Each category is defined by criteria which determine what can and cannot be accepted into the category. Central to the K-12 social studies framework is a set of twenty major concepts drawn from the social science disciplines. These concepts act as organizers for the required knowledge, skills, and values learnings. Instructional methods must be used that promote both types of learning at the same time. Concept attainment is one such method.
People organize information into meaningful patterns using concepts.
Objects or ideas which have in common certain characteristics or critical attributes can be placed in the same category and given a label. These labelled categories are concepts. Concept Application A concept can range from a category of things as concrete as chairs to a category of relationships as abstract as power. By learning to understand and use concepts, students can use the critical attributes of a concept as criteria to categorize data so that inferences may be drawn from them. This is an important step towards independent learning and critical and creative thinking.