Within Work Package 2, the SciMaG project identified and analysed key threshold concepts across different STEM subject areas. Threshold concepts are conceptual gateways that can transform learners’ understanding of a discipline and enable further progression in learning. They are commonly characterised as transformative, irreversible, integrative, bounded, and troublesome.
- Threshold concepts are transformative. Understanding the concept triggers a significant leap or change in the perception of the subject or part of it, involving a conceptual leap (a change in what we know) and an ontological leap (a change in the perception of meaning). The acquisition of each threshold concept could be seen as a step towards gaining an expert understanding of a discipline.
- Threshold concepts are irreversible. Once a learner understands them, they are unlikely to forget them. However, the learner may modify or reject the concept later for a more sophisticated or contradictory understanding. This can make it challenging for a teacher to assess the difficulties of their students.
- Threshold concepts are integrative. Mastery of a threshold concept often allows the learner to make connections that were previously hidden.
- Threshold concepts are conceptually bounded. Each conceptual space has finite boundaries that border on new conceptual domains. It is an unstable liminal space in which the learner can oscillate between old and emerging understandings. Students may feel confused, thinking they had understood everything in lectures, only to realize that they did not understand the concept anymore.
- Threshold concepts are troublesome. The “common sense” or intuitive understanding can get in the way of mastering a threshold concept. Getting students to change their intuitive understanding is also difficult because this change can involve uncomfortable, emotional transformation.
The identified threshold concepts cover seven STEM subject areas: Mathematics, Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, and Computer Science. For each subject area, the selected concepts are described and analysed according to the key characteristics of threshold concept theory. Where relevant, examples of SciMaG educational games and scenarios that can support learners in developing an understanding of these concepts are also provided.
Explore the identified threshold concepts by subject area:
[Mathematics] [Science] [Physics] [Chemistry] [Biology] [Geography] [Computer Science]