Issues regarding threshold concepts in computer science

Abstract

Threshold Concepts deserve discussion and reflection in Computer Science Education; they provide a conceptual framework intended to re-empower tertiary educators. At this stage, the idea of Threshold Concepts raises plenty of questions, promises renewed learner and teacher engagement, and suggests a means of focusing on the key aspects of a discipline that will allow a learner to, for example, “think more like a computer scientist. ” But what precisely are threshold concepts? Can we identify them? Can we agree on which concepts are threshold concepts and which are not? Can we validate them? If threshold concepts do exist, and can be identified and agreed upon, then how would they alter what we teach, how we teach, and how we assess? Do threshold concepts represent anything new or unexpected? The purpose of this paper is to set out issues for the Threshold