Threshold Concepts: A Pilot Project Sponsored by the Mansergh-Stuessy Fund for College Innovation: Start

On this guide, you will find resources related to threshold concepts, research on student experiences, and information on our grant proposal and funding. 

The library has received a seed grant from the Mansergh-Stuessy Fund for College Innovation to explore threshold concepts in undergraduate research and inquiry. Faculty from across the curriculum are invited to participate in this project. We aim to collectively identify places where students have difficulty with critical ideas and processes that, once grasped, transform students’ understanding of how information works and what role they play in making knowledge.

Photo credits
Change Machine - http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidking/1811568910/sizes/m/
Diving Board - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tormol/1050072246/sizes/l/

In our second grant-sponsored meeting on May 7, 2014 we discussed some possible big-picture concepts that grew out of our first discussion and are things we hope students will understand by the time they graduate. We will be testing these concepts out and thinking about what students need to know and experience in order to cross these thresholds.

Knowledge is made by people. [some would like to add more here about people's purposes.] 

Research involves posing a question and proposing an original response to that question.

Research is a recursive process. What you learn will lead you to ask new questions, some of which you may not be able to answer conclusively.

Every exchange of information requires an act of judgment [some prefer the word "evaluation."]

Sometimes you will encounter things that challenge your view of the world. Knowing sometimes means questioning something you believed to be true.

Research is guided by ethical principles. These principles vary depending on the context of the research but typically include

• Approaching a research question with an open mind rather than trying to prove a predetermined point. [or “approaching a research question with an open mind, rather than selecting evidence to support a particular point of view.”]
• Using ethical practices to gather and interpret information.
• Representing others’ ideas accurately and fairly while acknowledging contributors to your ideas. 
• Minimizing harm to others.

Knowledge is social and collaborative. It’s made by people working together (or side by side) over time to advance what we know about the world and is influenced by economic and social contexts.

The purpose of research is to pursue truth [understanding] while recognizing that truth [understanding] is inevitably elusive.

Suggested additional points from further discussions with faculty:

• Somewhere the importance of audience (and its relationship to the way knowledge is shared) needs to be included.
• The economic value of information is not necessarily related to its actual value.
• Information needs to be organized, and how it is organized makes a difference.
• Knowledge evolves. We have to consider its context because ideas change over time.
• Things that are particularly important for students to recognize: I am an author and I have something to say. I can do research on things I care about.