Threshold concepts and threshold skills in computing

Authors:
Kate Sanders;Jonas Boustedt;Anna Eckerdal;Robert McCartney;Jan Erik Moström;Lynda Thomas;Carol Zander
Affiliations:
Rhode Island College, Providence, RI, USA;University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden;Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA;Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales Uk;University of Washington Bothell, Bothell, WA, USA
Venue:
Proceedings of the ninth annual international conference on International computing education research
Year:
2012

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Abstract

Threshold concepts can be used to both organize disciplinary knowledge and explain why students have difficulties at certain points in the curriculum. Threshold concepts transform a student's view of the discipline; before being learned, they can block a student's progress. In this paper, we propose that in computing, skills, in addition to concepts, can sometimes be thresholds. Some students report finding skills more difficult than concepts. We discuss some computing skills that may be thresholds and compare threshold skills and threshold concepts.