Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (3)*: implications for course design and evaluation

Abstract

It has long been a matter of concern to teachers in higher education why certain students ‘get stuck’ at particular points in the curriculum whilst others grasp concepts with comparative ease. What might account for this variation in student performance and, more importantly, what might teachers do in relation to the design and teaching of their courses that might help students overcome such barriers to their learning? As students from a much wider range of educational backgrounds now enter higher education these issues are becoming of increasing importance across all disciplines. A further and related concern is why certain concepts within disciplinary fields appear particularly ‘troublesome’ to students. What makes particular areas of knowledge more troublesome than others, and how might we make such areas less so?