THE TEACHING AND LEARNING

OF

CONCEPTS AND

GENERALISATIONS

CONTENT

Definition of Concept

Why the need to teach Concepts?

Some Strategies for teaching Concepts

Definition of & some strategies for teaching Generalisations

Concept & Generalisation teaching materials & activities

OBJECTIVES

plan lessons to teach concepts & generalisations

A concept is a general idea, usually expressed by words, which

represents a class or group of people, things, actions or

relationships having certain defined characteristics in common

• it is the means by which people organise information in their minds

•they may be regarded ascategories in which we groupphenomena within our experience

People

Object

Symbol

Idea

Event

Types of Concepts

Concepts have 4 elements

1Name & definition

2Examples of items

3Attributes

4 Attribute value

CONCEPT GROUPING

concepts which child learns with minimal help

concepts which teachers feel they have to

develop

concepts which are derived from disciplines

of knowledge

What are historical concepts?

historicalprocesses

historicalterms

HISTORICAL PROCESSES

Cause&

Effect

Continuity&

Change, Chronology

Personalities

Similarities&

Differences

Historical Terms/Concepts

Specific Historical Vocabulary

eg. “isms”

nationalism

or sacrifice

HOW OUR BRAIN WORKS

StructuresPerceives

Patterns

Recalls

associations Creates

relationships

Information

explosion Organisers

Anchorage

points

Ease Learning

filters map of

knowledge/

summaries

key

concepts

Increased

achievement

More complex understanding

Personalising instruction

Facilitates communication

Problem solving and reasoning

Key concepts

Grouping &

Labelling

Concepts &

Experience

Talking Points

Inference & use of

questions

closed questions

explaining

answers

Concepts & high

level thinking

Deductive Strategies

Inductive Strategies

Concept Hierarchies

Deductive StrategiesMerrill-Tennyson Deductive Strategy

Provide definition

Present e.g.’s and non-e.g.’s

Pupils classify e.g.s and non-e.g.s

Test pupils ability to categorise

Inductive Strategiesfor teaching concepts

Provide list of e.g.’s

Identify common attributes of e.g.’s

Label subgroups

Classify items in first step into subgroups

Identify possible basis for subgrouping

Ask questions to elicit 5 types of responses:

Hilda Taba’s Inductive Strategy

Concept Hierarchies

Land form

Mountain

Plateau

Valley

Other

Water body

Ocean River

OtherLake

Generalisations are relationships between two or more concepts or statements about a concept

Generalisations can be:

Concrete

Abstract

The pattern consists of

Generalisation Statement

Support Statements

Taba Inductive Strategy

Deductive Approach

Problem Solving or Inquiry

Decision-Making Approach

TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR

GENERALISATIONS

Taba Inductive Generalisation Strategy

‘What can we say about the function of schools?’

Procedure Focusing Qn Illustration

Gather data What did you find/ What did you find to be the

see, etc main activities in the

school?

Patterns What common What common function did

patterns did you find? these ideas serve?

Tentative What can we say What is your conclusion?

generalisation in general?

Test the Can the generalisation What does the chapter

generalisation stand the test? Show about the main

function of schools?

Inductive Generalisation Strategy

Gather data

Ask focusing questions eg. What would happen if the

canteen vendor doesn’t come to school?, What would

happen if the teacher doesn’t come to school?, etc.

Ask them to identify common features?

Tentative generalisation

Test the generalisation

Deductive Approach

Give generalisation

Give supporting facts, cases or

evidence

Point pupils to additional supporting

facts

Ask pupils to identify facts to

support generalisation

Problem Solving or Inquiry

Pose a problem

There are limited resources.

People tend to want a great number of things.

Pose a question to guide pupils

What can be done to solve this problem?

Collect, appraise & organise related facts.

Answer qn posed

Test generalisation by giving pupils other

e.g.s or cases to examine.

Decision-Making Approach

Define the issue or problem

S’pore has very limited resources e.g. water. Describe the values or standards most imp.

in situation e.g.

Ensuring constant supply of water

Think of alternative solutions for dealing

with problem

Consider consequences of each alternative

State a generalisation based on above