ABSTRACT

Authors question whether the traditional approach is the best way of teaching students either the concepts of actus reusand mens reaor the criminal law generally. They suggest it may impede the development of true understanding by obscuring the impact of public policy on apparently neutral principles. The authors introduce and distinguish between core concepts and threshold concepts and argue that lecturer awareness of the different functions they fulfil will enhance student understanding of the law. Thinking like a lawyer or legal reasoning is identified as a key threshold concept in law. Core concepts are necessary to bring students to a threshold concept: "a core concept is a conceptual 'building block' that progresses understanding of the subject". Actus reusand mens reaare key principles within criminal law and reflect conceptual understandings of how it should function. The entire idea of mens reais infused with enlightenment understandings of rationality.