Developing Concepts


Definition
Concept Formation
Concept Attainment
Conclusion
Reflective Checklist
Classroom Example #3: Concept Formation
Classroom Example #4: Concept Attainment
Practical resources and References

Concept development is a natural process. Knowledge, the understanding of the world around us, is constructed from our observations of the events and objects we experience. Concepts are regularities in these events and objects which have been identified using labels or names and are communicated through the use of language or symbols.

Definition

Concepts are "rules for grouping". When students form and attain concepts, they are constructing these rules. Learning a concept is more than recognizing previously encountered examples; it is being able to apply the concept rule to recognize new, previously unexperienced examples of the concept. It also allows for concept alteration, where naive, preliminary or incomplete understanding can move to a revised or enlarged understanding of the concept based on observation and discussion. Since awareness of concepts develops from personal experiences in the real world, the knowledge of a particular concept may vary from person to person.

Concepts may be concrete (perceived through the five senses) or abstract (acquired through inference or indirectly). Corn, as an example of a monocotyledon, can be observed, felt, tasted and smelled. It represents a concrete concept. Democracy is an abstract concept.

Concept teaching approaches are process oriented. They are aimed at teaching students to think, question and discover rather than to solely memorize. Concept development and analysis encourage inductive thinking as students move from particular facts to generalizations. Through the inventive act of concept formation, categorization classes; (concepts) are constructed. Concept attainment activities encourage the searching for and testing of characteristics to determine if an object or idea is a member or nonmember of a class (concept).

Concept formation and concept attainment are two of several instructional methods which assist in developing conceptual thinking by enabling students to select arid organize diverse material. These methods provide an opportunity to examine each experience and to enhance students, understanding of the concepts they form and acquire.

Concept Formation

Concept formation involves the recognition that some objects or events belong together while others do not. Once the objects or events have been grouped according to a particular categorization scheme, the grouping is given a label. The end result of concept formation activities is the connections students make among the common characteristics of a concept.

Dr. Hilda Taba (1971) views concept formation as a sequence of activities to be followed by students. The teacher facilitates the process and may elicit certain information by asking focusing questions during each step of the process. The concept formation process involves:

1. Providing or having students identify and list data from their experience which relate to the concept under investigation.
   [Question: "What did you see, read, hear, …?"]
2. Asking students to group the data according to common characteristics or relationships as determined by the students, and to give reasons for their groupings.
   [Questions: "What items would you group together? Why?"]
3. Having students label their groupings with a word or a phrase.
   [Question: "What names can be given to these groupings?"]
4. Asking students to subsume items under other labels or combine groupings under more inclusive categories.
   [Questions: "Can some items belong to more than one grouping? Can some groups be combined? Explain."]
5. Having students explore alternative ways of grouping and labeling based on different characteristics and relationships.
   [Questions: "Can you use different criteria to group and label these items? Explain."]

These steps are sequential. However, the pacing will be dependent upon the particular situation. All steps may occur in one lesson or may evolve over a series of lessons. On occasion, certain steps may be revisited.

This method provides a structured teaching and learning sequence while being open-ended with respect to the kinds of responses which students generate. The student-developed lists, categories and labels are based on concrete experiences, nurtured by group interaction and supported by existing, already established structures and concepts.

Most students will have used the concept labels previously. The labels will not be new. Concept formation will, however, enrich students' experiences with the concept and contribute to a broader, deepened understanding of its meaning. This process of organizing discrete items helps students to view the experience in a more perceptive and thoughtful way.

The concept labels which students give the groupings are their own. The group items are label3.ed in the most appropriate way which the students can devise given their cognitive style, their prior experience with the items and their vocabulary pool.

The teacher guides students as they move co-operatively through the task. The items to be listed, analyzed and organized in the concept formation activity must be made available to students prior to the activity or can be brainstormed by the students. These brainstormed lists serve "to demonstrate how data can be organized and patterned around concepts from which students might initiate a variety of relationships and hypotheses" (Gray, 1983, p.225). Students are encouraged to draw on prior knowledge and apply it in new situations.

Concept Attainment

Concept attainment focuses on understanding what characteristics or attributes may be useful for distinguishing between members and nonmembers of a grouping or class. The method is based on the work of Bruner (1986). In this situation, the student does not fully understand a concept. Developing a comprehensive definition for the concept involves the following key elements.

The five key elements necessary to define a concept are: names, examples, attributes, attribute values and rules. The concept name is the term given to a particular group of objects or events. Examples are instances of the concept. Characteristics of the object or event are referred to as attributes. Those common characteristics which are essential to place an object in a grouping are known as critical attributes. Attribute value refers to the range within which a characteristic exemplifies the concept. For example, lemons exist in a variety of shades of yellow but if the example is too close to orange, it does not qualify for the concept "lemon" but may well be an example of the concept "orange". A rule gives a summary, generalization or definition which specifies the critical attributes of the given concept. A discussion of three processes for attaining understanding of a concept follows. Two of these processes fall -within the inductive approach. The third process is described from a deductive approach.

    Inductive Approach. The first process focuses on examining examples and non-examples. As each example of the concept is examined and its attributes are noted, students form a hypothesis (rule) about the critical attributes of the concept. Each successive example or non.-example reinforces the hypothesis or alters it to make it more exact. Eventually, students develop a rule for distinguishing examples from non-examples.

The second process involves selecting an item from an unlabelled group and questioning an authority to determine if it is an example or not. Through examining the attributes of the examples, a hypothesis is made. Students select additional items in order to test and refine the hypothesis. With each selection, students ask "yes-no" questions of the authority. This process results in a rule for identifying the concept.

In the first example, students were using a reception process of concept attainment in which the items were labeled as examples and non-examples. Students became familiar with the basic elements of the concept and used these, to form the "rule".

In the second example, which uses a selection process, unlabelled samples were presented and students had to determine if they were examples or non-examples through questioning, selecting more examples, testing the hypothesis and formulating a rule.

Both processes described previously illustrate an inductive approach to concept attainment. Examples and non-examples are introduced and students discover critical attributes which in turn lead to the discovery of a rule or definition of the concept which includes the critical attributes and their relationships. Steps generally followed in the inductive approach are:

1. The teacher selects the concept and presents students with examples using the:
   1. Reception process
      1. present examples of the concept
      2. present non-examples of the concept (alternate examples with non-examples for the first few items)
      3. students identify attributes of examples.
         
         
         or
         
         
   2. Selection process
      1. present unlabeled items
      2. students ask "yes" and "no" questions to determine if an item represents the concept
      3. students identify attributes of examples.
2. Students identify the concept by:
   1. Comparing and contrasting examples and non-examples
   2. Identifying the critical characteristics (attributes)
   3. Developing and testing a rule (hypothesis)
   4. Formulating a rule or definition.
3. Students test their attainment of the concept by:
   1. Analyzing unlabelled items and identifying them as representing or not representing the concept
   2. Rejecting or confirming the original rule.
4. The teacher confirms the rule, naming the concept and using the critical attributes to define the concept.
5. Students generate additional examples of the concept or classify unknown examples based on the rule as a final test of their attainment.
6. Students analyze the thought processes used through a discussion of:
   1. What they did to reach their decision and solve the "mystery" of the concept.
   2. The roles of attributes and hypothesis in concept attainment.

    Role of Teacher. The teacher plays a key role in providing structure to the concept attainment method and facilitating students' understanding of the concept. The teacher determines the concept to be taught and its relationship to the learning objectives of the lesson. Example selection is a critical component for success. Initial examples must strongly represents the concept's critical attributes. Later examples and non-examples can gradually become less clear-cut as students' perception and understanding of the critical attributes increases.

Prior to the lesson, a list of attributes of the concept is prepared. Materials (e.g., pictures, objects, audio tapes, descriptive phrases, etc.) are carefully selected and organized to serve as examples and non-examples of the concept. Alternating examples with non-examples in the initial phase of the presentation helps students to compare the similarities among examples to the differences with non-examples.

The teacher is supportive of students' hypotheses and helps them to test one hypothesis while focusing their attention on the critical attributes of the examples being presented or selected. In a similar fashion, the teacher assists the students in discussing and evaluating the thought processes and thinking strategies which they employed.

    Deductive Approach. A third process could be employed to attain the concept. The teacher introduces the concept and draws attention to the critical attributes and their relationship(s) to each other. Examples and non-examples highlight both critical and non-critical attributes. Students are given an opportunity to test their understanding of the concept by examining unlabelled items and explaining the choices made.

This final process of concept attainment is a deductive approach moving from the general rule to specific examples. Steps generally followed in this approach are:

1. The teacher presents the concept label and the rule or definition of the concept.
2. Examples and non-examples of the concept are presented and the critical and non-critical attributes of each are discussed.
3. The critical attributes of the concept and their relationship(s) to one another are reviewed in terms of the concept rule.
4. Students test their attainment of the concept by examining unlabelled examples and identifying them as representing or not representing the concept.

In contrast to the inductive approach, the deductive approach tends to be closed and direct. Being teacher centered, it can be an efficient way to introduce large numbers of facts and concrete concepts. The deductive approach can be used to show relationships between several previously acquired concepts and what is about to be taught.

These previously acquired concepts are best attained following an inductive approach. Research (Joyce and Weil, 1986) indicates that inductive processes of' concept formation and attainment increase students' retention of information by enabling them to develop mental structures which allow them to "hold" the information better than structures which are provided for them. In addition, the inductive approach to concept attainment can help students in developing observational and analytical abilities.

Conclusion

Students of all ages and grade levels respond to the active learning encouraged by the inductive processes promoted by the concept formation and concept attainment methods. In the concept formation method, students learn to organize discrete pieces of information into larger conceptual schemes. Students are also responsive to reflection on those thought processes used during concept attainment and can apply this understanding to increase their learning. Both methods encourage the development of Critical and Creative Thinking and promote Independent Learning at all grade levels. The C.E L on Communication can also be fostered as students come to understand the major concepts and related vocabulary within a unit of study. See the objectives related to the Common Essential Learnings.

Reflective Checklist: Developing Concepts

What purposes will be addressed?

1. To develop students' understanding of important concepts within a unit

• What concepts are important for students to acquire in order to make sense of this unit?
• How can the critical attributes of the concept under study be organized and used to select examples and non-examples which best illustrate these critical attributes?
• What kinds of structures do students require to enable them to develop understanding of the concept, to hypothesize and to test their hypothesis?
• ________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________________

2. To access students' prior knowledge and experiences which are relevant to the concept under study

• What prior learning is relevant to the concept under study?
• In what ways can items from the students, experience be categorized in order to lead to the formation of the desired concept?
• How can students' vocabulary and concept labels be meaningfully integrated with the language demands of the unit under study?
• ________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________________

3. To help students organize information

• How can students be encouraged to categorize, label and regroup their list of understandings/experiences to formulate the desired concept?
• What experiences or structures do the students need in order to develop their level of readiness for the concept development process?
• How can directions, questions and cues be used to draw attention to critical attributes in the concept examples?
• ________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________________

4. To engage or focus students

• How can the examples and non-examples be presented in an interesting and thought-provoking way?
• How can group interaction be encouraged and facilitated in order to permit students to share their interpretations and understandings of one another's categories? to outline their criteria for grouping?
• How can students be involved in discussing one another's approaches to their task and how these approaches worked?
• ________________________________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________________________________

Classroom Example: Concept Formation

Classroom Example: Concept Attainment

Practical Resources* and References

  Bruner, J., Goodnow, J. and Austin, G. (1986). A Study of Thinking. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction, Inc.

* Good, T. and Brophy, J. (1980). Educational Psychology. 2nd ed. New York, New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

* Gray, D. (1983). Treaching concepts in social studies. From A Canadian Social Studies. Edited by J. Parsons, G. Milburn and M. van Manen. Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, p.p.207-230.

* Joyce, B. and Weil, M. (1986). Models of Teaching. 3rd ed. Toronto, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

* Novak, J. and Gowin, D., (1984). Learning How to Learn. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press.

  Taba, H. (1971). Teacher's Handbook to Elementary Social Studies. 2nd ed. Reading, M.A.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.