Concept Attainment Model The concept attainment model helps students learn concepts and study how they

think. Simultaneously, it leads students to develop concepts and obtain conceptual control over their thinking strategies. Joyce and Calhoun, 1996 Concept attainment is a constructivist approach to teaching and learning drawn from the work of Jerome Bruner (1956). Students apply their prior understanding to determine the attributes of a concept by a process of comparing and contrasting. Through this structured inquiry approach, students learn to: distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information observe, classify, and hypothesize connect newly attained concepts with new information think inductively The teachers principal responsibilities are to provide examples, record student data, and ask probing questions. The principal goals of the concept attainment model are to enhance long-term learning and enable students to develop a habit of analytic thinking through induction.
How do I do it? Steps of Concept Attainment:
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Select and define a concept Select the attributes Develop positive and negative examples Introduce the process to the students Present the examples and list the attributes Develop a concept definition Give additional examples Discuss the process with the class Evaluate

A Math example: First the teacher chooses a concept to developed. (i.e. Math facts that equal 10) Begin by making list of both positive "yes" and negative " no" examples: The examples are put onto sheets of paper or flash cards. Positive Examples: (Positive examples contain attributes of the concept to be taught) i.e. 5+5, 11-1, 10X1, 3+4+4, 12-2, 15-5, (4X2)+2, 9+1 Negative Examples: (for examples choose facts that do not have 10 as the answer) i.e. 6+6, 3+3, 12-4, 3X3, 4X4, 16-5, 6X2, 3+4+6, 2+(2X3), 16-10 Designate one area of the chalkboard for the positive examples and one area for negative examples. A chart could be set up at the front of the room with two columns - one marked YES and the other marked NO.

Present the first card by saying, "This is a YES." Place it under the appropriate column. i.e. 5+5 is a YES Present the next card and say, "This is a NO." Place it under the NO column. i.e. 6+6 is a NO Repeat this process until there are three examples under each column. Ask the class to look at the three examples under the YES column and discuss how they are alike. (i.e. 5+5, 11-1, 2X5) Ask "What do they have in common?" For the next tree examples under each column, ask the students to decide if the examples go under YES or NO. At this point, there are 6 examples under each column. Several students will have identified the concept but it is important that they not tell it out loud to the class. They can howevershow that they have caught on by giving an example of their own for each column. At this point, the examples are student-generated. Ask the class if anyone else has the concept in mind. Students who have not yet defined the concept are still busy trying to see the similarities of the YES examples. Place at least three more examples under each column that are student-generated. Discuss the process with the class. Once most students have caught on, they can define the concept. Once they have pointed out that everything under the YES column has an answer of 10, then print a new heading at the top of the column (10 Facts). The print a new heading for the NO column (Not 10 Facts).

Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non verbal messages. It is a continuous process. Pre-requisite of communica is a message. This message must be conveyed through some medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the recipient in same terms as intended by the sender. He must respond within a time frame. Thus, communication is two way process and is incomplete without a feedback from the recipient to the sender on how well the message is understood by h

Communication Process The main components of communication process are as follows: 1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication proceeds with context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response. For instance - a training manager conducting training for new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the message. The verbal and non verbal symbols chosen are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipient. This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features of communication. For instance - Written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in form of memos, reports, etc.

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