# Threshold knowledge

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**Threshold knowledge** is a term in the study of [higher education](/source/Higher_education) used to describe core concepts—or **threshold concepts**—which, once understood, transform [perception](/source/Perception) of a given subject, phenomenon, or experience.[1]

The term was introduced by Jan Meyer and Ray Land,[1][2][3][4] Meyer and Land also discuss the related idea of troublesome knowledge, ideas that appear alien or [counter-intuitive](/source/Counterintuitive).[1][3][4] The theory holds that:

... 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.[2]

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

- International theory[5]

- Science education[6][7]

- [Economics](/source/Economics)[8][9]

- Healthcare education[10]

- Miscellaneous[11][12]

- [Statistics](/source/Statistics)[13]

- [Information literacy](/source/Information_literacy)[14]

- Writing studies[15]

The theory has also been criticised.[16]

The notion of threshold concept is related to the notion of bottleneck in the [Decoding the Disciplines](/source/Decoding_the_Disciplines) framework. It can be considered a special case of the latter.[17][18]

## See also

- [Eureka effect](/source/Eureka_effect)

- [Decoding the Disciplines](/source/Decoding_the_Disciplines)

- [Paradigm shift](/source/Paradigm_shift)

- [Tacit knowledge](/source/Tacit_knowledge)

- [Propaedeutics](/source/Propaedeutics)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-MeyerLand2003_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-MeyerLand2003_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-MeyerLand2003_1-2) 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.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sense_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sense_2-1) Meyer, Jan; Land, Ray; Baillie, Caroline, eds. (2010). [*Threshold concepts and transformational learning*](https://web.archive.org/web/20190214212350/http://www.lamission.edu/learningcenter/docs/1177-threshold-concepts-and-transformational-learning.pdf) (PDF). Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Vol. 42. Rotterdam; Boston: Sense Publishers. p. ix. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789460912054](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789460912054). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [649651179](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/649651179). Archived from [the original](https://www.lamission.edu/learningcenter/docs/1177-threshold-concepts-and-transformational-learning.pdf) (PDF) on 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2017-12-18.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-MeyerLand2005_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-MeyerLand2005_3-1) 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.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LandCousin2005_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LandCousin2005_4-1) 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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Korosteleva2010_5-0)** Korosteleva, E. A. (2010) Threshold Concept Through Enactive Learnings: How Effective Are They in the Study of European Politics?, International Studies Perspectives, 11, 37-50.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Park 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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** 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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Davies, Peter; Mangan, Jean (December 2007). ["Threshold concepts and the integration of understanding in economics"](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075070701685148). *Studies in Higher Education*. **32** (6): 711–726. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/03075070701685148](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F03075070701685148). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0307-5079](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0307-5079). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [143662293](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143662293).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Davies, Peter (January 2019). ["The construction of frameworks in learners' thinking: Conceptual change and threshold concepts in economics"](https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1477388018300069). *International Review of Economics Education*. **30**: 100135. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.iree.2018.05.002](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.iree.2018.05.002). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [158978997](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:158978997).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Clouder L (2005). "Caring as a 'threshold concept': Transforming students in higher education into health (care) professionals" *Teaching in Higher Education*, **10**(4), 505-517.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Bradbeer J (2006). ["Threshold concepts within the disciplines"](http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.96.1604&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=16). *Planet*, no. 17, 16-7.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** 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.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Bulmer, M., O'Brien, M., Price, S. (2007) ["Troublesome concepts in statistics: a student perspective on what they are and how to learn them"](http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.597.3009&rep=rep1&type=pdf), UniServe Science, Proceedings of the Assessment in Science Teaching and Learning Symposium, University of Sydney, September 28−29, 2007, 9–15.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education"](http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework). *Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL)*. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2017-10-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [*Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies*](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15nmjt7). University Press of Colorado. 2015. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-87421-989-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87421-989-0). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [j.ctt15nmjt7](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15nmjt7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Rowbottom DP (2007). "Demystifying threshold concepts". *Journal of Philosophy of Education*, **41**(2), 263–270. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1467-9752.2007.00554.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1467-9752.2007.00554.x)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** 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/Sense

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Shopkow, L (2010). "What decoding the disciplines can offer threshold concepts." Threshold concepts and transformational learning, 317-331. Leiden:Brill.

## External links

- [Threshold Concepts: Undergraduate Teaching, Postgraduate Training, Professional Development and School Education — A Short Introduction and a Bibliography from 2003 to 2018](http://www.ee.ucl.ac.uk/~mflanaga/thresholds.html) maintained by Mick Flanagan from [UCL](/source/University_College_London)

- [ETL Project Occasional Report on threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge, by Meyer and Land](http://www.ed.ac.uk/etl/docs/ETLreport4.pdf)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] ([archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20050217065411/http://www.ed.ac.uk/etl/docs/ETLreport4.pdf))

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