Concept

Concept is an abstraction from series of experiences which defines a class of objects or events.
The term concept means idea underlying a class of things or general notion. It refers to the
unified or generalized idea of group of objects that have general features or characteristics.
On the basis of age, intelligence and experiences individual differ in their level in the attainment
of concept formation.

Concept of Teaching:

Teaching is a set of events, outside the learners which are designed to support internal process of
learning. Teaching (Instruction) is outside the learner. Learning is internal to learners. You
cannot motivate others if you are not self-motivated. Motives are not seen, but, Behaviors are
seen. Is learning a motive or behavior? Learning is both a motive and behavior but only
behavior is seen, learning is internal, performance is external.

Role of the Teacher:

Generally ,the role of teacher can be categorized into:

 Traditional Role - Teacher Centered
 Modern Role - Facilitator (Student Centered) There has been a change from the
Traditional role to the Modern role in the present
context. The learning increases when the teacher builds on the previous experience of the
student. However, individual’s learning differs and each individual learns at his or her own
pace. Identifying the slow learners and individual attention of the teacher may be required.
Thus, effective learning is to a great extent based on experiences. Direct experiences are
student centered and participation in problem solving. While in indirect experience, the contents
are carefully designed and organized by teacher.

Conclusion:

The paper gives insight into a few concepts of teaching and learning, especially at the
higher levels of education. Many countries make it mandatory for teachers to undergo
formal course on education principles where the concepts of teaching and learning are
taught. However, this exposure to teachers is non-existent for professional teachers who
enter into teaching profession without any exposure to formal training in education. This
sometimes may act as a constraint in the process of effective teaching and learning
process.

Concept Teaching

1. CONCEPT TEACHING
2. WHAT IS CONCEPT LEARNING? The process of constructing knowledge and organizing
information into comprehensive and complex cognitive structures MORE than just classifying
objects and forming Categories MORE than just learning new labels or vocabulary to apply

3. CONCEPT LEARNING Helps the learner:

 Understand specific concepts

 Understand the nature of concepts

 Utilize logical reasoning and higher level thinking

 Improve Communication Specific Concepts Nature of Concepts Concept Teaching Logical

Reasoning and Communication Higher Level Thinking

4. NATURE OF CONCEPTS

What is a concept?

 Mental abstractions/categories for things in the physical world

 Involves putting something into a class, then recognizing other members of that class  Ex: A
student has a pet dog named Max. The concept would be “Dog”, and the student would use
existing knowledge of Max to recognize and categorize other “Dogs”

TYPES OF CONCEPTS: CONJUNCTIVE CONCEPT

A conjunctive concept is a concept with a constant rule structure.

 Triangle – A plane figure with three straight sides and three angles.

 Bird – Warm-blooded animal with wings and feathers.

 TYPES OF CONCEPTS:

DISJUNCTIVE CONCEPT

A disjunctive concept is a concept that contains an alternate set of attributes.  Noun – A

person, place, or thing; however cannot be all three at once.

 Strike (Baseball) – Occurs when a batter swings and misses, hits the ball into foul territory, or
the batter does not swing and the Umpire decides that it passed through a designated zone;
cannot be all three at once.

TYPES OF CONCEPTS:
RELATIONAL CONCEPT

A relational concept is a concept whose rule structure depends upon relationships. To

understand relational concepts, one must understand the “other” and the relationship between
them.  Time and Distance – Relative to beginning and end points  Aunt- describes a
relationship between siblings and offspring

 NATURE OF CONCEPTS:

EXAMPLES/NON -EXAMPLES Concepts are learned through use of Examples and Non-
Examples. MAMMALS Examples: Non-Examples Dog Snake Cat Ant Squirrel Jellyfish Cow
Tree

NATURE OF CONCEPTS:

CRITICAL/NON-CRITICAL ATTRIBUTES Critical Attributes are features of a concept that

distinguish it from all other objects. Non-Critical Attributes are features found on some, but not
all, members of a category. Attributes of Birds Critical Non-Critical Feathers Feather Color
Warm-Blooded Ability to Fly Feet Webbed Feet

THEORISTS: JEAN PIAGET Stages of Cognitive Development  Sensorimotor (0-2 yrs.):

Begin to recognize objects  Preoperational (2-7 yrs.): Develop language; able to think
symbolically; see others’ Point of View  Concrete Operational (7-11 yrs.): Able to solve
concrete problems logically; able to classify  Formal Operational (11-15+): Able to solve
abstract problems logically

11. THEORISTS: JEAN PIAGET Believed people adapt to their environment through

assimilation and accommodation.  Assimilation- Trying to understand new information by
adapting it to what is already known (pre-existing schemata).  Accommodation- If new data
does not fit into pre- existing schemata, development of new schemata for the new data.
Specific concept

Perception

The knowledge of information that we got from our sensory system make us become aware of that
particular thing or object or information. The process of getting aware or meaning of those thing or
object or information is known as perception.

Perception is the process of getting to know objects and objective facts by the use of senses R.S.
Woodworth (1949).

Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to
give meaning to their environment.

Nature of concepts

To some degree, concepts are all we have in our mind. Any category is a concept, any idea is a
concept.

I think what defines a concept is that it does not refer to a specific object but refers to a set of
logical rules. The concept of freedom, for example, isn't a specific definition of freedom, but a
grasp of what it means for something to be free. And so the concept can be used in many
situations.

It’s best not to think of concepts of something the mind creates, but as part of the way the mind
works. If a concept is well understood, it's not something that is accessed and used, but
something that is integrated into the mind's representation of the world.

Higher order thinking

Higher order thinking is thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts or telling
something back to someone exactly the way it was told to you. When a person memorizes and
gives back the information without having to think about it, we call that rote memory. That's
because it's much like a robot; it does what it's programmed to do, but it doesn't think for itself.

Higher order thinking, or "HOT" for short, takes thinking to higher levels than restating the facts.
HOT requires that we do something with the facts. We must understand them, infer from them,
connect them to other facts and concepts, categorize them, manipulate them, put them together
in new or novel ways, and apply them as we seek new solutions to new problems.

Concept formation
Concepts can represent objects, activities, or living things. They may also represent properties
such as color, texture, and size (for example, blue, smooth, and tiny); things that are abstract (for
example, faith, hope, and charity); and relations (for example, brighter than and faster than).
Concepts come in a variety of forms, including concrete, abstract, verbal, nonverbal, and
process.
 Concrete or Abstract
Concrete concepts are those that we can see, touch, hear, taste, or smell. Dogs, chairs, telephones
and hamburgers are examples of concrete concepts. Abstract concepts can be used and thought
about, but we cannot use our senses to recognize them as we can with concrete concepts. In order
to understand abstract concepts, we either have to experience them or compare them to
something else we already know. Imagination, friendship, freedom, and jealousy are examples of
abstract concepts. Concrete concepts are generally easier to understand than abstract ones
because a person can actually see or touch concrete concepts. However, as students move from
elementary to middle to high school, they need to be able to grasp more and more abstract
concepts. Not only are abstract concepts harder for students to learn, but they are also harder for
teachers to teach.
Communication

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another.Although
this is a simple definition, when we think about how we may communicate the subject becomes a
lot more complex. There are various categories of communication and more than one may occur
at any time.

The Communication Process

A message or communication is sent by the sender through a communication channel to a
receiver, or to multiple receivers.

Encoding Messages

All messages must be encoded into a form that can be conveyed by the communication channel
chosen for the message

Feedback

Receivers of messages are likely to provide feedback on how they have understood the messages
through both verbal and non-verbal reactions.
Classroom discussion

Classroom discussion is broader term. Classroom discussions create an opportunity for

teachers to lead a class through a subject and build upon students' knowledge.
Unfortunately, this is sometimes at the expense of less active students and creates a
time-consuming process that restricts a teacher's ability to plan lessons. The risk of
going off track with the discussion is another problem, and these issues grow as the
class size grows. While a classroom discussion is ideal in the right environment, it
may not be so perfect for some classes.

Disadvantages

1. Class size
2. Time consuming
3. Few dominate
4. Off track
5. Teacher is facilitator
6. Students pool their points
7. Some students are passive
Adapting discussion for diverse learner

Attitude

Sensitivity

Expectations

Conclusion

Respecting and valuing individual differences means that autonomy is given to all students so
that they can make choices to pursue their interests and develop their potential. Schools need to
be committed to developing the talent of individual students by providing them with challenging
learning opportunities. With a firm belief that there are different pathways for students, teachers
are capable of making a difference in each student’s learning.

What is the difference between a “"teaching strategy “ and “teaching methods “ ?

That is an excellent question ,? I always have a strategy , but in order for that plan to operate and
be successful , I have to change my methods periodically.

Methods meaning, how I teach ,how I want the students to retain , not to mention the disruptions
in the teaching process. To get the students attention , to make it so fun that they are learning
without knowing they are learning . Methods change . Some work , some don't , some work for a
while , then lose their effectiveness , methods change.