Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge

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 institutions and disciplines, including the social sciences, the humanities, the sciences and economics.

Jan Meyer is Professor of Education and foundation Director of the Centre for Learning, Teaching, and Research in Higher Education, University of Durham.

Ray Land is Professor of Higher Education Development and Director, Centre for Higher Education Development, Coventry University. Education in Cyberspace , He has written widely on higher education, and his books include Education and Cyberspace (RoutledgeFalmer, 2004) and Educational Development: Discourse, Identity and Practice (SRHE/McGraw-Hill Open University Press, 2004).