How can current and new assessment tools be used to measure the attainment of threshold concepts in university outdoor education programs?

Communicating tertiary graduate skills and knowledge to employers is a contemporary issue in the Australian outdoor education sector. Threshold concepts have been proposed as a positive way forward to a shared understanding between Higher Education (HE) professionals, students, graduates, employers, and other outdoor education stakeholders. However, while threshold concepts can offer a curriculum development framework that highlights the graduate capabilities of a HE outdoor educator, they do not specify how these concepts are assessed. This presentation explores the assessment of threshold concepts in HE outdoor education courses and discusses the outcomes of research focused on tertiary outdoor education programs in Australia. The presentation will identify key areas of assessment that could be utilised or adapted to assess the threshold concepts for outdoor education graduates.