Transforming Perspectives: Technology to Support the Teaching and Learning of Threshold Concepts

1. Transforming Perspectives: Technology to Support the Teaching and Learning of Threshold Concepts

2. Who are we? • An interdisciplinary project involving three groups at the University of Cambridge: • Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies • Software Developers • Content Developers • Educational Researchers and Evaluators • Faculty Liaison Staff • Department of Plant Sciences • Computer Laboratory • A wider group of departments and individuals from different disciplines • An interdisciplinary seminar group drawing on expertise within and beyond Cambridge

3. What are Threshold Concepts? Threshold concepts are characteristically: • transformative – occasioning a ‘significant shift in the perception of a subject’ • probablyirreversible – ‘the change in perspective occasioned by acquisition of a threshold concept is unlikely to be forgotten’ • integrative – exposing the ‘previously hidden interrelatedness of something’ • possibly often bounded – ‘any conceptual space will have terminal frontiers, bordering with thresholds into new conceptual areas’ • potentially troublesome – that which appears ‘counter-intuitive, alien (emanating from another culture or discourse), or incoherent (discrete aspects are unproblematic but there is no organising principle)’ (Meyer and Land, 2006: 7-9)

4. Threshold Concepts & Technology • Threshold concepts present a challenge for technology enhanced learning because they necessitate sophisticated and flexible learning environments which support the reflection, ‘revisiting’ and problematisation of knowledge; • Some related technologies: • the Intelligent Verilog Compiler, which uses an ontology-based architecture to provide diagnostic assessment and feedback to guide students in their programming exercises, and is used in part of the Computer Science course at the University of Cambridge; • ‘Intelligent Books’, which are structured so that teachers and learners can add, reuse and restructure content and examples, and which allow alternative explanations in response to learner needs and preferences. • Other Semantic Web and Adaptive Tutoring Systems

5. Project Activities • The establishment of an interdisciplinary network to explore perspectives on the teaching and learning of threshold concepts across a number of disciplines • Seminar Series A – practitioner seminars to define the nature and role of threshold concepts in a range of disciplines • Seminar Series B – multi-institutional interdisciplinary seminars to explore commonality and difference in conceptual models, ontologies and methodologies • Residential meeting to bring together participants from the two seminar series, focusing on interdisciplinarity and appropriate technologies • The exploration of opportunities offered by a range of technologies to support the teaching and learning of threshold concepts

6. Selected Project Outcomes • A review of literatures related to threshold concepts • Construction of a series of case studies of teaching and learning of threshold concepts in the disciplines • Establishment and management of an online environment to support work in both seminar series • A developing dialogue leading to the specification of technologically-enhanced teaching and learning environment geared to supporting teaching and learning of threshold concepts Contact: Naomi@caret.cam.ac.uk For more information see: http://www.caret.cam.ac.uk/tel