Concept Attainment Mary Kazue Samantha Jackie Koreen Kristina

Concept Attainment The Definition “Concept attainment is ‘the search for and listing of attributes that can be used to distinguish exemplars from nonexemplars of various categories” (Joyce, Weil and Cahoun, 2000, p.146).

Concept Attainment Instructional Strategies Step 1 Tell students that they will be puzzle solving to discover a concept. Then briefly describe the process

Concept Attainment Step 2 Present paired exemplars (one negative and one positive) one pair at a time. Throughout this process instructor records students’ hypotheses about the nature of the concept.

Concept Attainment Step 3 When students’ hypothesizing sufficiently converges on the true nature of the concept, instructor names & clarifies the concept.

Concept Attainment Step 4 Instructor tests for concept mastery by presenting some additional exemplars or non-exemplars for students to label “Yes” (it is an example of the concept) or “No” (it’s not an example).

Concept Attainment Step 5 Students come up with additional examples based on their new knowledge of the concept.

Concept Attainment Demonstration with iMET Class Positive Exemplar “Education is the gateway to success.” Negative Exemplar “His dreams faded like a lover’s sigh.”

Concept Attainment Positive or Negative Exemplar? Positive Exemplar? Negative Exemplar ? “All the world is a stage.”

Concept Attainment Correct! Positive Exemplars “Education is the gateway to success.” “All the world is a stage.”

Concept Attainment Positive or Negative Exemplar? Positive Exemplar? Negative Exemplar ? “ Her hand was as cold as ice.”

Concept Attainment Incorrect! Positive Exemplars “Education is the gateway to success.”

Concept Attainment Incorrect! Positive Exemplars “Education is the gateway to success.” “All the world is a stage.”

Concept Attainment Correct! Negative Exemplar “Her hand was as cold as ice.”

Concept Attainment Positive and Negative Exemplars Positive Exemplar “Education is the gateway to success” “All the world is a stage” Negative Exemplar “His dreams faded like a lover’s sigh” “Her hand was as cold as ice”

Concept Attainment Write down your thoughts on the attributes of each group. Can you make a hypothesis about the categories? Let’s try one more…

Concept Attainment Positive or Negative Exemplar? Positive Exemplar? Negative Exemplar ? “A browser is a doorway to the Internet.”

Concept Attainment Correct Positive Exemplars “Education is a gateway to success.” “All the world is a stage.” “A browser is a doorway to the Internet.”

Concept Attainment Positive and Negative Exemplars Positive Exemplar “Education is the gateway to success.” “All the world is a stage.” “A browser is a doorway to the Internet.” Negative Exemplar “His dreams faded like a lover’s sigh.” “Her hand was as cold as ice.”

Concept Attainment Incorrect Try again Try again

Concept Attainment Testing for Concept Mastery Instructor gives additional examples; students label these “yes” or “no”— metaphor (yes), simile (no). Instructor then asks students to suggest their own examples of metaphors—This will provide insight as to whether the students have mastered the concept.

Concept Attainment Common Questions… Doesn’t this take more time than just telling students the name and definition of the concept? Yes, concept attainment takes more class time and planning time. For these reasons, instructors like to save the process for very important concepts with which students tend to have difficulty.

Concept Attainment Questions Continued… Then why do it? Content mastery increases. Retention in long-term memory vs short term Students relish discovery process More interesting and motivating Encourages creative and critical, higher-order thinking.

Concept Attainment More Questions… What if they discover the concept too quickly, after one or two pairs? Don’t know for sure that they’ve discovered the correct concept. More pairs will continue to refine their understanding Are there other ways to use the model? You can give them all the pairs at once (on a handout). This can speed up the discovery process.

Concept Attainment References Links  natt.html natt.html     t/conattainment/index.htm   final/Concept%Attainment.htm final/Concept%Attainment.htm 

Concept Attainment References Dyer, Jim. (2001). Planning lessons with concept attainment.. February 13, ent/Concept%20Lesson%20Plan.doc. Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2000). Attaining concepts: Sharpening the basic thinking skills. In Models of teaching (pp ). Boston, MD: Allyn and Bacon.