Concept Formation
In this activity, students use small examples to establish what a concept is (and is not). This inductive strategy works to give depth, ownership, and mental images to a concept by leveraging students’ schemas to build understanding.
Process
- Give students a concept that plays a significant role in a unit or work you are exploring.
- Either in small groups or as a whole class, populate a chart with two columns, listing characteristics of what the concept IS and IS NOT (e.g., Home IS…./Home IS NOT…). When listing characteristics of what the concept “is not”, push students to work with nuances as opposed to stating the obvious.
- Ask for group confirmation and agreement on the list. Welcome discussions and debates if there are people who want to challenge a characteristic or descriptor.
- Instruct students to come up with real-world examples of the concept (3-4 examples).
- Instruct students to come up with real-world non-examples (again, that are more nuanced than obvious).
- Optional: If the work has already been read/watched or studied, invite students to give examples from the work of places where the concept is raised and developed.
- Ask students to reflect in pairs, small group, as a class, or in their portfolios: What do I understand or realize about this concept that I didn’t fully grasp before? What questions do I still have about the concept or how it relates to the work?
Credits
