Threshold concepts

 The threshold concept framework holds promise for librarians because it grounds the instructor in the big ideas and underlying concepts that make information literacy exciting and worth learning about

 information literacy in academic libraries does not exist in a vacuum, and it is not a wholly unique system. Instead, it is governed by many of the same forces that are familiar to students through their experiences of popular culture, and the Frames in this new Framework offer us the opportunity to use those familiarities to give students a deeper knowledge of the conditions of scholarship.
 

The Threshold  Concepts emerged from a UK national research project into the possible characteristics of strong teaching and learning environments in the disciplines for undergraduate education (Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses - http://www.tlrp.org).

In pursuing this research in the field of economics, it became clear to Erik Meyer and Ray Land (2003, 2005, 2006), that certain concepts were held by economists to be central to the mastery of their subject. These concepts, Meyer and Land argued, could be described as ‘threshold’ ones because they have certain features in common.The purpose of this brief piece is to outline these features and to point to the distinctive value of a threshold concept approach for curriculum design

Threshold concepts enables teachers to make refined decisions about what is fundamental to a grasp of the subject they are teaching. It is a ‘less is more’ approach to curriculum design. Threshold Concepts’ may  be considered to be “akin   to passing through a portal”  or “conceptual gateway”   that opens up “previously  inaccessible way[s] of  thinking about something” http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/

The threshold concept has been seen as a valuable tool, not only in facilitating students’ understanding of their subject, but in aiding the rational development of curricula in rapidly expanding arenas where there is a strong tendency to overload the curriculum.

https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/connections-seminar-threshold-concepts-where-students-get-stuck

Recognition

teaching Information Literacy Threshold Concepts: Lesson Plans for Librarians is a collection designed by instruction librarians to promote critical thinking and engaged learning. It provides teaching librarians detailed, ready-to-use, and easily adaptable lesson ideas to help students understand and be transformed by information literacy threshold concepts. Teaching the threshold concepts that are central to the ACRL Framework and is suitable for all types of academic libraries, high school libraries, as well as a pedagogical tool for library and information schools.