The notion of threshold concepts coined by Meyer and Land [2] refers to a portal that opens up a new and previously inaccessible way for learners to think about a topic, a view without which students would be unable to progress intellectually. These concepts have been identified by their five key characteristics: transformative (causing shift in perception individuals and subject, once understood), irreversible (unlikely to be forgotten or unlearned), integrative (can bring different aspects together from previously hidden connections), bounded (lie on borders of disciplinary areas) and troublesome (may appear counter-intuitive, paradoxical or incoherent to students). A systematic approach was undertaken to locate and analyse empirical research examining the use of ‘threshold concepts’ in mathematics teaching within STEM higher education disciplines. The primary research question, designed using the PICO framework [6], aims at investigating how the teaching of these concepts as ‘threshold concepts’ compares with teaching them more traditionally in relation to student understanding, performance and experience. A search was conducted across multiple databases following the design of search clauses and well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Publications were selected for inclusion by screening and appraising results obtained from databases and keywords refined through a scoping study. This work-in-progress paper systematically documents the context and nature of the studies and year of publication, prior to synthesising the shortlisted studies.

Authors: Rehan Shah, Manish Malik

Published in: World Congress on Education (2024)

• Date of Conference: 26-28 August, 2024
• DOI: 10.20533/WCE.2024.0037
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-71-6
• Conference Location: Churchill College, Cambridge, UK