Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Clinical Education for the Health Professions

Abstract

Threshold concepts, first defined in 2003, are fundamental disciplinary concepts which are transformative, integrative, and irreversible and usually involve troublesome knowledge. A significant body of literature has been published in diverse disciplines from photography to physics, identifying possible threshold concepts and exploring how best to teach, learn, and assess them. Threshold concept research has been undertaken in several health professions and, more recently, within medical education.

In this chapter we introduce and define threshold concepts and examine their relationship to other pedagogic theories. We synthesize and critique current thinking and relevant literature from across the disciplines and discuss how the threshold concept framework can influence curriculum design, learning support, and teaching, including specific pedagogical strategies. We identify and review possible relevant threshold concepts drawing on research in nursing, the allied health professions, and medicine.

We explore the relative lack of critical analysis of the threshold concept framework and acknowledge that further educational research to understand and test potential threshold concepts, particularly empirically based studies, would be valuable for the health profession education community. However, by demonstrating how experts across the disciplines have used the threshold concept framework to research and gain new insights into the learner experience, we aim to encourage readers to consider its relevance and possible application to their work. In addition, we propose that troublesome knowledge is itself an important concept for both educators and researchers in health professions education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

EPA:

Entrustable professional activity

ITCK:

Integrated Threshold Concept Knowledge

PBL:

Problem-based learning

SOLO:

Structure of observed learning outcomes

SRL:

Self-regulated learning

TC:

Threshold concept

TCF:

Threshold concept framework

TCITF:

Threshold Capability Integrated Theoretical Framework

WTP:

Ways of thinking and practicing

ZPD:

Zone of proximal development

References

  • Atherton J, Hadfield P, Meyers R. Threshold concepts in the wild. In: Expanded version of paper presented at [Internet]. Queen’s University, Kingston; 2008 [cited 2018 Apr 25]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228873314_Threshold_Concepts_in_the_Wild.

  • Baillie C, Bowden JA, Meyer JHF. Threshold capabilities: threshold concepts and knowledge capability linked through variation theory. High Educ. 2013;65(2):227–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barradell S. The identification of threshold concepts: a review of theoretical complexities and methodological challenges. High Educ. 2013;65(2):265–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barradell S, Peseta T. Promise and challenge of identifying threshold concepts: a cautionary account of using transactional curriculum inquiry. J Furth High Educ. 2016;40(2):262–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barradell S, Peseta T. Integrating threshold concepts and ways of thinking and practising: supporting physiotherapy students to develop a holistic view of the profession through concept mapping. Int J Pract-Based Learn Health Soc Care. 2018;6(1):24–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg T, Erichsen M, Hokstad LM. Stuck at the threshold: which strategies do students choose when facing liminality within certain disciplines at a business school? In: Land R, JHF M, Flanagan MT, editors. Threshold concepts in practice, Educational futures rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2016. p. 107–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhat C, Burm S, Mohan T, Chahine S, Goldszmidt M. What trainees grapple with: a study of threshold concepts on the medicine ward. Med Educ [Internet]. 27 Feb 2018 [cited 2018 Apr 26]; Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13526.

  • Biggs JB, Collis KF. Evaluating the quality of learning: the SOLO taxonomy. New York: Academic; 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowden J, Marton F. The university of learning: beyond quality and competence in higher education. 1. paperback ed. London: Routledge; 2004. p. 310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen LYC, Poole G. Grappling with troublesome knowledge. Med Educ. 2018;52(6):584–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen D-L, Rattray J. Transforming thinking through problem-based learning in the news media literacy class: critical thinking as a threshold concept towards threshold capabilities. Pract Evid Scholarsh Teach Learn High Educ. 2017;12(2):272–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chittleborough C. Threshold concepts in a flipped classroom to facilitate learning about health inequalities. In: Adelaide; 2013 [cited 2016 Aug 16]. Available from: http://www.herga.com.au/uploads/2/2/1/2/22122258/herga_conference_book_sept_2013.pdf

  • Clouder L. Caring as a ‘threshold concept’: transforming students in higher education into health(care) professionals. Teach High Educ. 2005;10(4):505–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collett T, Neve H, Stephen N. Using audio diaries to identify threshold concepts in ‘softer’ disciplines: a focus on medical education. Pract Evid Scholarsh Teach Learn High Educ. 2017;12(2):99–117.. Rattray J, Land R, editors.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbally M, Kirwan A, O’Neill C, Kelly M. Simulating troublesome contexts: how multiple roles within ward-based simulations promote professional nursing competence. Int J Pract-Based Learn Health Soc Care. 2018;6(1):18–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corrall S. Crossing the threshold: reflective practice in information literacy development. J Inf Lit. 2017;11(1):23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cousin G. An introduction to threshold concepts. Plan Theory. 2006;17(1):4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cousin G. Threshold concepts: old wine in new bottles or new forms of transactional inquiry? In: Land R, JHF M, Smith J, editors. Threshold concepts within the disciplines, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2008. p. 261–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cousin G. Transactional curriculum inquiry: researching Threshold concepts. In: Cousin G, editor. Researching learning in higher education: an introduction to contemporary methods and approaches [Internet]. New York: Routledge; 2009. p. 201–12.. Available from: http://blogs.elon.edu/elontc/files/2011/06/Transactional-Curriculum-Inquiry.docx.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies P, Mangan J. Threshold concepts and the integration of understanding in economics. Stud High Educ. 2007;32(6):711–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driessen E. When I say...Metacognition. Med Educ. 2014;48:561–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott MN, Kanouse DE, Burkhart Q, Abel GA, Lyratzopoulos G, Beckett MK, et al. Sexual minorities in England have poorer health and worse health care experiences: a national survey. J Gen Intern Med. 2015;30(1):9–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • English MC, Kitsantas A. Supporting student self-regulated learning in problem- and project-based learning. Interdiscip J Probl-Based Learn [Internet]. 5 Sept 2013 [cited 2019 Jun 15];7(2). Available from: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/ijpbl/vol7/iss2/6.

  • Felten P. On the threshold with students. In: Land R, JHF M, Flanagan MT, editors. Threshold concepts in practice, Educational futures rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2016. p. 3–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman A, Van Der Vleuten C, Nouns Z, Ricketts C. Progress testing internationally. Med Teach. 2010;32(6):451–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hafferty FW. Beyond curriculum reform: confronting medicine’s hidden curriculum. Acad Med. 1998;73(4):403–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofer AR, Townsend L, Brunetti K. Troublesome concepts and information literacy: investigating threshold concepts for IL instruction. Portal Libr Acad. 2012;12(4):387–405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holley KA. The role of threshold concepts in an interdisciplinary curriculum: a case study in neuroscience. Innov High Educ. 2018;43(1):17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horrigan LA. Tackling the threshold concepts in physiology: what is the role of the laboratory class? Adv Physiol Educ. 2018;42(3):507–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson L, Engel-Hills P, Winberg C. Threshold concepts in radiation physics underpinning professional practice in radiation therapy. Int J Pract-Based Learn Health Soc Care. 2018;6(1):53–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes G. Developing student research capability for a ‘post-truth’ world: three challenges for integrating research across taught programmes. Teach High Educ. 2019;24(3):394–411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyde S, Flatau A, Wilson D. Integrating threshold concepts with reflective practice: discussing a theory-based approach for curriculum refinement in dental education. Eur J Dent Educ. 2018;22(4):e687–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on understanding and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Unequal treatment: confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care [Internet]. Smedley BD, Stith AY, Nelson AR, editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2003 [cited 2019 Jun 15]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220358/.

  • Kempenaar LE, Shanmugam S. Inclusionary othering: a key threshold concept for healthcare education. Med Teach. 2018;40(9):969–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinchin IM, Cabot LB, Kobus M, Woolford M. Threshold concepts in dental education. Eur J Dent Educ. 2011;15(4):210–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kneebone R. Perspective: simulation and transformational change: the paradox of expertise. Acad Med. 2009;84(7):954–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Meyer JHF. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (5): dynamics of assessment. In: JHF M, Land R, Baillie C, editors. Threshold concepts and transformational learning, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Boston: Sense Publishers; 2010. p. 61–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Meyer JHF. The scalpel and the ‘mask’: threshold concepts and surgical education. In: Fry H, Kneebone R, editors. Surgical education: theorising an emerging domain, Advances in medical education. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 2011. p. 91–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Rattray J. Guest editorial – special issue: threshold concepts and conceptual difficulty. Pract Evid Scholarsh Teach Learn High Educ. 2017;12(2):63–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Reimann N, Meyer JHF. Enhancing learning and teaching in economics: a digest of research findings and their implications. [Internet]. 2005 ETL project; 2005a [cited 2017 Aug 21]. Available from: http://www.etl.tla.ed.ac.uk/docs/EconomicsDigest.pdf.

  • Land R, Cousin G, Meyer JHF, Davies P. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: implications for course design and evaluation. In: Rust C, Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, editors. Improving student learning: diversity and inclusivity. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff & Learning Development; 2005b. p. 53–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Cousin G, Meyer JHF, Davies P. Conclusion: implications of threshold concepts for course design and evaluation. In: Meyer J, Land R, editors. Overcoming barriers to student understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. London/New York: Routledge; 2006. p. 195–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Meyer JHF, Flanagan MT. Preface: threshold concepts in practice. In: Land R, JHF M, editors. Threshold concepts in practice, Educational futures rethinking theory and practice, vol. 68. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2016. p. xi–xxxiv.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land R, Neve H, Martindale L. Threshold concepts, action poetry and the health professions: an interview with ray land. Int J Pract-Based Learn Health Soc Care. 2018;6(1):45–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave J, Wenger E. Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levett-Jones T, Bowen L, Morris A. Enhancing nursing students’ understanding of threshold concepts through the use of digital stories and a virtual community called ‘Wiimali’. Nurse Educ Pract. 2015;15(2):91–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Male S. Engineering thresholds: an approach to curriculum renewal: guide for engineering educators on curriculum renewal using threshold concepts. An outcome report of the ALTC project “Engineering thresholds: an approach to curriculum development”. [Internet]. Australian government office for learning and teaching; University of Western Australia; 2012 [cited 2018 Apr 26]. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/3045367/Guide_for_Engineering_Educators_on_Curriculum_Renewal_Using_Threshold_Concepts.

  • Martindale L. Threshold concepts in research and evidence-based practice: investigating troublesome learning for undergraduate nursing students [Internet] [Ph.D.]. [Durham]: Durham University; 2015 [cited 2016 Jul 20]. Available from: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10998/.

  • McAllister M, Lasater K, Stone TE, Levett-Jones T. The reading room: exploring the use of literature as a strategy for integrating threshold concepts into nursing curricula. Nurse Educ Pract. 2015;15(6):549–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune V, Hounsell D. The development of students’ ways of thinking and practising in three final-year biology courses. High Educ. 2005;49(3):255–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meek SEM, Jamieson S. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge in the first year curriculum at a UK Medical School. 2014. In: From personal practice to communities of practice [Internet]. Dublin: NAIRTL; p. 122–3. Available from: http://www.nairtl.ie/documents/BookofAbstracts_ONLINE.pdf.

  • Meek SEM, Gilbert K, Neve H. Using the threshold concept framework to explore student learning by PBL in two UK medical schools. Abstract in: Toward a learning culture. Bergen; ISSOTL; 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JHF, Land R. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (1) – linkages to ways of thinking and practising. In: Rust C, editor. Improving student learning – ten years on. Oxford: OCSLD; 2003. p. 412–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JHF, Land R. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (2): epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. High Educ. 2005;49(3):373–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JHF, Land R. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge: an introduction. In: Meyer J, Land R, editors. Overcoming barriers to student understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. London/New York: Routledge; 2006. p. 3–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JHF, Land R, Davies P. Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (4): issues of variation and variability. In: Land R, JHF M, Smith J, editors. Threshold concepts within the disciplines, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2008. p. 59–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JHF, Knight DB, Baldock TE, Callaghan DP, Mccredden J, O’Moore L. What to do with a threshold concept. In: Land R, Meyer JHF, Flanagan MT, editors. Threshold concepts in practice. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers; 2016. p. 195–209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mezirow J. Perspective transformation. Adult Educ Q. 1978;28(2):100–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mezirow J. Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • Middendorf J, Pace D. Decoding the disciplines: a model for helping students learn disciplinary ways of thinking. New Dir Teach Learn. 2004;2004(98):1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moeller JJ, Fawns T. Insights into teaching a complex skill: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge in electroencephalography (EEG). Med Teach. 2018;40(4):387–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Natanasabapathy P, Maathuis-Smith S. Philosophy of being and becoming: a transformative learning approach using threshold concepts. Educ Philos Theory. 2019;51(4):369–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neve H. Learning to become a primary care professional: insights from threshold concept theory. Educ Prim Care. 2019;30(1):5–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neve H, Hanks S. When I say … capability. Med Educ. 2016;50(6):610–1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neve H, Wearn A, Collett T. What are threshold concepts and how can they inform medical education? Med Teach. 2016;38(8):850–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neve H, Lloyd H, Collett T. Understanding students’ experiences of professionalism learning: a ‘threshold’ approach. Teach High Educ. 2017;22(1):92–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neve H, Gilbert K, Lloyd H. PBL as learning vehicle, threshold concept or capability? Audio-diary research in medical education. In: Savin-Baden M, Tombs G, editors. Threshold concepts and problem-based learning. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers; 2018. p. 49-64

    Google Scholar 

  • Neve H, Hothersall E, Rodriguez V. Exploring threshold concepts in population health. Clin Teach 2019. Published online 4 Sep 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13087

  • Nicola-Richmond KM, Pépin G, Larkin H. Transformation from student to occupational therapist: using the Delphi technique to identify the threshold concepts of occupational therapy. Aust Occup Ther J. 2016;63(2):95–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novak JD, Canas AJ. The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct them. Technical report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 [Internet]. Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition; 2006. Available from: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf.

  • Perkins D. Constructivism and troublesome knowledge. In: Meyer J, Land R, editors. Overcoming barriers to student understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. London/New York: Routledge; 2006. p. 33–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins D. Beyond understanding. In: Land R, JHF M, Smith J, editors. Threshold concepts within the disciplines, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2008. p. 3–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinnock R, Anakin M, Jouart M. Clinical reasoning as a threshold skill. Med Teach. 2019:1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rattray J. Affective dimensions of liminality. In: Land R, JHF M, Flanagan MT, editors. Threshold concepts in practice, Educational futures rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2016. p. 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimann N. Learning about assessment: the impact of two courses for higher education staff. Int J Acad Dev. 2018;23(2):86–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodger S, Turpin M. Using threshold concepts to transform entry level curricula. Res Dev High Educ High Educ Edge [Internet]. 2011 July [cited 2016 Jul 20];34. Available from: http://www.herdsa.org.au/publications/conference-proceedings/research-and-development-higher-education-higher-education-56.

  • Ross PM, Taylor C, Hughes C, Kofod M, Whitaker N, Lutze-Mann L, et al. Threshold concepts: challenging the way we think, teach and, learn in biology. In: JHF M, Land R, Baillie C, editors. Threshold concepts and transformational learning, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Boston: Sense Publishers; 2010. p. 165–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowbottom DP. Demystifying threshold concepts. J Philos Educ. 2007;41(2):263–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan T. Medical student reflections of newborn medicine: looking back for threshold concepts. 2014. In: From personal practice to communities of practice [Internet]. Dublin:Ireland: NAIRTL; p. 28–9. Available from: http://www.nairtl.ie/documents/BookofAbstracts_ONLINE.pdf.

  • Savin-Baden M. Second life PBL: liminality, liquidity and lurking, keynote speech. In: Republic Polytechnic, Singapore; 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Baden M. Liquid learning and troublesome spaces: journeys from the threshold. In: Land R, JHF M, Smith J, editors. Threshold concepts within the disciplines, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2008. p. 75–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuwirth LWT, Van der Vleuten CPM. Programmatic assessment: from assessment of learning to assessment for learning. Med Teach. 2011;33(6):478–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shopkow L. What decoding the disciplines can offer threshold concepts. In: JHF M, Land R, Baillie C, editors. Threshold concepts and transformational learning, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Boston: Sense Publishers; 2010. p. 317–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sibbett C, Thompson W. Nettlesome knowledge, liminality and the taboo in cancer and art therapy experiences: implications for learning and teaching. In: Land R, JHF M, Smith J, editors. Threshold concepts within the disciplines, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2008. p. 227–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith JA, Blackburn S, Nestel D. Crossing the thresholds: challenges in the commencement of consultant cardiothoracic surgical practice. Heart Lung Circ. 2015;24:e15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith JA, Blackburn S, Nestel D. Challenges in the commencement of consultant surgical practice: a study of threshold concepts in junior cardiothoracic surgeons. Int J Pract-Based Learn Health Soc Care. 2018;6(1):78–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spillane S. The failure of whiteness in art education: a personal narrative informed by critical race theory. J Soc Theory Art Educ [Internet]. 2015 Aug 26;35(1). Available from: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jstae/vol35/iss1/6.

  • Springfield E(L)A, Rodger S, Gustafsson L. Threshold concepts and authentic assessment: learning to think like an occupational therapist. Pract Evid Scholarsh Teach Learn High Educ. 2017;12(2):125–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor C. Threshold concepts, troublesome knowledge and ways of thinking and practising – can we tell the difference in biology? In: Land R, JHF M, Smith J, editors. Threshold concepts within the disciplines, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2008. p. 185–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor C, Meyer J. The testable hypothesis as a threshold concept for biology students. In: JHF M, Land R, Baillie C, editors. Threshold concepts and transformational learning, Educational futures: rethinking theory and practice. Boston: Sense Publishers; 2010. p. 179–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor C, Liu D, Pye M, Tzioumis V, Meyer J. Using threshold concepts to design a first year biology curriculum. Proc Aust Conf Sci Math Educ Former UniServe Sci Conf [Internet]. 29 Aug 2012 [cited 2018 Apr 26]. Available from: https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/IISME/article/view/6018.

  • Taylor, CE. Concepts in biology: do they fit the definition? In: Meyer J, Land R, editors. Overcoming barriers to student understanding: threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge. London/New York: Routledge; 2006. p. 87–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Timmermans JA. Changing our minds: the developmental potential of threshold concepts. In: Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning. Meyer JHF, Land R, Baillie C, editors. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers; 2010. p. 3–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Timmermans JA, Meyer JHF. A framework for working with university teachers to create and embed ‘integrated threshold concept knowledge’ (ITCK) in their practice. Int J Acad Dev. 2017;17:1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treloar A, Stone T, McMillan M. Learning about mental health nursing: linking threshold concepts to practice, learning about mental health nursing: linking threshold concepts to practice. J Probl-Based Learn J Probl-Based Learn. 2018;5(1):21–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan K. Vocational thresholds: developing expertise without certainty in general practice medicine. J Prim Health Care. 2016;8(2):99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vosniadou S, Ioannides C. From conceptual development to science education: a psychological point of view. Int J Sci Educ. 1998;20(10):1213–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky LS. Mind in society: development of higher psychological processes. Boston: Harvard University Press; 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wearn A, O’Callaghan A, Barrow M. Becoming a different doctor: identifying threshold concepts: when doctors in training spend six months with a hospital palliative care team. In: Land R, JHF M, Flanagan MT, editors. Threshold concepts in practice, Educational futures rethinking theory and practice. Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers; 2016. p. 223–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson L. The problem with threshold concepts [Internet]. Sense & Reference. 2014 [cited 2018 Apr 26]. Available from: https://senseandreference.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/the-problem-with-threshold-concepts/.

  • Wilkinson I. Nurturing and complexity – threshold concepts in geriatric medicine. Int J Pract-Based Learn Health Soc Care. 2018;6(1):64–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman BJ. A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. J Educ Psychol. 1989;81(3):329–39.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Sarah E. M. Meek

  2. Peninsula Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

    Hilary Neve

  3. Medical Programme Directorate, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Andy Wearn

Authors
  1. Sarah E. M. Meek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hilary Neve
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Andy Wearn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah E. M. Meek .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Debra Nestel

  2. King's College London, London, UK

    Gabriel Reedy

  3. School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Lisa McKenna

  4. Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Manchester, UK

    Suzanne Gough

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Meek, S.E.M., Neve, H., Wearn, A. (2020). Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge. In: Nestel, D., Reedy, G., McKenna, L., Gough, S. (eds) Clinical Education for the Health Professions. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6106-7_25-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6106-7_25-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-6106-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-6106-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation