Building Concept Understanding Preserving Our Nation Liberty Fellowship April 6, 2012 Fran Macko, Ph.D.

Framing the Session Why are history texts often difficult for students to comprehend? What skills and strategies do students need to become expert readers of history? What can history teachers do to help struggling readers in their classrooms?

What factors affect the readability of history texts? Lack of prior knowledge Unfamiliar text structure or schema Difficulty identifying important material from less important material Academic vocabulary and abstract concepts (“isms”) Level of analysis and synthesis Role of visuals, such as maps, graphs and charts, as sources of information

Our Focus: Building Concept Understanding Concept development is a strategy that supports students in moving from facts to concepts to generalizations. Concepts are the basic tools of historical thinking and inquiry. Unless students understand what a concept is, they are unable to understand and categorize information and move towards generalizations.

What is a concept? Concepts: –are categories used to cluster information. –organize specific information under one label. –are the links between facts and generalizations.

How does concept development support learning? Concept development: –helps students make connections between what they know and what they will learn. –supports students in sorting out appropriate and significant information. –helps students become more independent and analytical thinkers.

In order for students to understand the generalization, “People in communities are interdependent”, they need to know the meaning of the two concepts” community and interdependence.

What are the types of concepts? Concepts can be grouped into two general types: concrete and defined. – Concrete concepts are those that have attributes or properties than can be observed (river, mountain, shelter, family, government). – Defined concepts are those that are abstract and not directly observable (democracy, citizenship, reform, revolution, justice, nationalism, capitalism). Their definitions are built through comparison of several examples.

A concept has four elements: –a name –examples –attributes –attribute value (some are essential and some are non- essential)

Two strategies for developing concept understanding are direct instruction and inductive or indirect instruction. Both strategies include: –the identification of common characteristics or attributes, –the use of examples and non-examples, –the classifying or grouping of items, –the naming or labeling of the group, and –the use or application of the concept.

What is the Concept Attainment strategy? Concept attainment: –is an indirect instructional strategy that uses a structured inquiry process. –Is designed to clarify ideas and introduce aspects of content. –is based on the assumption that one of the best ways to learn a concept is by observing examples of it.

In this strategy, students “figure out” the attributes of a group or category. Students compare and contrast examples that contain the attributes of the concept with examples that do not. Then, they separate them into two groups. The process is the search for, and identification of attributes that can be used to distinguish members of a particular category from non-members.

What are the advantages of the concept attainment strategy? Concept attainment: –Helps students make connections between what they know and what they will learn. –Helps students learn how to examine a concept from a number of perspectives. –Helps students learn how to sort out relevant information. –Extends student knowledge of a concept by classifying more than one example of that concept. –Helps students go beyond merely associating a key term with its definition. –Helps students learn the concept more thoroughly and improves retention.

What are the steps in the strategy? The steps in Concept Attainment are: –Select and define a concept –Select the attributes (qualities) –Develop positive and negative examples –Introduce the process to students –Present the examples and non-examples as the basis for developing a list of attributes –Develop a concept definition –Give additional examples

Modeling the Strategy

Modeling the Strategy: Democracy Examples Margaret Thatcher was elected to serve as British Prime Minister. People can express their political views through newspapers, television, and other public media. Non - Examples Under the Taliban rule, girls and women in Afghanistan could not attend school. In China, the news is controlled by the government. People are not allowed to discuss their own ideas or views in newspapers, television, or any other public way.

The people of ancient Athens developed a system of government that elected officials by lot and decisions were made by majority rules. The citizens of the city vote to make decisions about city planning. For example, the citizens of Davis were able to vote whether they wanted a Target store in their town. The American colonies were ruled by England. After the Civil War, the 15 th Amendment guaranteed African- American men the right to vote, but American women were not granted the same right until 1920.

Small Group Activity Based on examples and non-examples, list the attributes of democracy and then develop a definition of the concept. What reasoning or critical thinking skills did you use to develop the definition? What are some other examples and non-examples can you add to the list from the content that you teach? What contemporary examples and non-examples can you add to the list?

The concept of “democracy” can be defined as “rule by the people”, and is characterized by” –The right to vote –Equality for all citizens –Respect for mutual rights and freedoms

Independent Practice: Imperialism With a partner or in small groups: –Define the concept of “imperialism”. –List the attributes or qualities of the concept. –Develop a list of examples and non- examples from the content you teach. Include contemporary examples and non- examples

Adapting Concept Attainment to Your Classroom How might you use Concept Attainment in your social studies classroom? What adaptations might you make? What are other concept words can you think of that are essential to this historical time period?

Next Steps Have students: –Find other examples and non – examples of the concept –Develop their own definition of the concept –Create a web, concept map, flow chart or T chart –Draw an illustration that demonstrates the concept –Make generalizations about the concept –Develop a list of examples and non – examples for another concept in history. What other next steps can you think of?

Final Thoughts Concept development: –helps students make connections between what they know and what they will learn. –supports students in sorting out appropriate and significant information. –helps students become more independent and analytical thinkers.

Concept understanding can be developed through direct instruction or inductive/ indirect instruction. Both strategies include: –the identification of common characteristics or attributes, –the use of examples and non-examples, –the classifying or grouping of items, –the naming or labeling of the group, and –the use or application of the concept.