Designing Instruction for Concept LearningDusting off the cobwebs from decades of theory and research

Dr. Gary Morrison and Jennifer Maddrell - Old Dominion UniversityAECT 2009 - Louisville, KY - October 28, 2009

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilsingapore/3187409578/

Instruction for Concepts?

Isn’t this dusty old stuff?

Yes!

… and dusting off the old research is precisely the purpose of our

presentation.

Our Goal in this Review

• Review a range of sources for:– Concept learning and instruction theory– Empirically-based instructional design

strategies

• Examine central views on:– The nature of concepts– Concept learning– Concept instruction

1950s

Brown Words and

Things

Bruner, Goodnow &

AustinA Study of Thinking

1960s

GagnéThe Conditions

of Learning

Markle Good Frames

and Bad

1970sJoyce & Weil

Models of Teaching

Merrill & TennysonTeaching Concepts

Fleming & Levie

Instructional Message Design

Striking similarity in heuristics across theorists

1980s

Tennyson Review of

Educational Research

Park(many studies with Tennyson)

1990s

Tessmer, Wilson & Driscoll

ETR&D Review

KlausmeierConcept

Learning and Concept Teaching

2000sJonassen

(concepts-in-use)

Jonassen, Strobel &

Gottdenker (conceptual

change)

Concept Acquisition | Concepts-in-Use

Remarkable consensus in literature on the nature of concepts.

Markle & Tiemann (1970)

The Nature of Concepts

Concept

Class

Group

Set

Category

A concept category is the grouping of objects, events,

symbols, or relationships while an attribute describes the dimension from which the

objects differ.

Brown (1958)

Concept Membership

• Perceived physical attributes

Concrete

• Solely by definition

Abstract

Concept Learning Measurement

Views of Concept Learning

Concept Attainment

Attribute Isolation

Instance Discriminati

on

Instance Generalizati

on

Concepts-in-Use

Problem Solving

Model-Building

Attribute Isolation

Discern relevant grouping criteria

Define attributes of concept category

Consider nature of instances

Judging Instances

• Learner judges what is and is not a member of the class

Instance Discrimination

• Learner judges new examples based on degree of class membership

Instance Generalization

Meaningful Learning

(Conceptual Change)

Relationship with other Concepts

Focus on Mental

Representations

Elicit and Assess

Conceptual Models

Concepts-in-Use

Concept Instruction Heuristics

Define the Concept

Create Instances

Design the Presentatio

n

Guide Learner Practice

Research suggests a definition alone is roughly as effective as a single set

of examples and non-examples.

Klausmeier & Feldman (1975)

Attributes

Vary

Critical(necessar

y)

Variable

Propertie

s

Observed

Relate

Function

Define Based On Attributes

Actual Object

Model of Object

Words or

Symbols

Create Instances

Instances

Rational Sets

Examples(all critical)

Non-examples(all but 1 critical)

Exemplar

Prototype of Category

Central Example

Presentation

EGRUL or RULEG

Definition(RUL)

Concrete (RULEG)

Examples(EG)

Abstract (EGRUL)

Instances

Rational Sets

Examples / Non-

examples

Prototype Central Example

How

Inquiry Learner Speculates

Expository Learner Told

Summary of Heuristics

• Define the concept– Focus on attributes of concept– Consider both critical and variable attributes

• Create instances– Examples: Include all critical attributes– Non-example: All but one critical attribute– Prototypical (central) example

• Design presentation and guided practice– Give learners opportunities to classify new instances– Use the concept to make arguments or judgments

or to infer relationship or membership

Thoughts from Review

• Theoretical foundations differ• Design heuristics strikingly similar• Differences based on objective of

instruction– Concept Acquisition / Attainment– Concepts-in-Use (Conceptual Change)

• Rich research base for designers and researchers … until 1990s

Nagging Questions

• Where is the recent concept research?• To what degree are traditional concept-

teaching heuristics building blocks to meaningful learning outcomes and application?

• What is the influence (and limitation) of concept-in-use methods on concept learning?– Concept maps–Model building

Is there more to study on concepts?

(Tell us what do you think.)

Presentation and Paper at: http://DesignedToInspire.com/drupal/aect2009