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The Threshold Concept Framework is used to initiate a dialogue on an empirically supported pedagogy that focuses on students’ conceptual understanding required for solving application-based problems. The present paper uses a triangulation approach to identify the threshold concept in a third-year undergraduate civil engineering course on open channel hydraulics. Evidence from teachers, students, and assessment data point to ‘critical flow’ as the threshold concept – a concept that is transformative, integrative, and troublesome. Identifying the threshold concept by engaging various course stakeholders in a dialogue about conceptual understanding and capabilities makes learning visible for all participants in the process. Implementing this approach can result in an empirically driven rationale for adjusting pedagogies and assessments to foster enhanced student learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Li, F., van Gelder, P.H.A.J.M., Callaghan, D.P., Jongejan, R.B., den Hijer, C. and Ranasinghe, R., 2013. Probabilistic modelling of wave climate and predicting dune erosion considering sea level rise Knowledge about future oceanographic events will assist governments to better manage risk in coastal zones, a crucial task in the light of projected sea level rise, population growth and economic development. In this study, a 31-year data set of deep water wave climate parameters and bathymetry measurements (yearly cross-shore transect surveys) at Noordwijk, the Netherlands, were analyzed (1) to jointly estimate storm events variates of deep water wave conditions, and (2) to probabilistically compute dune erosion volume and the resulting coastal retreat distance with the simulated wave climate and plausible local sea level rise scenarios by 2100. The probabilistic coastline retreat models were applied and adjusted to the study site. Based on the outcomes of this application, a modeling technique can be established to propose a framework for probabilistically describing the coastal risk along the Dutch coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]