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Threshold concepts are transformative elements of domain knowledge that enable those who attain them to engage domain tasks in a more sophisticated way. Existing research tends to focus on the identification of threshold concepts within undergraduate curricula as challenging concepts that prevent attainment of subsequent content until mastered. Recently, threshold concepts have likewise become a research focus at the level of doctoral studies. However, such research faces several limitations. First, the generalizability of findings in past research has been limited due to the relatively small numbers of participants in available studies. Second, it is not clear which specific skills are contingent upon mastery of identified threshold concepts, making it difficult to identify appropriate times for possible intervention. Third, threshold concepts observed across disciplines may or may not mask important nuances that apply within specific disciplinary contexts. The current study therefore employs a novel Bayesian knowledge tracing (BKT) approach to identify possible threshold concepts using a large data set from the biological sciences. Using rubric-scored samples of doctoral students’ sole-authored scholarly writing, we apply BKT as a strategy to identify potential threshold concepts by examining the ability of performance scores for specific research skills to predict score gains on other research skills. Findings demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy, as well as convergence between results of the current study and more conventional, qualitative results identifying threshold concepts at the doctoral level.
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Identification of Threshold Concepts for Intermediate Computer Science Students
WIP Research Paper: The ability to identify threshold concepts within a discipline recognizes key components within a curriculum which, when learned, enables an individual to demonstrate as a member of that community. Within computer science, potential threshold concepts have sparked debates among researchers. According to the original definition by Meyer and Land, threshold concepts result in an individual being placed into a state of uncertainty or liminality and successful traversal of this liminal state results in a potentially irreversible transformation. When seeking to identify threshold concept, researchers often search for what concepts students feel are ‘troublesome’ or ‘difficult to learn’ since this state is often difficult to describe or understand when currently inside it or just past it. While threshold concepts have been identified for the beginning stages of programming, there is little to no work on the intermediate years of university computing education (years 2 & 3) and what potential threshold concepts exist during that time for computer science students. Our goal with this research is to help address this gap by answering the following research question: What concepts do intermediate students identify as being troublesome and/or ‘uncomfortable to learn’ within their computer science coursework?
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- Award ID(s):
- 2044179
- PAR ID:
- 10510963
- Publisher / Repository:
- IEEE
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Conference proceedings Frontiers in Education Conference
- ISSN:
- 1539-4565
- ISBN:
- 979-8-3503-3642-9
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 5
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- College Station, TX, USA
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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