Detecting threshold concepts through Bayesian knowledge tracing: examining research skill development in biological sciences at the doctoral level
Detecting threshold concepts through Bayesian knowledge tracing: examining research skill development in biological sciences at the doctoral level
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DOI：
10.1007/s11251-022-09578-5
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发表时间：
2022-03
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Jina Kang;R. Baker;Zhang Feng;Chungsoo Na;Peter Granville;David F. Feldon
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Jina Kang;R. Baker;Zhang Feng;Chungsoo Na;Peter Granville;David F. Feldon
门槛概念是领域知识的变革要素，使那些获得它们的人能够以更复杂的方式参与领域任务。现有的研究往往侧重于识别本科课程中的门槛概念，作为具有挑战性的概念，防止实现随后的内容，直到掌握。最近，阈值概念也成为博士研究的一个研究热点。然而，这种研究面临着一些限制。首先，由于现有研究的参与者人数相对较少，过去研究结果的普遍性受到限制。第二，不清楚哪些具体技能取决于对已确定的门槛概念的掌握，因此难以确定可能进行干预的适当时机。第三，跨学科观察到的阈值概念可能会也可能不会掩盖适用于特定学科背景的重要细微差别。因此，目前的研究采用了一种新的贝叶斯知识追踪（BKT）的方法来识别可能的阈值概念，使用一个大的数据集从生物科学。使用博士生的独家撰写的学术写作的rubric-scored样本，我们应用BKT作为一种策略，以确定潜在的阈值概念，通过检查特定的研究技能的性能分数的能力，以预测其他研究技能的得分收益。研究结果表明，这一战略的有效性，以及收敛的结果，目前的研究和更传统的，定性的结果，确定在博士水平的阈值概念。
Threshold concepts are transformative elements of domain knowledge that enable those who attain them to engage domain tasks in a more sophisticated way. Existing research tends to focus on the identification of threshold concepts within undergraduate curricula as challenging concepts that prevent attainment of subsequent content until mastered. Recently, threshold concepts have likewise become a research focus at the level of doctoral studies. However, such research faces several limitations. First, the generalizability of findings in past research has been limited due to the relatively small numbers of participants in available studies. Second, it is not clear which specific skills are contingent upon mastery of identified threshold concepts, making it difficult to identify appropriate times for possible intervention. Third, threshold concepts observed across disciplines may or may not mask important nuances that apply within specific disciplinary contexts. The current study therefore employs a novel Bayesian knowledge tracing (BKT) approach to identify possible threshold concepts using a large data set from the biological sciences. Using rubric-scored samples of doctoral students’ sole-authored scholarly writing, we apply BKT as a strategy to identify potential threshold concepts by examining the ability of performance scores for specific research skills to predict score gains on other research skills. Findings demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy, as well as convergence between results of the current study and more conventional, qualitative results identifying threshold concepts at the doctoral level.