This document discusses threshold concepts and curriculum mapping to improve the learner experience. It defines threshold concepts as concepts that are transformative, irreversible, integrative, bounded, and troublesome, but essential for understanding a subject. It suggests identifying threshold concepts within disciplines and mapping them to curriculum can help students master challenging concepts. It also addresses opportunities for libraries to get involved through instruction strategies, understanding student struggles, and improving collaboration across support systems to enhance learning.

1. UNDERSTANDING
THE LEARNER EXPERIENCE
THRESHOLD CONCEPTS & CURRICULUM MAPPING
@ c h a r b o o t h @brianmathews

3. ( D O N T L O O K D O W N )

6. L O O K

7. THE LEARNER EXPERIENCE

9. 1 2

10. 3
1 2

12. i n s t r u c t i o n a l l i t e r a c y

13. c o m m u n i t i e s o f p r a c t i c e

14. DEPARTMENTS
D I V I S I O N S
D I S C I P L I N E S
RESEARCH TEAMS
M A J O R S
c o m m u n i t i e s o f p r a c t i c e

15. C O G N I T I V E STRUCTURAL
1 2
C O N C E P T S M A P P I N G

16. B E Y O N D
H O W

17. S C A L E

18. REDUNDANCY

19. PRACTICAL
vs
THEORETICAL

20. T R A I N I N G

21. THRESHOLD CONCEPTS
A threshold concept can be
considered as akin to a
portal, opening up a new and
previously inaccessible way
of thinking about something.
It represents a transformed
way of understanding, or
interpreting, or viewing
something without which the
learner cannot progress.

22. BASIC CHARACTERISTICS
Knowledge that is:
• Transformative
• Irreversible
• Integrative
• Bounded
• Troublesome

23. PHYSICS = heat transfer
M A T H E M A T I C S = l i m i t
CULTURAL STUDIES = signification
LITERATURE = deconstruction
ECONOMICS = opportunity cost
PHILOSOPHY = personhood

24. http://www.doceo.co.uk/tools/threshold_4.htm

25. MIDTERM
CONCEPT 3
CONCEPT 2
CONCEPT 1

26. G R A D U A L S T E P S

27. GENERAL RELATIVITY
QUANTUM MECHANICS
THERMODYNAMICS
RADIATION
GRAVITY
LIGHT
MATTER

28. GENERAL RELATIVITY
QUANTUM MECHANICS
THERMODYNAMICS
RADIATION
GRAVITY
LIGHT
MATTER

29. "By being obsessed with success, students are afraid to
fail, so they are reluctant to take difficult steps to master
new material. Acknowledging that difficulty is a crucial
part of learning could stop a vicious circle in which
difficulty creates feelings of incompetence that in turn
disrupts learning.
-Frederique Autin & Jean-Claude Croizet

30. Why does this matter to librarians?

31. O P P O R T U N I T I E S

32. What are the accelerators and
b a r r i e r s t o k n o w l e d g e ?

33. INTERNAL VIEW
• How can we improve library instruction?
Strategy & Tactics?
• What is difficult? What do we make difficult?
• What don t students know? What don t we know?

34. EXTERNAL VIEW
• How might we improve the learner experience?
• Struggling to learn, struggling to teach.
• Students and faculty are walking on same path
together. Where are we?

35. S T U D E N T S
INSTRUCTORS

37. s u p p o r t
agencies students
tutors faculty
advisors

39. NAME THAT (THRESHOLD) CONCEPT

40. CONCEPT / KNOWLEDGE / MIND MAPPING

41. CONCEPT / KNOWLEDGE / MIND MAPPING
mindomo.com

42. { }
THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES

43. { }
THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES

44. { }
THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES

45. { }
THE CLAREMONT COLLEGES

46. A S S E S S M E N T & P L A N N I N G

47. D I S C U S S I O N C A P T U R E

48. C O M M M U N I T Y B U I L D I N G

49. C U R R I C U L U M M A P P I N G

50. C U R R I C U L U M V I S U A L I Z A T I O N

51. C O M M U N I T Y V I S U A L I Z A T I O N

52. C O M M U N I T Y V I S U A L I Z A T I O N

53. I M M E R S I V E E X P L O R A T I O N

54. CAMPUS

55. PROGRAM

56. REQUIREMENTS

57. O B J E C T I V E S
OUTCOMES

58. ANNOTATIONS

59. STRATEGY

60. C U R R I C U L U M
M A P P I N G
P I L O T : E A
tinyurl.com/claremont-eamap

61. C A T A L O G / W E B S I T E I M M E R S I O N

62. COURSE INTEGRATION MAP & RUBRIC

64. C L A S S E S , M E E T I N G S & G U I D E S

65. OPEN ACCESS CAPSTONE UPLOADS

66. T A R G E T E D A S S E S S M E N T

67. T A R G E T E D A S S E S S M E N T

68. T R A C K I N G
O U T C O M E S

71. { }
P R O F . C H A R M I L L E R
E A P R O G R A M D I R E C T O R

72. C O G N I T I V E STRUCTURAL
C O N C E P T S M A P P I N G

73. UNDERSTANDING
THE LEARNER EXPERIENCE
THRESHOLD CONCEPTS & CURRICULUM MAPPING
@ c h a r b o o t h @brianmathews

74. SUGGESTED READINGS
Hounsell & Entwistle. 2005. Enhancing Teaching-learning
Environments In Undergraduate Courses (UK)
Johnson. 2010. Where Do Good Ideas Come
From: The Natural History of Innovation.
Land, Meyer, & Smith. 2008. Threshold concepts within
the disciplines. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Mezirow. 2009. Transformative learning in practice:
Insights from Community, Workplace, and Education.
Townsend, Brunetti, & Hofer. 2011. Threshold
Concepts and Information Literacy. portal: libraries
and the academy, v. 11 n.3, pp. 853-869.