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

• 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
• ISSN: 0260-6917; 1532-2793
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105614

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.