It has long been a matter of concern to teachers in higher education why certain students 'get stuck' at particular points in the curriculum whilst others grasp concepts with comparative ease. What accounts for this variation in student performance and, more importantly, how can teachers change their teaching and courses to help students overcome such barriers?

This book examines the difficulties of student learning and offers advice on how to overcome them through course design, assessment practice and teaching methods. It also provides innovative case material from a wide range of...

Over the last decade the notion of threshold concepts has proved influential around the world as a powerful means of exploring and discussing the key points of transformation that students experience in their higher education courses and the troublesome knowledge that these often present. Threshold concepts provoke in the learner a state of liminality in which transformation takes place, requiring the integration of new understanding and the letting go of previous learning stances. Insights gained by learners as they cross thresholds can be exhilarating but might also be unsettling,...

Over the last decade the notion of threshold concepts has proved influential around the world as a powerful means of exploring and discussing the key points of transformation that students experience in their higher education courses and the troublesome knowledge that these often present. Threshold concepts provoke in the learner a state of liminality in which transformation takes place, requiring the integration of new understanding and the letting go of previous learning stances. Insights gained by learners as they cross thresholds can be exhilarating but might also be unsettling,...