Concept Learning and Concept Teaching

Abstract

This article presents a theory of concept learning and development and a design for teaching concepts. It gives an overview of 30 years of programmatic research that eventuated in the initial formulation of the theory and the design and in subsequent refinements. The last refinement is presented in this article. The principles of learning incorporated in the theory are based on classroom experiments that identified the variables that facilitate concept learning at each of four successively higher levels of understanding: concrete, identity, classificatory, and formal. The development aspect of the theory indicates that individuals progress from one level to the next as they become capable of carrying out various mental processes. Both normative conceptual development during the school years, grades 1 to 12, and individual differences in the rate of development are identified. Principles for teaching concepts that take into account the learning and development aspects of the theory follow. The article closes with an indication of the powerful effects of focused concept instruction, preschool through college.

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