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Name: Jacob Rogers
2008 Edwin Ellis, All Rights Reserved Published by Makes Sense Strategies, LLC, Northport, AL www.MakesSenseStrategies.com
Date:
ConceptAttainment
2/4/2016
Is about
TheConceptAttainmentmodelisateachingmodeldesignedtohelpstudentsofallageselaborateandreinforcetheirunderstandingofconceptsand
practicetheircriticalthinking.Thismodelwouldbeveryeffectiveinascienceclassbecauseiteasilyfitsthescientificmethod,particularlyhypothesis
testing.
Theory
Theorycomepartiallyfromthecognitive
learningtheory
Theknowledgelearnersconstructdepends
ontheirpriorknowledgeandexperiences.
Socialinteractionandtheuseoflanguage
facilitatelearning.
Learningrequirespracticeandfeedback.
SeemslinkedtoPiagetsstagetheory
becausestudentsmusthaveabackground
knowledgetobeabletolearnadeeper
understandingofaconcept.
CanalsobelinkedtoVygotskyifusing
groupwork,orusingsocialinteractionto
gainadeeperknowledge.
Assessment
Twomajoroutcomesfromthismodel:
First,adeeperandmoreelaborate
understandingofconcepts.Second,
increasescriticalthinking.
Askstudentsto:
Definetheconcept.
Identifytheconceptscharacteristics.
Relatetheconcepttootherconcepts.
Identifyorsupplyexamplesoftheconcept
notpreviouslyencountered.
Canbeassessedbyessayquestions,
standardpaperandpenciltests,and
matchingcharacteristics.
Planning
IdentifyTopics
Identifyatopicbelievedtobeimportantfor
studentstounderstand.
SpecifyLearningObjectives
Helpingstudentsdefineandelaborate
conceptsandcomparetherelationships
amongthemaswellasgivingpracticewith
criticalthinkingbyformingandtesting
hypotheses.
Selectexamplesandnonexamples
Selectexamplesthatbestillustratethe
characteristicsoftheconcept.
Sequenceexamplesandnonexamples
Examplesshouldbearrangedsostudents
aregivenasmuchpracticeaspossible.
Modification
Createmoreconcreteexamplesforyounger
students.
Introducethismodelwithafamiliaridea
thisfirstcoupleoftimesyouusethemodel
toyoungerstudents.
Highqualityconcreteareessentialtoall
studentsofculturalminorities.
Groupscanalsobeeffectiveforminority
students.
Computerprogramscanalsobeutilizedfor
moreeffectiveexamplesand
understanding.
Implementing
Phase1:Introduction
Gainstudentsattention.
Carefulintroductionsothatstudents
becomecomfortablewiththeprocess.
Phase2:ExamplesandHypothesizing
Displayanexampleandnonexampleand
askthestudentstohypothesizewhatthey
believetheconceptis.
Phase3:TheAnalysisCycle
Displayexamplesandnonexamplesinthe
mosteffectivewaytoelaborateaconcept.
Allowstudentstoanalyzetheexisting
hypothesistoseeifitisstillvalid.(Dont
judgehypothesis)
Phase4:ClosureandApplication
Studentsidentifytheessential
characteristicsoftheconcept,statea
definition,andlinkrelatedconcepts.
Motivation
ConceptAttainmentlessonscanbe
motivatingbecausestudentsaresolvinga
puzzle.
Addingavarietyofclassroomactivities
canalsoresultinincreasedmotivation.
Groupworkisalsousedtopromote
motivation.Ingroups,studentsare
interactingwitheachotherandbecoming
morestudentcentered.
Thismodelisgreatforhelpingstudentsunderstandandelaboratetheirknowledgeofaconcept.Itisalsogreattoemphasizecritical
thinking.Thismodelismostusefulinscienceclassesthatdealwiththescientificmethodbutcouldbeusedforotherclassesaswell.