Kevin Baker, Yvonne Bowman, Andrew Goff, Jack Stanfield, and Christie Wheeler

Concept Attainment “The search for and listing of attributes that can be used to distinguish exemplars from non exemplars of various categories” Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin, 1967, p. 233

The features of a particular set of data, for example: 14, 4, 22, and –302 all have the attribute of being divisible by 2.

The subset of a collection of data or a data set. Positivenegative.

The degree to which a feature is evident in a particular example. Some features are on a sliding scale. The object could have a relatively high value such as my good looks or a relatively low value such as my ego.

Partistic Strategy The analytical approach where the student focuses on particular aspects of the information

Holistic Strategy The analytical approach where the student focuses on all or most of the information.

The process of defining concepts by determining positive characteristics and disregarding other characteristics. Concerned with learning what is and what is not an example of the concept.

Three Stages to PLANNING an Attainment Lesson Select a concept that can be developed with the use of positive and negative examples Select the characteristics, or examples, that define the concept Develop positive and negative examples of the concept and arrange them in a sequence to be used in the presentation

Presenting the Concept Attainment Lesson Teacher explains the goal of the activity and the methods to be used to determine the concept Positive and negative examples are then presented, always beginning with a positive Students give other examples of the concept Trying to develop the rule/definition of the concept Upon successful completion the name of the concept is revealed Students analyze the thinking process used to determine the concept

Evaluation Is the Final Phase of the Presentation The lesson is shown to be successful when students can: Offer additional examples of the concept Identify essential attributes of the concept Determine a concept rule

Concept Formation vs.. Concept Attainment

Concept Formation Three Stages According to Taba Identifying and enumerating the data relevant to a topic or problem Grouping these items into categories whose members have common attributes Developing labels for the categories

Concept Attainment Concept Attainment is a graphic organizer that helps students learn precise meanings of key concepts. This model helps students select and organize information related to a key concept by focusing their attention on relevant details.. The students learn to differentiate between essential and non- essential characteristics as well as identify examples and non-examples of the concept.

 helps make connections between what students know and what they will be learning  learn how to examine a concept from a number of perspectives  learn how to sort out relevant information  extends their knowledge of a concept by classifying more than one example of that concept  students go beyond merely associating a key term with a definition  concept is learned more thoroughly and retention is improved Advantages

Concept Formation Vs Concept Attainment... Concept formation asks a student to develop the basis on which categories will be built Concept attainment ask a student to guess a predetermined category by examining data sets that show both positive and negative examples of the category

So what, you may ask, is the difference between concept attainment and concept formation?

It’s Taba this and Taba that! Taba induces the formation cat! Attain this! Guess what I’m thinking. What it is? What it isn’t? What it could be?

By the Way... Taba incorporated the concept attainment model within her concept formation strategy of grouping items into categories. Check it OUT.... Handbook to Elementary Social Studies, Chapter 5 – Taba