Should the concepts chosen to guide concept-based curricula be threshold concepts?

In this paper we propose that the concepts guiding concept-based curricula should be threshold knowledge concepts. We briefly discuss some of the hurdles of current concept-based curricular designs and describe how the concepts themselves, paradoxically, might perpetuate the continued emphasis on co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nurse education today 2023-01, Vol.120, p.105614-105614, Article 105614
Main Authors: Mitchell, Kim M., Kramer, Marnie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Concept-based curriculum
Core concepts
Curricular design
Curriculum
Faculty
Humans
Knowledge
Learning
Nursing education
Threshold concepts
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this paper we propose that the concepts guiding concept-based curricula should be threshold knowledge concepts. We briefly discuss some of the hurdles of current concept-based curricular designs and describe how the concepts themselves, paradoxically, might perpetuate the continued emphasis on content in nursing courses. Until now, threshold concept theory has not been part of the mainstream conversation about concept-based curricula. Threshold concepts act as portals to professional identity development and are recognized by their troublesome and transformative potential to enhance knowledge acquisition and change worldviews. This feature differentiates them from the core concepts often described within concept-based curriculum literature. The identification of threshold concepts in existing nursing courses might help structure curricular revision with the goal of enhancing transfer of learning and decreasing faculty resistance to the concept-based curricular approach.
ISSN:0260-6917
1532-2793
DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105614