Learning Portals: Analyzing Threshold Concept Theory for LIS Education

This paper explores the theoretical framework of threshold concepts and its potential for LIS education. Threshold concepts are key ideas, often troublesome and counterintuitive, that are critical to profound understanding of a domain. Once understood, they allow mastery of significant aspects of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of education for library and information science 2014-04, Vol.55 (2), p.150-165
Main Authors: Tucker, Virginia M., Weedman, Judith, Bruce, Christine S., Edwards, Sylvia L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Objectives
College Instruction
Core competencies
Core curriculum
Discipline
Education
Educational Research
Educational technology
Experiential learning
Fundamental Concepts
Higher Education
Information science
Information search
Learning
Learning Experience
Learning experiences
Learning Theories
Library Education
Library science
Mastery learning
Mathematical concepts
Methods
Online education
Online Searching
Science education
Study and teaching
Theories
Theory
Transformative Learning
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Summary:This paper explores the theoretical framework of threshold concepts and its potential for LIS education. Threshold concepts are key ideas, often troublesome and counterintuitive, that are critical to profound understanding of a domain. Once understood, they allow mastery of significant aspects of the domain, opening up new, previously inaccessible ways of thinking. The paper is developed in three parts. First, threshold concept theory is introduced and studies of its use in higher education are described, including emergent work related to LIS. Second, results of a recent study on learning experiences integral to learning to search are presented along with their implications for search expertise and search education, forming a case illustration of what threshold concept theory may contribute to this and other areas of LIS education. Third, the potential of threshold concept theory for LIS education is discussed. The paper concludes that threshold concept theory has much to offer LIS education, particularly for researching critical concepts and competencies, and considerations for a research agenda are put forth.
ISSN:0748-5786
2328-2967