Threshold concept knowledge in analogue electronics: Support and assessment

Abstract

In electrical engineering, as in other academic disciplines, there exist special, threshold concepts, where students often get stuck but which once grasped reveal new ways of thinking about a subject. Two surveys, student interviews and focus group discussions, and students’ assessment were directed at learning of threshold concepts and their pre-cursors. Results suggest that one of the precursor concepts, current flow, may be a threshold concept in itself. A model of precursor and threshold concepts assessment and additional student-support for learning threshold concepts is suggested.