Hierarchic: 4 Main Ideas

TM

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Makes Sense
Sense Strategies
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Name:

2008 Edwin Ellis, All Rights Reserved Published by Makes Sense Strategies, LLC, Northport, AL www.MakesSenseStrategies.com

Date:

Claudia Mesnil-Baez

ConceptAttainment

9-17-14

Is about

Helping students of all levels elaborate and reinforce knowledge they already have as well as practice critical thinking.
Main idea

Planning

Identify topics: topics can be

identified by what the teacher
considers to be an important
concept.
Specify learning objectives: the
students have to be familiar with
the concept, learning objectives to
expand that knowledge must be
clear before lesson begins.
Select examples and nonexamples: this is "key" for students
to understand what concept
discrimination means.
Sequence examples and nonexamples: examples must be
arranged so students are receiveing
as much practice as possible.

Main idea

Main idea

Implementing

Assessment

Introduction: lessons need to be

introduced carefully and have
clear instructions to assure
students have been exposed to the
concept before and do not get
confused
Examples and Hypothesizing:
Display the example and non
example to direct your instruction,
ask students to begin building
hypotheses, build a list of
hypotheses.
The Analysis Cycle:
Carefully analyze all hypotheses,
students can begin to put their
thinking into words.
Closure and Application: Once the
class has decided on the answer
students identify essential
characteristics of that concept to
apply it to their own situations.

students must be able to

define the concept, this
proves that they have the
knowledge to carry out and to
understand the lesson and its
objectives.
Identify concept
characteristics: through
metacognition, students must
be able to figure out to build
a mental concept when the
hypotheses are discussed.
Relate concept to other
concepts to increase
understanding.
Identify examples of any
concept that may seem
unknown

Main idea

Motivation

Theconceptattainmentmodelis
veryeffectivewhenitcomesto
motivation.
Iftheclassroomisasafeplace
forthestudentsintheclass,all
studentswillgivetheirinput.
Thisgivesexposuretonewideas
andalsomotivatesstudentsthat
maybecuriousaboutthe
unknownanswer.Thisgives
studentsanequalchanceto
participatetoo.

So what? What is important to understand about this?

This concept works well with motivation, just as the Guided Discovery does. They are very similar. However, I believe concept attainment "plays" more on the idea of
community work and it puts a more real life perspective to the use of the Scientific Method.