
https://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=12291

Burkhardt, J.M. (2016) Teaching Information Literacy Reframed: 50+ Framework-Based Exercises for Creating Information-Literate Learners
Publisher: ALA Neal-Schuman, ISBN-13: 978-0-8389-1397-0
http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=11694

Townsend, L. and Hanick, S.L. (2016) Transforming Information Literacy Instruction: Threshold Concepts in Theory and Practice
Available December 2016.
Published by Libraries Unlimit, ISBN-10: 1440841675, ISBN-13: 9781440841675.
Cengage Learning

Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies (2015)
Edited by Adler-Kassner, L. and Wardle, E.
University Press of Colarado (published by the Utah State University Press)
ISBN: 978-0-87421-989-0 (paperback),       ISBN: 978-0-87421-989-6 (ebook)
http://www.upcolorado.com/utah-state-university-press/item/2705-naming-what-we-know           (last accessed: 19 July 2015)
Reviews:
Lucas, B. E., Brookins, N., Hodges, R., Long, A., Madonna, A., McKelvy, I., Miller, A., Santore, T. and Whitehead, J. (2017) Book Review of Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Elizabeth Wardle, eds. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies,
Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning 22 (Winter 20116-2017), 117-120.
http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1299&context=jaepl           (last accessed: 29 August 2017)

Panshula Ganeshan, (2016) Review of Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies,
Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC), 44 (2), 223-225.
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/TETYC/0442-dec2016/TETYC0442Reviews.pdf           (last accessed: 25 January 2017)

Teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts: Lesson Plans for Librarians (2015)
Edited by Patricia Bravender, Hazel McClure and Gayle Schaub
Americal Library Association, ISBN-10: 0838987710, ISBN-13: 978-0838987711
http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=11471

Clark, T. (2015) Ecocriticism on the Edge: The Anthropocene as a Threshold Concept,
Bloomsbury Academic (27 August 2015), Bloomsbury Publishing, London
ISBN-10: 1472505735, ISBN-13: 978-1472505736
http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/ecocriticism-on-the-edge-9781472506702/           (last accessed: 9 January 2015)
Review:
Corrigan, P. T. (2016) Messy Thresholds, a review of the book: Ecocriticism on the Edge: The Anthropocene as a Threshold Concept by Timothy Clark ,
The Goose 15 (1), Article 7.
http://scholars.wlu.ca/thegoose/vol15/iss1/7           (last accessed: 3 September 2016)

Fletcher, J. (2015) Teaching Arguments: Rhetorical Comprehension, Critique, and Response,
Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, USA, 2015, ISBN: 978-157110-999-6
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/teaching-arguments.htm           (last accessed: 19 February 2015)
See Book Reviews for a review of this book.

Launius, C. and Hassel, H. (2015) Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing,
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, New York, USA, and Abingdon, UK, 2015
http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781317656449_sample_867920.pdf           (last accessed: 28 December 2014)

Overviews and Critiques of the Threshold Concept

Single Paper Overviews and Critiques

  Davies, P. (2018) The construction of frameworks in learners’ thinking: Conceptual change and threshold concepts in economics,
International Review of Economics Education: Available online 30 July 2018.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2018.05.002           (last accessed: 25 August 2018)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1477388018300069#!           (last accessed: 25 August 2018)

  Timmermans, J. A. and Meyer, J. H. F. (2017) A framework for working with university teachers to create and embed ‘Integrated Threshold Concept Knowledge’ (ITCK) in their practice,
International Journal for Academic Development: Available online 17 Oct 2017; DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2017.1388241.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2017.1388241           (last accessed: 3 November 2017)

  Barradell, S. and Peseta, T. (2017) Putting threshold concepts to work in health sciences: insights for curriculum design from a qualitative research synthesis,
Teaching in Higher Education 22 (3), 349-372.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13562517.2016.1248390           (last accessed: 14 July 2017)
Though the critique is drawn from the healthcare arena this critique has validity across much of the threshold concept framework.

  Nicola-Richmond, K., Pépin, G., Larkin, H. and Taylor, C. (2017) Threshold concepts in higher education: a synthesis of the literature relating to measurement of threshold crossing,
Higher Education Research & Development (HERDSA) Available online: 14 Jun 2017
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360.2017.1339181?journalCode=cher20           (last accessed: 4 July 2017)

  Reeping, D., McNair, L. D., Harrison, S. R., Knapp, R. B., Lester, L. F., Martin, T., Patrick, A. Y. and Wisnioski, M. (2017) How are Threshold Concepts Applied? A Review of the Literature,
2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, June 25-28, 2017
https://peer.asee.org/board-97-how-are-threshold-concepts-applied-a-review-of-the-literature           (last accessed: 1 August 2017)
[An overview across the engineering and computer sciences with relevance across a wider disciplinary spectrum]

  Barry, D. S. and Littlewood, K. E. (2017) Threshold Concepts for Anesthesiologists,
Anesthesia & Analgesia 125 (4), 1386-1393.
http://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/toc/2017/10000           (last accessed: 31 December 2017)
[A critique from a medical viewpoint but with wider implications]

  Meyer, J. H. F. (2016) Threshold concepts and pedagogic representation,
Education + Training 58 (5), .
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/ET-04-2016-0066           (last accessed: 7 May 2016)

  Land, R. (2015) Facilitating the Academy through Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge,
In: On the Facilitation of the Academy, Editors: Elias Westergaard and Joachim S Wiewiura, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 2015, ISBN 978-94-6209-972-2 (paperback), ISBN 978-94-6209-973-9 (hardback), ISBN 978-94-6209-974-6 (e-book), Chapter 2, pp 17-29
https://www.sensepublishers.com/catalogs/bookseries/other-books/on-the-facilitation-of-the-academy/           (last accessed: 17 February 2015)

  Barradell, S. (2013) The identification of threshold concepts: a review of theoretical complexities and methodological challenges,
Higher Education, 65 (2), 265-276.

  Cousin, G. (2010) Neither teacher-centred nor student-centred: threshold concepts and research partnerships,
Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Issue 2: February 2010.
[http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/ojs/index.php?journal=jldhe&page=article&op=viewFile&path[]=64&path[]=41   last accessed 14 May 2010]

  Cousin, G. (2008) Threshold Concepts: Old Wine in New Bottles or New Forms of Transactional Inquiry,
in: Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines, Land, R., Meyer, J.H.F. and Smith, J., (eds), Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, pp 261-272,   [book details].
A streamed video of Glynis Cousin’s presentation at the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, Glasgow, September, 2006 that led to this paper can be accessed at http://video.strath.ac.uk/06/140-06-04.wvx [last accessed 5/06/09].

  Cousin, G. (2007) Exploring threshold concepts for linking teaching and research,
Paper presented to the International Colloquium: International Policies and Practices for Academic Enquiry, Winchester, April:
https://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~mflanaga/Glynis_Cousin_Exploring_.pdf (last accessed 3 March 2008).

  Lucas, U. and Mladenovic, R. (2007) The potential of threshold concepts: an emerging framework for educational research and practice,
London Review of Education, Vol. 5, No. 3, November 2007, pp. 237-248

  Rowbottom, D. P. (2007) Demystifying Threshold Concepts,
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 41 (2), 263-270

  Cousin, G. (2006) An introduction to threshold concepts,
Planet No 17, December 2006, pp 4-5.
[Cousin Planet 17.pdf   last accessed 25 June 2008]

Collection of Papers as Overview

  Threshold Concepts in Practice (2016)
Edited by Ray Land, Jan H. F. Meyer and Michael T Flanagan
Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, Michael A Peters (Series Editor), volume 68, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei, 2016
ISBN: 978-94-6300-510-4 (paperback), ISBN: 978-94-6300-511-1 (hardback), ISBN: 978-94-6300-512-8 (e-book)

Threshold Concepts in Practice brings together fifty researchers from sixteen countries and a wide variety of disciplines to analyse their teaching practice, and the learning experiences of their students, through the lens of the Threshold Concepts Framework.

The majority of chapters in this book are developments of talks first presented at the Fifth International Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference: Threshold Concepts in Practice, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom, 9-11 July, 2014.

Click here for Further Details and Table of Contents

  Threshold Concepts and Conceptual Difficulty,
Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PESTLHE), 12, (2), 2017; Special Edition: Threshold Concepts 2017.
Special Edition Editors: Ray Land and Julie Rattray, Durham University, UK.
The great majority of the articles in this special issue were first presented at the 5th International Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts held at Collingwood College in the University of Durham from 9th-11th July 2014.
http://community.dur.ac.uk/pestlhe.learning/index.php/pestlhe/index           (last accessed: 10 May 2017)

  From personal practice to communities of practice (2014)
Edited by Catherine O'Mahony, Avril Buchanan, Mary O'Rourke and Bettie Higgs
NAIRTL, Ireland, January 2014, ISBN: 978-1-906642-59-4
Conference e.book
This is the conference book of talks first presented at the Fourth Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference: From personal practice to communities of practice, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, 27-29 June 2012.

  Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning (2010)
Edited by Jan H. F. Meyer, Ray Land and Caroline Baillie
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 2010
[Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, Peters, M.A. (Ed), Volume 42]
The majority of chapters in this book are developments of talks first presented at the Threshold Concepts Conference: from theory to practice,
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 18th - 20th June 2008.

  Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines (2008)
Edited by Ray Land, Jan H. F. Meyer and Jan Smith
Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, 2008
[Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, Michael Peters (Ed.), volume 16]
ISBN 978-90-8790-267-4 (paperback), ISBN 978-90-8790-268-1 (hardback).
The majority of chapters in this book are developments of talks first presented at the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, 30 August-1 September 2006.

  Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2006)
Edited by Jan H. F. Meyer and Ray Land
Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York, 2006
ISBN10:    0-415-37430-8,        ISBN13:    978-0-415-37430-9.


See also
Other Threshold Concept Web Pages

Selected Video and Podcast Presentations on the Threshold Concept

  Land, R. (2014) A Closer Look at Liminality: incorrigibles and threshold capital
Keynote Presentation, Fourth Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice, Trinity College, Dublin, 28-29 June 2012.
On-line video recording: http://www.nairtl.ie/index.php?pageID=627&PHPSESSID=3977846af865678a7fa99cd4598810be
Full Paper: Land, R. and Rattray, J. A Closer Look at Liminality: incorrigibles and threshold capital
in 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 [e-publication], Editors: Catherine O'Mahony, Avril Buchanan, Mary O'Rourke and Bettie Higgs, January 2014, NAIRTL, Ireland, ISBN: 978-1-906642-59-4, pp 1-12.
http://www.nairtl.ie/documents/EPub_2012Proceedings.pdf#page=11      [last accessed 28 January 2014]

  Cousin, G. (2014) Threshold Concepts as an Analytical Tool for Researching Higher Education Pedagogy
Keynote Presentation, Fourth Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice, Trinity College, Dublin, 28-29 June 2012.
On-line video recording: http://www.nairtl.ie/index.php?pageID=627&PHPSESSID=3977846af865678a7fa99cd4598810be
Full Paper in 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 [e-publication], Editors: Catherine O'Mahony, Avril Buchanan, Mary O'Rourke and Bettie Higgs, January 2014, NAIRTL, Ireland, ISBN: 978-1-906642-59-4, pp 22-25.
http://www.nairtl.ie/documents/EPub_2012Proceedings.pdf#page=32      [last accessed 28 January 2014]

  Higgs, B. (2014) Threshold Concepts: Navigating the Route
Keynote Presentation, Fourth Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice, Trinity College, Dublin, 28-29 June 2012.
On-line video recording: http://www.nairtl.ie/index.php?pageID=627&PHPSESSID=3977846af865678a7fa99cd4598810be
Full Paper in 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 [e-publication], Editors: Catherine O'Mahony, Avril Buchanan, Mary O'Rourke and Bettie Higgs, January 2014, NAIRTL, Ireland, ISBN: 978-1-906642-59-4, pp 13-21.
http://www.nairtl.ie/documents/EPub_2012Proceedings.pdf#page=23      [last accessed 28 January 2014]

  Carmichael, P. (2014) From this Curriculum to That which is to Come: Threshold Concepts, Complexity and Change
Keynote Presentation, Fourth Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice, Trinity College, Dublin, 28-29 June 2012.
On-line video recording: http://www.nairtl.ie/index.php?pageID=627&PHPSESSID=3977846af865678a7fa99cd4598810be
Full Paper in 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 [e-publication], Editors: Catherine O'Mahony, Avril Buchanan, Mary O'Rourke and Bettie Higgs, January 2014, NAIRTL, Ireland, ISBN: 978-1-906642-59-4, pp 26-29.
http://www.nairtl.ie/documents/EPub_2012Proceedings.pdf#page=36      [last accessed 28 January 2014]

  Cousin, G. (2011) Professor Christine Hockings interviews Professor Glynis Cousin,
http://open.jorum.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/15990

  Land, R. (2010) Threshold Concepts and Issues of Interdisciplinarity,
Featured Lecture given at the Third Biennial Threshold Concepts Symposium; Exploring transformative dimensions of threshold concepts: The University of New South Wales in collaboration with the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 1-2 July 2010
Video of the lecture: http://tv.unsw.edu.au/video/professor-ray-land-and-professor-erik-meyer    (last accessed 19 October 2010)

  Perkins, D. (2010) Threshold Experiences: Moving Concepts from Object to Instrument to Action,
Keynote Lecture given at the Third Biennial Threshold Concepts Symposium; Exploring transformative dimensions of threshold concepts: The University of New South Wales in collaboration with the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 1-2 July 2010
Video of the lecture: http://tv.unsw.edu.au/video/professor-david-perkins    (last accessed 19 October 2010)

  Meyer, J.H.F. and Flanagan, M.T. (2010) On epistemes,
Featured Lecture given at the Third Biennial Threshold Concepts Symposium; Exploring transformative dimensions of threshold concepts: The University of New South Wales in collaboration with the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 1-2 July 2010
Video of the lecture: http://tv.unsw.edu.au/video/professor-erik-meyer-and-dr-mick-flanagan    (last accessed 19 October 2010)

 Atherton, J. (2010): Introducing Threshold Concepts
Part 1: https://vimeo.com/115832023
Part 2: https://vimeo.com/11600717
Part 3: https://vimeo.com/11601051
Part 4: https://vimeo.com/11601728
Part 5: https://vimeo.com/11602354   last accessed 13 May 2010.

 Cousin, G. (2009): Interview at the Central Queensland University
http://onlinemedia.cqu.edu.au/media_request.htm?file=cqu/staff/asdu/interviews/2009_g_cousin&formats=3   last accessed 18 October 2009.

  Brunetti, K., Hofer, A.R. and Townsend, L. (2009): Through the Looking Glass: Teaching Information Literacy with Threshold Concepts,
WILU (Workshop for Instruction in Library Use) Annual Conference 2009: "Reflections", Concordia University, Montreal, May 25-27, 2009.
Presentation: http://voicethread.com/#q.b527453.i0.k0   last accessed 21 July 2009

  Johnstone, K., Dym, C. and Jacobius, T. (2008) Process, foundation, or skills: Is there a pedagogical difference?,
Presentations and Discussions, (Moderator, Crawley, E.), Project-Centred Learning Symposium 2008, Cambridge-MIT Institute Partnership Programme.
  • Threshold concepts - Keith Johnstone, University of Cambridge, UK
  • Design Process - Clive Dym, Harvey Mudd College
  • Transferable skills - Tom Jacobius, Illinois Institute of Technology
Podcast: http://techtv.mit.edu/tags/741-threshold/videos?view=list   last accessed 7 December 2009

  Cousin, G. (2006): Threshold Concepts: Old Wine in New Bottles or New Forms of Transactional Inquiry?
Presentation at the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, Glasgow, September, 2006; http://video.strath.ac.uk/06/140-06-04.wvx   last accessed 18 October 2009

  Perkins, D. (2006): Beyond Understanding
Presentation at the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, Glasgow, September, 2006; http://video.strath.ac.uk/06/140-06-01.wvx    last accessed 18 October 2009

  Entwistle, N. (2006) Threshold Concepts and Transformative Ways of Thinking in Research into Higher Education,
Presentation at the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, Glasgow, September, 2006; http://video.strath.ac.uk/06/140-06-02.wvx    last accessed 18 October 2009

Selected Powerpoint Presentations on the Threshold Concept

  Tucker, V. M. (2013) The expert searcher and threshold concepts: Understanding threshold concept theory. ,
San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science Colloquium Series:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2169C089B850A9B8           (last accessed: 16 February 2014)

  Land, R. (2010) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: A Transformative Approach to Learning,
Keynote Address at the New Zealand Association of Bridging Educators 9th National Conference, 29 September to 1 October 2010, Wellington, New Zealand:
http://www.utdc.vuw.ac.nz/events/RayLand/201009RayLandSlides.ppt   [last accessed 23 July 2011]

  Land, R. and Meyer, J.H.F. (2010) Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge,
Keynote Presentation at issotl10 (International Society for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) Conference, Liverpool, UK, October 19-20, 2010:
http://issotl10.indiana.edu/pres/tc.ppt   [last accessed 23 July 2011]

  Brunetti, K., Hofer, A.R. and Townsend, L. (2009): Through the Looking Glass: Teaching Information Literacy with Threshold Concepts,
WILU (Workshop for Instruction in Library Use) Annual Conference 2009: “Reflections”, Concordia University, Montreal, May 25-27, 2009.
Presentation: http://voicethread.com/#q.b527453.i0.k0   last accessed 21 July 2009



Specific Topics

Links to the subjects covered by this bibliography are listed below, alphabetically, and ordered into specific disciplines, e.g. economics, and teaching and learning topics, e.g. doctoral research, virtual worlds.
An extended larger print single column version of this specific topics index can be found on
Subject Index.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
Academic Identity
Academic Professional Development (APD)
Academic Writing
Academic Speaking
Accountancy
Action Learning
Action Research
Actuarial Studies
Acting
Adult & Adolescent Education
Aerospace Engineering
Affect
Affordance
Agency
Aging
Agriculture
Alien Knowledge
Ambiguity
Ambivalence
Analysis
Anatomy
Animation
Anthropology
APD (Academic Professional Development)
Apprenticeship
Archaeology
Architecture
Argument
Art
Assessment
Attitude
Audience Response Technology (ART)
Audio-diaries
Author Index
Awareness

B

Becoming
Best Paper Awards
Between Course Transfer
Biochemistry
Bio-engineering
Biology
Blended Learning
Blindness & Education
Books
Botany
Bottlenecks
Built Environment
Business Communication
Business Studies

C

Capabilities
Care & Caring
Case-based Reasoning
Case Studies
Change (pedgogic)
Chemical Engineering
Characteristics of a Threshold Concept
Chemistry
Childhood Education
Childhood Studies
Chinese
Civic Engagement
Civil Engineering
Classroom
Clickers
Climate Change
Coaching (Sports)
Cognition
Cognitive Load Theory
Communication
Communities
Competencies
Complexity
Computer Programming
Computer Science
Concept Mapping
Concept representation (CoRe)
Conferences
Confusion
Construction Engineering
Constructive Alignment
Constructivism
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Conversation
Course Design
Country List
CPD (Continuing Professional Development)
Creativity
Critical Reflection
Critical Thinking
Criticisms of the Threshold Concept
Crossdisciplinarity
Crossing Thresholds
Cultural Studies
Curiosity
Curricula: Design and Development

D

Dance
Decoding the Disciplines
Deep and Surface Learning
Delphi Technique
Dentistry
Design (Commercial and Industrial Design)
Design (Course Design)
Difficult Knowledge
Digital Learning
Disability and Learning
Discourse
Dissertations on the Threshold Concept
Dissonance
Distance Learning
Diversity
Doctoral Studies
Dramatic Arts and Film

E

Early Childhood Education
Earth Sciences
Economics
Education
Egypt
e-Learning
Electrical Engineering
Electronic Engineering
Electronic Voting Systems (EVS)
Embedment
Emergence
Emotion
Empathy
Empowerment
Employability
Enablement
Engagement
Engineering
Engineering: General Issues
English
Enhancement
Enquiry-Based Learning
Entrepreneurship
Environmental Studies
Epistemological Issues
e-Portfolios
Equality
Estonian
Ethics
Ethnographic Background
Ethnographic Studies
Evidence
Evidence Based Practice
Evolution
EVS (Electronic Voting Systems)
Experiential Education
Expertise
Exploration (pedagogic)

F

Facilitation
Features of a Threshold Concept
Film
Finance
Flipped Classroom
Food science
Foreign Students
Forensic Science
Foundation Courses

G

Gender Studies
Genetics
Geography
Geology
Graduate Employability
Grammar
Grounded Theory

H

Health Care
Health Care Course Design
Health and Safety
Health Promotion
Help
History
Human Computer Interface
Hospitality Studies
Hybridity
Hypotheses

I
Identity
Inclusive Excellence
Indigenous Studies
Industry
Information Literacy
Information Systems
Information Technology
Inquiry-Based Learning
Integrated Threshold Concept Knowledge
Integrative Aspect
Intensive Mode Teaching
Intercultural Studies
Interdisciplinarity
International Students
Irreversibility Aspect

J

Japanese Studies
Journalism
Justice
Just-In-Time Teaching

K


L

Laboratory Classes
Land, R. and Meyer, E. - Key Papers
Languages
Large Lecture Classes
Laws
Learner Identity
Learning Disability
Learning Outcomes
Leisure Studies
Library Studies
Lifelong learning
Life Sciences
Liminality
Linguistics
Literature Syntheses
Logistics

M

Management
Marketing
Massively Open Online Courses
Materials science
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Media Literacy
Medicine
Mental Health
Mentoring
Metacognition
Metadisciplinarity
Metalearning
Metallurgy
Metaphor
Meyer, E. and Land, R. - Key Papers
Microbiology
Military Education
Mimicry
Mining
Misconceptions
Models and Modelling
Molecular Biology
MOOCs
Motivation
Multidisciplinarity
Multimedia
Museum Studies
Music

N

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Narratives
National Student Survey
Nettlesome Knowledge
Networked Learning
Neuroscience
Nonformal Education
Numeracy
Nursing

O

Occupational Therapy
Online learning
Open Educational Resources (OER)
Ontological Issues
Orthotics
Osteopathy
Outdoor Education
Overcrowded Curricula
Overseas Students
Overviews of the threshold concept

P

Palliative Care
Paradox
Patient Care
PBL (Problem-Based Learning)
Pedagogic Directions
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
Peer Assisted Learning
Personal Response Systems (PRS)
Pharmacology
Pharmacy
PhD Training
Phenomenographic Studies
Philosophy
Photography
Physics
Physiology
Physiotherapy
Plagiarism
Podcasting
Poetry
Policing
Politics
Portfolios (e-Portfolios)
Postgraduate Education
Practice Education
Prior Knowledge
Programming (Computer)
Problematic Knowledge
Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
Prosthetics
Professional Identity [non-academic]
PRS (Personal Response Systems)
Public Health
Psychology
Psychiatry
Psychotherapy

Q

Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research Syntheses
Quantitative Literacy

R

Radiography
Rasch Measurement
Reading
Reflection
Reflexivity
Refugee Camps: education within refugee camps
Religious Studies
Research Education
Research Postgraduate Education
Responsibility
Retention on Courses
Retrospective Analysis
Reviewing The literature
Reviews of Threshold Concept Books
Reviews of Threshold Concept Conferences
Reviews of Journal Special Editions on Threshold Concepts
Rhetoric
Risk
Ritual Knowledge

S

Safety Engineering
Scale
Science Teaching
SoTL
School Education
Screencasting
Second Life
Serious Games
Service-learning
Signification
Sign Language
Simulation
Skills
Social Care
Social Identity
Social Justice
Social Media
Social Science Studies
Social Work
Sociology
South Africa
Spanish
Spatial Science
Speaking
Sports
Statistics
Storytelling
Stuck Places
Student Diversity
Student Identity
Student-Staff Partnership
Surface Learning
Surgery
Surveillance
Surveying
Sustainability
Systems Engineering

T

Tacit Knowledge
Taught Postgraduate Education
Teacher Education
Teaching Awards
Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)
TEL: broader aspects
Theology
Theoretical Perspectives
Theory and Practice Comparisons
Theses on the Threshold Concept
Tourism
Training
Transdisciplinarity
Transactional Inquiry
Transformation
Transport
Troublesome Knowledge
Troublesomeness
Trust
Turkish

U

Uncertainty
Urban Planning

V

Variation Theory
Veterinary Medicine
Video Making
Virtual Conferencing
Virtual Laboratories
Virtual Worlds, e.g. Second Life
Visual Impairment
Visualisation
Vocational Education

W

Ways of Thinking and Practising (WTP)
Web 2
Wicked Problems
Widening Participation
Withdrawal from Courses
Women’s Studies
Writing

X

Y

Youth Work Education

Z
Zoology

A compilation of all the references in this bibliography arranged under the surnames of the relevant authors may be found on Author Index.



Ethnographic Background

Victor Turner, drawing on Arnold van Gennep's work on ritual rites of passage, extended van Gennep's concept of a liminal state. Turner's work has been influential and the concept of a liminal state has migrated from its original anthropological context to wider sociological contexts and is now seen as relevant to pedagogic research.

See Liminality for a brief discussion of the liminal state in the context of threshold concepts.

See Ethnographic Studies for references on ethnonographic studies in the context of threshold concepts.

  van Gennep, A. (1909), Les Rites de Passage,
Éditions A. et J. Picard, Paris, 2011 [réimpr. de l’édit. augmentée de 1969], ISBN : 978-2-7084-0900-2
The Rites of Passage, Translation by Monika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee, 1960, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1961
ISBN: 9780226848495 (paperback), ISBN: 9780226027180 (E-book).

  Turner, V. (1969), The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure,
Aldine Transaction Publishers, ISBN: 978-0-202-01190-5 (1995 reprint)




Journal and Book Special Issues

Future Special Issues

  Futue special issues will be listed here.

Past Special Issues

  Threshold Concepts in Health and Social Care
International Journal of Practice-based Learning in Health and Social Care, 6, (1), 2018): Special Issue: Threshold Concepts in Health and Social Care
A guest-edited special edition, exploring how threshold concepts are being put to use in health and social care education, to foster the capabilities required in professional practice. The editors of this special edition are Linda Martindale, Sarah Barradell, Hilary Neve and Ray Land.
http://e-learning.coventry.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/pblh/index           (last accessed: 23 August 2018)

  Threshold Concepts and Conceptual Difficulty,
Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PESTLHE), 12, (2), 2017; Special Edition: Threshold Concepts 2017.
Special Edition Editors: Ray Land and Julie Rattray, Durham University, UK.
The great majority of the articles in this special issue were first presented at the 5th International Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts held at Collingwood College in the University of Durham from 9th-11th July 2014.
http://community.dur.ac.uk/pestlhe.learning/index.php/pestlhe/index           (last accessed: 10 May 2017)

  Theological Education and Threshold Concepts,
Journal of Adult Theological Education, 13, (2), 2016; Themed Issue: Theological Education and Threshold Concepts.
Themed Issue Editors: Peter Mudge and Jan H F Meyer.
This themed issue explores the juncture between Theology and Threshold Concepts. It has become increasingly apparent to those involved at the intersection between these two fields that there was a special affinity between the theoretical underpinnings of TCs and the practice and praxis associated with areas such as theology, ethics, biblical studies, practical theology, theology of disability, religious education, and spirituality, among many others (Mudge and Meyer).
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yate20/13/2           (last accessed: 29 October 2016)

  Application of Threshold Concepts in Business Education,
Education + Training, 58, (5), 2016; Special Edition: Application of Threshold Concepts in Business Education.
Special Edition Editors: Chris Bajada and Rowan Trayler, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
The focus of the special issue is on embedding threshold concepts in the area of business and management education (from curriculum design through to learning activities).
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/et/58/5           (last accessed: 5 May 2016)

  Threshold Concepts in Management Education: Research, Teaching and Learning,
Journal of Management Education, 39 (4), 2015; Special Edition: Threshold Concepts in Management Education: Research, Teaching and Learning.
Special Edition Editors: April L Wright and Paul Hibbert.
http://jme.sagepub.com/content/39/4.toc           (last accessed: 20 September 2015)

  Emergent learning and threshold concepts in tertiary education,
Waikato Journal of Education (Te Hautaka Mātauranga o Waikato), Special Edition: Emergent learning and threshold concepts in tertiary education 19 (2), 2014.
Special Edition Editors: Ann Harlow, Mira Peter and Anne McKim.
http://www.wje.org.nz/index.php/WJE/article/view/95http://www.wje.org.nz/index.php/WJE/issue/view/15           (last accessed: 12 January 2015)

  Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, 9th issue, Spring 2013
http://teachingandlearningtogether.blogs.brynmawr.edu/archived-issues/ninth-issue-sprin-2013

  Threshold Concepts in Educational Development,
The Journal of Faculty Development, Special Issue: Threshold Concepts in Educational Development, 26, (3), 2012.
Special Issue Editors: Catherine King and Peter Felten
http://store.newforums.com/Threshold-Concepts-in-Educational-Development-JFD263.htm

  Planet No 17, December 2006.
Special edition of Planet arising from the HEA GEES Subject Centre’s residential conference, entitled What on Earth ...? Student Learning in Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, held at the Quality Inn, Plymouth at the end of June 2006. [http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rhep12/17/1   last accessed 12 January 2015]




Theses and Dissertations

This section lists theses and dissertations that either feature the threshold concept framework as a central theme or contain serious discussion of the threshold concept framework.

  Dunn, M. J. (2018) Threshold concepts and the troublesome transition from GCSE to A level: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of students’ experiences in secondary school biology,
Doctor of Education thesis, University of Leicester, School of Education, 15 February 2018
https://lra.le.ac.uk/handle/2381/41217           (last accessed: 7 March 2018)

  Halliwell, D. C. (2018) Building for Communities: Definitions, Conceptual Models, and Adaptations to Community Located Work,
Master of Arts Thesis, Department of English, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA, 2018
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=miami1533052538144644&disposition=inline           (last accessed: 24 August 2018)

  Nolan, A. W. (2018) The Effect of an Historical Geology Course on Students’ Attitudes Towards Science and Their Knowledge of Deep Time as a Threshold to Their Knowledge of Evolution,
PhD Dissertation, Graduate School, The College of Science and Technology and the Center for Science and Mathematics Education, The University of Southern Mississippi, USA, 2018
https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2601&context=dissertations           (last accessed: 25 August 2018)

  Paquette, A. J. (2018) The development of proficiency among undergraduate digital art students,
Doctor of Philosphy Thesis, King’s College, London, 25 May, 2018
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/158139585.pdf           (last accessed: 17 July 2018)

  Reinsfield, E. (2018) The potential for a future-focused curriculum in New Zealand: The perceptions and practice of six secondary school technology teachers ,
Doctor of Philosophy in Education Thesis, The University of Waikato, New Zealand
https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/11939/thesis.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y           (last accessed: 17 July 2018)

  Young, C. D. (2018) Encountering the Emergence of Curiosity in a Sojourn Experience,
PhD Thesis, Department of Educational Leadership, The Graduate School, Miami University, USA, 2018
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=miami1533113163751823&disposition=inline           (last accessed: 24 August 2018)

  De Piero, Z. K. (2017) Reading Like a Writer, Teaching Like a Reader: Guiding Students Towards “Good Reading” in First-Year Composition,
PhD Dissertation, Santa Barbara, University of California, USA
https://search.proquest.com/openview/d731bb00daaac86a8ccf4c6dc42b4d0f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y           (last accessed: 5 December 2017)

  Goebel, J. L. S. (2017) Students’ Learning of Threshold Concepts in Undergraduate Economics,
Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, School of Education, College of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, January 2017
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316543406_Students%27_learning_of_threshold_concepts_in_undergraduate_economics           (last accessed: 26 September 2017)

  Kolar, C. (2017) Across the Patient Care Practitioner Threshold: Identifying Threshold Concepts and Evaluating the Teaching of the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process,
Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation, University of Minnesota, USA, May 2017
https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/188949/Kolar_umn_0130E_18173.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y           (last accessed: 2 August 2017)

  McNeal, N. M. (2017) The Reproduction of Ideology and Disciplinary Values in FYC,
Master of Arts Dissertation, Department of English, California State University, Sacramento, USA, Spring 2017
https://csus-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/191244/McNeal%20Thesis%20Project%20FYC.pdf?sequence=2           (last accessed: 21 May 2017)

  Burger, N. (2016) Liminal spaces : the tacit dimension of the doctoral supervisory relationship,
PhD thesis, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
http://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1480&context=theses           (last accessed: 16 November 2017)

  Hamm, S. B. (2016) A Foundation for Spatial Thinking: Towards a Threshold Concept Framework in GIScience and its Implications for STEM Education,
Master of Science Thesis, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2016
https://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/handle/10012/10744           (last accessed: 6 September 2016)

  Magdziarz, S. A. (2016) An exploration of threshold concepts in accounting education,
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, School of Accounting, RMIT University, March 2016
https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:161708           (last accessed: 24 July 2016)

  Syed-Mohamed, A. T. F. B. (2016) Civilian to Officer: Threshold Concepts in Military Officers’ Education,
PhD Thesis, School of Education, Durham University, September 2016
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11779/           (last accessed: 23 October 2016)

  Tierney, A. M. (2016) “More than just a Teaching Fellow”: The impact of REF and implications of TEF on Life Science Teaching-Focused Academics in UK HEIs,
PhD Thesis, School of Education, Durham University, October 2016
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11826/           (last accessed: 6 November 2016)

  Torjussen Follan, K. A. (2016) viSQLizer: An interactive visualizer for learning SQL,
Master’s Thesis, Master of Science in Applied Computer Science, Department of Computer Science and Media Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), June 2016
https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2402729/KATFolland_2016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y           (last accessed: 10 September 2016)

  Chen, D-L. (2015) Developing Critical Thinking through Problem-Based Learning: an Action Research for a Class of Media Literacy ,
Doctor of Education Thesis, School of Education, Durham University, April 2015
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11204/           (last accessed: 21 July 2015)

  Hoadley, S. M. (2015) Threshold Concepts in Finance,
Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Department of Marketing and Management, Macquarie University, Australia, 2015
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/1052301           (last accessed: 11 September 2016)

  Karlsson, D. (2015) Interactive Student-Guide - Developing a Concept for Interactive Learning,
Master of Science in Engineering Technology - Industrial Design Engineering, Department of Business, Administration, Technology and Social Sciences, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden
http://pure.ltu.se/portal/files/103162596/LTU-EX-2015-103142291.pdf           (last accessed: 12 July 2015)

  Kivirinta, S. (2015) Reducing Persisting Cognitive Dissonance and Drop-out Rates in Computer Science 1 Using Visual Debugger Aid,
Master’s Thesis, Aalto University, School of Science, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Espoo, Finland, December 16th, 2014
https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/15194/master_Kivirinta_Sampo_2015.pdf?sequence=1           (last accessed: 24 February 2015)

  Martindale, L. (2015) Threshold concepts in research and evidence-based practice: Investigating troublesome learning for undergraduate nursing students,
Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, School of Education, Durham University
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10998/           (last accessed: 10 March 2015)

  Maybee, C. D. (2015) Informed Learning in the Undergraduate Classroom: Role of Information Experiences in Shaping Outcomes,
Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, 2015
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/89685/4/Clarence_Maybee_Thesis.pdf           (last accessed: 18 January 2016)

  Price, M. (2015) Narrative capital and youth practitioner professional identities,
Doctorate in Education (EdD) Thesis, School of Education, University of Brighton, 2015
http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/14203/1/Mark%20Price%20-%20EdD%20for%20publication%2028.5.15.pdf           (last accessed: 27 August 2015)

  Sweeney, M. A. (2015) Reinventing Reading: Identifying and Describing Threshold Concepts for College Readers,
PhD thesis, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
http://gradworks.umi.com/37/07/3707921.html           (last accessed: 30 July 2015)

  Webb, A. S. (2015) Threshold Concepts in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Phenomenological Study of Educational Leaders in a Canadian Research-Intensive University Context ,
Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Curriculum Studies), The University of British Columbia (Vancouver), March 2015
https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/52440/ubc_2015_may_webb_andrea.pdf?sequence=4           (last accessed: 16 April 2015)

  Long, C. (2015) Learning Pathways within the Multiplicative Conceptual Field: Insights Reflected through a Rasch Measurement Framework,
Empirische Studien zur Didaktik der Mathematik, Volume 24, Waxman Verlag GmbH, Münster, Germany
Adapted version of Caroline Long’s Doctorate in Education Thesis, University of Cape Town, December 2011
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MkpzCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&ots=xXEvqmAhPN&sig=Fjr70xw7lwgi_TebnNAXl5WwWJs#v=onepage&q&f=false           (last accessed: 6 September 2015)

  Wenden, L. (2015) Talking about transition: an exploration of the secondary to tertiary process for music students in a New Zealand context,
Master of Music in Musicology Thesis, Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
http://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/7183/02_whole.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y           (last accessed: 24 October 2015)

  Enström, E. (2014) On Difficult Topics in Theoretical Computer Science Education,
Doctoral Thesis in Computer Science, KTH School of Computer Science and Communication, Stockholm, Sweden, 2014
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:749999/FULLTEXT02           (last accessed: 5 October 2014)

  Mühling, A. M. (2014) Investigating Knowledge Structures in Computer Science Education,
Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. Nat.) Dissertation, Technical University of Munich, 2014
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  Oskarsson, B. (2014) Towards Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Logistics,
PhD Thesis, Linköping Studies in Science and Technology, Thesis No. 1685, LiU-TEK-LIC 2014:117
Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:758791/FULLTEXT01.pdf           (last accessed: 25 November 2014)

  Osmond, J. (2014) Identifying Threshold Concepts in Design,
PhD Thesis, Coventry University, May 2014

  Whittaker, S. (2014) Practice or theory? A phenomenographic study of teachers perceptions of teaching auditing in higher education,
PhD Thesis, University of the West of England, 2014
http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/22437/           (last accessed: 16 February 2014)

  Carstensen, A-K. (2013) Connect - Modelling Learning to Facilitate Linking Models and the Real World through Lab-work in Electric Circuit Courses for Engineering Students ,
Linköping Studies in Science and Technology, Dissertation No. 1529, Studies in Science and Technology Education, No. 67, Linköping University, Sweden, 2013
http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?searchId=1&pid=diva2:647562&rvn=3           (last accessed: 21 September 2013)

  Edwards, R. M. (2013) Opening the door on student learning: using artefacts to explore pharmacy students’ learning practices,
Doctor of Education Thesis, School of Education, University of Stirling, May 2013
https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/16412/1/thesis%20master%20final%20redacted.pdf           (last accessed: 22 August 2013)

  García-Rosell, J-C. (2013) A multi-stakeholder perspective on sustainable marketing: promoting sustainability through action and research,
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Lapland Faculty of Social Sciences, Acta Electronica Universitatis Lapponiensis 111
http://doria17-kk.lib.helsinki.fi/handle/10024/88826           (last accessed: 8 April 2013)

  Göransson, A. (2013) What do upper secondary students learn about evolution from an animation of antibiotic resistance?,
Linköping University Teacher Education Program Dissertation
http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:680050/FULLTEXT01.pdf           (last accessed: 30 October 2016)

  Keefer, J. (2013) Navigating Liminality: The Experience of Troublesome Periods and Distance During Doctoral Study,
Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Lancaster, UK, March 2013.

  Kiilo, T. (2013) Promoting teachers’ efficacy through social constructivist language learning: challenges of accommodating structure and agency: The case of Russian-speaking teachers in Estonia,
Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation, Institute of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Tartu, Estonia, University of Tartu Press, Dissertationes Sociologicae Universitatis Tartuensis 8, November 2013.
http://dspace.utlib.ee/dspace/bitstream/handle/10062/33523/kiilo_tatjana.pdf           (last accessed: 8 October 2013)

  Koole, M. L. (2013) Identity Positioning of Doctoral Students in Networked Learning Environments,
Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK, February, 2013.
http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/64294/           (last accessed: 7 May 2013)

  Remes, A. (2013) Memory, Identity and the Supranational History Museum: The House of European History Creating a Place for Reflection and Debate or Constructing a European Master Narrative?,
Masters Thesis, Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, Universiteit Gent
http://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/002/060/150/RUG01-002060150_2013_0001_AC.pdf           (last accessed: 4 January 2014)

  Sedgley, M. T. (2013) Learning journeys with international Masters students in UK higher education,
PhD Thesis, School of Management, University of Bradford
https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/handle/10454/7327           (last accessed: 7 July 2015)

  Tucker, V. M. (2013) Acquiring Search Expertise: Learning Experiences and Threshold Concepts,
Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, School of Information Systems, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology:
http://www.virginiatucker.com/docs/VirginiaTucker_thesis_finalA4.pdf           (last accessed: 7 July 2013)

  Healy, R. L. (2012) Ethical thinking in a disciplinary context: The ethical development of undergraduates and expectations of tutors in the arts, social and pure sciences,
Master’s thesis, University of Chester, Chester, United Kingdom:
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/267472           (last accessed: 26 March 2013)

  Hill, S. (2012) Troublesome or Threshold? The experience of difficult concepts in prosthetics,
PhD thesis, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK, June 2012
http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/61627/1/Hill.pdf           (last accessed: 23 March 2013)

  Lamont, M. (2012) The wholeheartedness of becoming: Evidence-based inquiry into practice for inservice teacher educators,
PhD thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, April, 2012:
http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/2138/thesis.pdf?sequence=2   [last accessed 27 August 2012].

  Shinners-Kennedy, D. (2012) Threshold concepts and teaching programming,
PhD Thesis, University of Kent, UK, 2012
http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.652021           (last accessed: 20 October 2015)

  Smith, K. M. (2012) An investigation of student learning using threshold concepts in a first year cell biology course,
Master Of Arts Thesis, The University Of British Columbia (Vancouver) April 2012:
https://circle-prod.library.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/41938/ubc_2012_spring_smith_karen.pdf?sequence=1   (last accessed 15 April 2012)

  Sorva, J. (2012) Visual Program Simulation in Introductory Programming Education,
Doctoral Thesis, Aalto University, Finland, May 2012:
http://lib.tkk.fi/Diss/2012/isbn9789526046266/isbn9789526046266.pdf   [last accessed 3 September 2012]

  Stadig Degerman M. (2012) Att hantera cellmetabolismens komplexitet: Meningsskapande genom visualisering och metaforer,
[Handling complex cell metabolism: Creating meaning through visualisation and metaphor]
Doctoral thesis, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University
http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:512688     [last accessed: 19 July 2012]
and http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:512688/FULLTEXT01     [last accessed: 19 July 2012]

  Vera López, H.B. (2012) The Scholarship of Learning Modern Languages and Cultures: Integrating Education, Research and Human Development,
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham, June, 2012:
http://www.infoling.org/repository/PhDdiss-Infoling-33-11-2012.pdf   [last accessed 3 December 2012].

  Podleschny, N. (2012) Games for change and transformative learning: An ethnographic case study,
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Thesis, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
http://eprints.qut.edu.au/58142/1/Nicole_Podleschny_Thesis.pdf           (last accessed: 26 March 2013)

  Walton, P. (2012) Mind the Gap: A strategy for supporting understanding and engagement with climate change science,
PhD thesis, Geography Department, Queen Mary, University of London.
https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/2508/1/WALTONMindThe2012.pdf     [last accessed: 24 November 2012]

  Daniels, M. (2011) Developing and Assessing Professional Competencies: Experiences from an Open-Ended Group Project Learning Environment,
Acta Universitatis. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 738. 109pp. Uppsala. ISSN 1651-6214 ISBN 978-91-554-8024-0
[http://www.it.uu.se/katalog/matsd/Mats-Thesis.pdf   last accessed 17 May 2011]

  Moran, S.P. (2011) Virtue Epistemology: Some Implications for Education,
PhD Thesis, Education Department, St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, Dublin City University, May 2011.
[http://www.seanmoran.com/downloads/PhD%20FOR%20PRINTING%202011.pdf   last accessed 24 May 2011]

  Moström, J. E. (2011) A Study of Student Problems in Learning to Program,
Thesis, Department of Computing Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, ISBN 978-91-7459-293-1.
[http://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:447104/FULLTEXT02   last accessed 30 October 2011]

  Orsini-Jones, M. (2011) Towards a role-reversal model of action-research-supported threshold concept pedagogy in languages and linguistics,
PhD Thesis, Coventry University

  Smith, J. (2011) Resonance, Dissonance, Rejection: Experiences of Probationary Lecturers in UK Higher Education,
PhD Thesis, School of Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, July 2011:
http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/35822/

  Timmermans, J.A. (2011) Epistemic Beliefs, Threshold Concepts, and Educational Development,
PhD Thesis in Educational Psychology, McGill University.

  Boustedt, J. (2010) On the Road to a Software Profession. Students’ Experiences of Concepts and Thresholds,
Acta Universitatis. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 734. 61pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-554-7789-9.
[http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:309647/FULLTEXT01   last accessed 31 May 2010]

  Carter, D.J. (2010) INCITE (Investigating Needed Cooperative Information Technology Experiences), then DELIGHT (Developing Experiential Learning In Guided Holistic Teamwork),
University of British Columbia MA Thesis: http://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/27727/ubc_2010_fall_carter_deborah.pdf?sequence=1   (last accessed 29 September 2010).

  Hall, B. (2010) Teaching uncertainty: the case of climate change,
PhD Thesis, University of Gloucester.
http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.536685

  Kabo, J.D. (2010) Seeing Through the Lens of Social Justice: A Threshold for Engineering,
Ph.D. Thesis, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, April, 2010: http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/5521/1/Kabo_Jens_D_201004_PhD.pdf.

  Sheehan, M. (2010) Identification of difficult topics in the teaching and learning of Chemistry in Irish schools and the development of an intervention programme to target some of these difficulties,
University of Limerick PhD Thesis: http://ulir.ul.ie/bitstream/10344/432/3/MSpthesis.pdf   (last accessed 11 September 2010)

  Slinger, J. (2010) Threshold Concepts in Secondary Geography Education,
MA Dissertation, Institute of Education, University of London

  Turraoin, S. (2010) Improving visual literacy in design education - Can a grounding in social semiotics and modalities benefit students with underdeveloped visual literacy skills in overcoming threshold concepts and wicked problems in design education?,
MA thesis in Higher Education, 2010, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Learning and Teaching Centre, Dublin.
http://www.sibealturraoin.ie/Writing/maeducation/MA_Thesis.pdf           (last accessed: 26 March 2013)

  Doody, J. (2009) A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Impact of a Problem-Based Learning Approach to the Teaching of Software Development in Higher Education.,
University of Durham EdD Thesis: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/47/1/James_Doody_Ed.D._Thesis_1_Dec_09..pdf?DDD29   (last accessed 16 September 2010)

  Drummond, S. A. (2009) Investigating the Impact of Entry Qualifications on Student Performance in Computing Programmes at Undergraduate Level,
University of Durham PhD Thesis: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/154/1/Sarah_Drummond.pdf   (last accessed 11 September 2010)

  Eckerdal, A. (2009) Novice Programming Students’ Learning of Concepts and Practise.,
Acta Universitatis. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 600. 194pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-554-7406-5.
[http://user.it.uu.se/~annae/FullAvh-Spikenheten.pdf   last accessed 3 October 2010]

  Kärner, A. (2009) Supervision and research training within the professional research community: Seeking new challenges of doctoral education in Estonia,
Dissertation Pedagogicae Universitatis Tartuensis 7, Department of Pedagogy, University of Tartu, Tartu University Press.
[http://dspace.utlib.ee/dspace/bitstream/10062/10504/1/karneranita.pdf   last accessed 5 September 2009]

  Wilson Billay, D.B. (2009) Preceptors and Nurse Practitioner Education: Navigating the Liminal space,
University of Alberta PhD Thesis: http://repository.library.ualberta.ca/dspace/bitstream/10048/1278/1/Billay_Diane-Fall+2010.pdf.pdf   (last accessed 11 September 2010)

  Wimpenny, K. (2009) Participatory change: an integrative approach toward occupational therapy practice development,
PhD Thesis, Coventry University, 2009:
http://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/items/c1fd7f27-ab06-16cc-fed8-a864a1e7a109/1/wimpennycomb.pdf

  O’Brien, M. (2008) Teaching as Translation: An Investigation of University Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Reasoning and Intention.,
PhD Thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, January, 2008: http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/uploads/approved/adt-QGU20100802.131904/public/02Whole.pdf   (last accessed 19 october 2010)

  Pettersson, K. (2008) Algorithmic, intuitive and formal aspects of mathematics in dynamic interplay: A study of students’ use of their conceptions in calculus
(Algoritmiska, intuitiva och formella aspekter av matematiken i dynamiskt samspel: En studie av hur studenter nyttjar sina begreppsuppfattningar inom matematisk analys)
Chalmers Tekniska Högskola och Göteborgs Universitet PhD thesis: http://www.math.chalmers.se/Math/Research/Preprints/Doctoral/2008/1.pdf   (last accessed 29 September 2010)

  González Sampayo, M. [now Holmberg, M.] (2006) Engineering Problem Solving: The case of the Laplace transform as a difficulty in learning electric circuits and as a tool to solve real world problems,
No. 1038, Linköping Studies in Science and Technology Dissertation, Linköping: Linköping University.
http://www.didaktik.itn.liu.se/thesis/gonzalez.html   (last accessed 11 September 2010)




Threshold Concept Specialist Groups

This section provides links to Specialist Groups formed to discuss and apply the threshold concept framework in a specific discipline or pedagogic domain.
Please send details to
Mick Flanagan (m.flanagan@ucl.ac.uk) if you wish your special interest group to be listed here.



Threshold Concept Web Pages

The following web pages contain extensive documentation, explanation, discussion and relevant links on the Threshold Concept.


Call for papers and book chapters featuring the Threshold Concept

      Call for papers and book chapters will be listed here.



Future Conferences, Symposia and Workshops on or strongly featuring the Threshold Concept

Recent Conferences, Symposia and Workshops on or strongly featuring the Threshold Concept



Best Paper Awards awarded to Authors of papers featuring Threshold Concepts



Teaching Awards awarded to Teachers of courses embedding Threshold Concepts




Recent Grants awarded to Projects on or Strongly Featuring Threshold Concepts



Threshold Concept Community Social Networks

     Facebook
Jeffrey Keefer set up a Threshold Concepts Facebook Group in 2011.
URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/265003370204301/

     Twitter
Hashtag: #thresholdconcepts

     JISCM@il TCS
This is a discussion list for threshold concepts set up by Jan Smith as a forum for continuing discussion on threshold concepts following the Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines Symposium, Glasgow, 2006.
URL: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=TCS.



    
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Mick Flanagan [m.flanagan@ucl.ac.uk]   -    Last update: 29 March 2020