Biological Variation as a Threshold Concept: Can We Measure Threshold Crossing?

ABSTRACT: Threshold concepts are fundamental to a discipline and, once understood, transform students' understanding and perception of the subject. Despite the value of threshold concepts as a learning "portal" for heuristic purposes, there is limited empirical evidence of threshold crossing or achieving mastery. As a threshold concept, biological variation within species is fundamental to understanding evolution and provides a target for analyzing threshold crossing. We aimed to 1) examine student understanding of variation using four dimensions of a threshold concept (discursive, troublesome, liminal, and integrative), 2) measure "threshold crossing," and 3) investigate the utility of the threshold concept framework to curriculum design. We conducted semistructured interviews of 29 students affili

SUBMITTER: Walck-Shannon E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6755314 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature