School Improvement in Maryland Teachers who teach concepts inductively through the use of examples and non-examples promote learning because this strategy actively involves students in constructing a personal understanding of a new concept. A concept is a set of specific objects, symbols, or events that share common characteristics, called critical attributes, and which are referred to by a particular name or symbol. One theory contends that students learn a concept by forming a prototype in their mind by focusing on an example of the concept provided them by a teacher, a book, or other source, and then by practicing the classification of additional cases as either examples or non-examples of the concept.
Classification is accomplished by using the prototype, an example, as referrant.
Experimental studies in concept learning support the efficacy of instructional models based on this theory. Begin by developing with the students a definition of the concept, stating it clearly in a manner appropriate to the learners. Review each of the attributes of the concept provided in the definition to make sure students are familiar with these terms. Provide students with a clear example of the concept in whatever format is useful and appropriate, e.g. a picture, a short prose passage. Try to present an example that is vivid, has imagery, and possibly calls up familiar associations.