CONCEPT-ORIENTED

TEACHING

What are concepts?

Concepts are ideas, objects or thoughts

Concepts exist as categorized (or classified)

pieces of knowledge or information

Concepts of a discipline are the building

blocks of its overall structure

Usual Forms of Concepts

A rule, principle, law, hypothesis or a theory

A meaning, definition, description or an
explanation
A general idea derived or inferred from
specific instances, experiences or
occurrences
Something formed in the mind; a thought,
feeling, belief or notion
A scheme, plan, sketch, map, chart or a
table
An opinion, view or an outlook

Mathematical Concept

A
cognitive
unit
of
knowledge
possessing
significance

mathematical
independent

It could be a mathematical idea, formula,

operation,
identity,
procedure,
deduction,
proven fact, symbol, representation, proof,
derivation, figural depiction, graphical or
geometrical representation

Some Examples
Numbers, Equation, Exponents, Fractions,
Graphs, Patterns, Circle, Shapes, Percent,
Place Value, Measurement, Ratio, Limit,
Mean, Average, Integer, Differential,
Continuity etc

Representation of Concepts

A concept is typically associated with a

corresponding representation in a language

It needs a word of a or an expression or a

symbol for its identity

The Significance o a Concept

Every concept is identified by certain

characteristics or attributes specific to itself

Most attributes are non-critical but some

are critical

Concept Teaching

Standard Concept Teaching Model

Four major steps:

Presenting Goals and Establishing Set

Concept Development

Testing Students Conceptual

Attainment

Determining the change

learners attainment

in

the

Step 1

Goals and Establishing Set

Identifying the lesson goals

Establishing Set

Identifying the Lesson Goals

Begin teaching by studying the whole content

carefully

Identify the concepts accurately

Decide about the sequence of presentation of

the concepts

Logical

Leading to the next concept

Set a learning goal for each concept

contd ..

Thus, specify a number of lesson goals

precisely

Each lesson goal should have a corresponding

desired learning objective (DLO)

The DLO must precisely lay down the extent

of learning, the desired learning behavior and
the learning outcome

Rationale of Learning

Attainment of each DLO must be speciied

The student must know the rationale of

learning of each concept

Establishing Set

Link must be established between the learners

prior knowledge and the new information

This should be done before the teacher unfolds

the lesson content

The teacher must probe into what the class

knows already

The class must be helped to recall

The teacher must refer to certain areas of

knowledge they had learnt previously

contd ..

The relevant pieces of prior knowledge must

be brought out clearly

Those must be highlighted

written briefly on the board

verbally

and

Step 2

Concept Development

Sequencing

Procedure and Treatment

The DLOs

There should be absolute clarity about the

learning objective of each concept

DLO of every concept must be stated before

the teaching of the concept is begun

The DLO must be stated in clear terms:

The kind of learning that would take place

The cognitive actions that the student will be
able to perform
The depth to which the understanding will be
achieved
The kind of capabilities that will be created

Why sequencing is essential?

Humans learn best in short and well arranged

steps

Learning process is a logical procedure

The concepts must be arranged in the right

order; logical sequence must be maintained

Basic considerations:
Known to unknown
Easy to difficult

Concept Development

Establishing a concept is the real campaign

to create learning

The teacher must start vigorously to bring

out everything about it its kind, category,
classification,
nature,
relationships,
environment and associations

The teacher must use all strategies,

methods and skills to establish the concept:

Describe, explain and list its attributes

Illustrate by giving examples

Direct Presentation Approach

Procedure
Naming the concept
Identifying attributes
Illustrating with examples

Following the Rule-to-Example or

Concept-to-Example path

Technique and Approach

Direct Presentation Approach

Concept Attainment Approach

Characteristics
of
the
presentation approach

direct

The teacher is in the key role

Prepares
matter

Arranges it in the most presentable form

Makes it the easiest to understand

Presents it in a direct way

and

organizes

the

subject

Expository Teaching

The teacher works hard to prepare and

organize the subject matter

Arranges it in the most presentable form

Describes, explains and illustrates with

examples, instances and situations

Takes pains to make the subject matter

most digestible

Makes it the easiest to understand

Direct Presentation

Formal or informal talk

The teacher speaks mostly; the students

listen

Seeks students close attention

Uses effective means to illustrate

Sets a convenient pace

Controls the classroom environment

Concept Attainment Approach

Procedure
The teacher begins with presenting some

examples

Helps students to identify the attributes

The

students
inductively

discover

the

concepts

Special Characteristics of Concept

Attainment Approach

Interactive
Q & A
Discussions and participation

Student thinking process activated

Student discovers Inductive process

Less
structured
environment

Student-centred

and

less

controlled

Conclusion

The teacher must identify the concepts well

and should specify the DLO clearly and
precisely

A teachers own clarity of the concepts is

vital

The rationale of learning must be understood

by the students

All concepts are recognizable through their

attributes and examples

contd ..

The teacher must begin by establishing the

link between the students prior knowledge
and the new learning
The teacher must Establish Set with
absolute clarity
Logical sequencing must be ensured
Relative advantages of the two basic
approaches must be realized
Teacher must know in what situations is
Direct Presentation preferable over
Concept Attainment Approach and vice
versa

contd ..

The teacher should be able to exploit the

advantages of both

The teacher must

freedom to use both

The teacher must exercise judgment to

blend the two techniques at will

have

versatility

and

The Ultimate Realization

Concepts are the backbone of human

learning

Conceptual understanding empowers the

learner to think, communicate and
interact effectively

Only conceptual understanding is the real

cognitive strength of the learner

The Sole Objective of Teaching

To concentrate and mobilize all

efforts to create real
conceptual understanding