1. L ESSON P LAN : C ONCEPT D EVELOPMENT A ND C ONCEPT A TTAINMENT

2. C ONCEPTS Conceptual thinking is learned (Vygotsky, Bruner) Concepts are how we structure our reality (Piaget, Bruner at al.) Cognitive misers (Fiske & Taylor) Exemplars, archetypes, stereotypes, labels Concepts are the building blocks of patterns

3. C ONCEPT D EVELOPMENT (H ILDA T ABA ) 1.List as many items as possible that are associated with the topic (brainstorming) 2.Group items because they are alike in some way (attributes) 3.Label the groups by defining reasons for the groups 4.Regroup items or groups into other groups 5.Summarize and synthesize data to form generalizations (definitions)

4. C ONCEPT A TTAINMENT 1.The teacher may start with the name of the concept (this step can be delayed) 2.The teacher provides examples and nonexamples of the concept 3.The teacher may want to explain the conceptual attainment process with the students 4.Students * identify conceptual attributes (students also may generate labels if not given the name in the first step) 5.From the examples and attributes, students* develop hypotheses about a concept definition or rule 6.The students *then eliminate or refine hypotheses that do not account for all of the attributes or test examples 7.Once a definition or rule has been developed, the relationship of the concept to other concepts should be discussed (conceptual hierarchy) 8.Discuss the process * With teacher’s assistance