Threshold concepts within the disciplines / / edited by Ray Land; Jan Meyer; Jan Smith.

• Superior document: Educational futures ; Volume 16
• TeilnehmendeR: Land, Ray,; Smith, Jan, 1950-; Meyer, Jan, 1946-
• Place / Publishing House: Rotterdam, The Netherlands : : Sense Publishers,, [2008]; 2008
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Language: English
• Series: Educational futures ; Volume 16.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource
• Notes: Includes index.

Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines brings together leading writers from various disciplines and national contexts in an important and readable volume for all those concerned with teaching and learning in higher education. The foundational principle of threshold concepts is that there are, in each discipline, ‘conceptual gateways’ or ‘portals’ that must be negotiated to arrive at important new understandings. In crossing the portal, transformation occurs, both in knowledge and subjectivity. Such transformation involves troublesome knowledge, a key concern for contributors to this book, who identify threshold concepts in their own fields and suggest how to deal with them. Part One extends and enhances the threshold concept framework, containing chapters that articulate its qualities, its links to other social theories of learning and other traditions in educational research. Part Two encompasses the disciplinary heart of the book with contributions from a diversity of areas including computing, engineering, biology, design, modern languages, education and economics. In the many empirical case studies educators show how they have used the threshold concept framework to inform and evaluate their teaching contexts. Other chapters emphasise the equally important ‘being and becoming’ dimension of learning. Part Three suggests pedagogic directions for those at the centre of the education project with contributions focusing on the socialisation of academics and their continuing quest to be effective teachers. The book will be of interest to disciplinary teachers, educational researchers and educational developers. It also is of relevance to issues in quality assurance and professional accreditation.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Ray Land , Jan H.F. Meyer and Jan Smith -- Beyond Understanding / David Perkins -- Threshold Concepts and Transformative Ways of Thinking within Research into Higher Education / Noel Entwistle -- Embedding Threshold Concepts: from theory to pedagogical principles to learning activities / Peter Davies and Jean Mangan -- Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge / Robert McCormick -- Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge (4) / Jan H.F. Meyer , Ray Land and Peter Davies -- Liquid Learning and Troublesome Spaces: Journeys from the Threshold? / Maggi Savin-Baden -- From Playing to Understanding / Michael Thomas Flanagan and Jan Smith -- Threshold Concepts In Computer Science: A Multi-National Empirical Investigation / Carol Zander , Jonas Boustedt , Anna Eckerdal , Robert McCartney , Jan Erik Moström , Mark Ratcliffe and Kate Sanders -- The Everydayness of Threshold Concepts / Dermot Shinners-Kennedy -- A Threshold Model for Attitudes in First Year Engineering Students / Caroline Baillie and Anne Johnson -- Threshold Concepts and Keys to the Portal of Understanding / Anna-Karin Carstensen and Jonte Bernhard -- Associations among Prior Acquisition of Threshold Concepts, Learning Dimensions, and Examination Performance in First-Year Economics / Martin P. Shanahan , Gigi Foster and Jan H.F. Meyer -- What Do Students’ Examination Answers Reveal about Threshold Concept Acquisition in the 14–19 Age Groups? / Andrew Ashwin -- Threshold Concepts, Troublesome Knowledge and Ways of Thinking and Practising / Charlotte E. Taylor -- Mentoring, Teaching and Professional Transformation / Moya Cove , Julie McAdam and James McGonigal -- Troublesome Language Knowledge: Identifying Threshold Concepts in Grammar Learning / Marina Orsini-Jones -- Nettlesome Knowledge, Liminality and the Taboo in Cancer and Art Therapy Experiences / Caryl Sibbett and William Thompson -- Threshold Concepts and Spatial Awareness in Transport and Product Design / Jane Osmond , Andrew Turner and Ray Land -- Threshold Concepts: Old Wine in New Bottles or a New Form of Transactional Curriculum Inquiry? / Glynis Cousin -- Conceptual Frameworks as a Threshold Concept in Doctorateness / Vernon Trafford -- Threshold Concepts For University Teaching and Learning / Mia O’Brien -- List of Contributors / Ray Land , Jan H.F. Meyer and Jan Smith -- Index / Ray Land , Jan H.F. Meyer and Jan Smith.