1

What is the Concept Attainment Model?

The Concept Attainment model is an instructional strategy founded on the works of Jerome Bruner.
Built on the principle of concept formation, the Concept Attainment model promotes student learning
through a process of structured inquiry.
The model helps students to understand and learn concepts by identifying attributes or key features
through a process of analysis, comparison, and contrasting of examples. Two sets of examples are
used in this strategy – Yes (examples that have attributes of the concept) and No (examples that do
not have attributes of the concept) examples.
Concept Attainment Model in Practice
Introduced as a whole-class activity, this instructional strategy can be implemented using the
following steps:
Preparation:
 Choose a concept with well-defined attributes.
 Prepare “yes” and “no” examples. Some of the yes examples should have a high attribute value
(meaning it should be a clear representative of the concept)
In the classroom:
 Introduce and explain the strategy.
 Draw two columns on the board and title them as “Yes” and “No.”
 Present each example and write them in the appropriate column. Start with three examples in each
column.
 Instruct students to analyze and compare the examples, within the group (find similar attributes in
the “yes” group) and between the groups (find how “yes” and “no” examples differ from each
other). Write the attributes listed by the students on the other side of the board.
 Add three more examples to each column. Instruct students to refine the attribute list by analyzing
the additional examples.
 Ask students if they are able to identify the concept, but not to say it out aloud. Students who have
identified the concept can be encouraged to add more “yes” examples to the column. Encourage
other students to examine the student-generated examples to identify the concept.
 Teachers can assist by modeling the thought process to help other students identify the concept.
Once identified, help students define it using the list of identified attributes.
 To test for understanding, have students suggest more “yes” and “no” examples of the concept
with explanations. Or, teachers can present students with examples and instruct them to
categorize them as “yes” or “no”.
Practicing the Strategy
Divide the class into small groups or pairs and provide them with Concept Attainment Worksheets. (A
sample is included at the end.)
Instruct students to find the essential attributes of a concept, identify the concept, and define it. An
additional sheet with random examples can be included which students can be instructed to
categorize. At the end of the session, each group can present and discuss their findings.
Teachers can combine the Concept Attainment model with the Carousel method, placing different
concept worksheets at different workstations. Each group starts from one workstation and eventually
visits each workstation identifying attributes and recording them. At the end of the carousel, groups
return to their original workstations and using the information recorded, try to identify and define their
concepts. Each group can then present their concept to the class, teaching using the Concept
Attainment model.
The Concept Attainment model serves as a powerful teaching and learning strategy. For teachers, it
is advantageous to use the model to introduce and teach new concepts through an active, student-
centric, inquiry-based approach. Simultaneously, the model as a learning strategy helps students to:
 Link past knowledge with new information
 2

 Critically analyze, compare, and categorize information

 Examine and understand a concept from multiple perspectives, strengthening understanding and
retrieval of the concept.
CONCEPT ATTAINMENT WORKSHEET
Write down the positive (Yes) and negative (No) examples below: (to be filled out by teacher)

Yes Examples No Examples

ATTRIBUTES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Identify the concept using the attributes: …….
Define the concept: ……

Concept Attainment Teaching Model

Concept Attainment Model is given by Jerome Bruner. This model requires a student to figure out
the attributes of a category that is already formed in another person’s mind by comparing and
contrasting example (called exemplars) that contain the characteristics (called attributes) of the
concepts with examples that do not contain those attributes. It enables the students to describe
similarities and relationship among things of the environment.

Examplars

Essentially the examplars are a subset of a collection of data or a data sets. The category is the
subset or collection of examples that share one or more characteristics that are missing in the others.
It is by comparing the positive examplars and contrasting them with the negative ones that the
concept or category is learned. In the present study CAM is used as a tool to help the students to
attain the concepts of English Grammar.

Components of Concept Attainment Model

Focus:- Burner, Goodnow, and Austin orient their work for the description of a process by which
learners discriminate the attribute of thing, persons, events and place them into categories. Thus, the
main focus is to develop inductive reasoning.

Syntax:- There are four phases of this model. The first phase presents data before the student to
speculate about the concept. In signify phase students analyse their strategies for attaining concepts
 3

in phase two. Phase third provides unorganised data. Students analyse the given concepts in their
attribute from unorganized data. The fourth phase gives an opportunity to practise concept formation.

Social System:- The teaching situation is mode rately structured. The teacher has to control all
actions, but freedom is given for discussion within different phases of teaching. The teacher has to
motivate the students to participate in the task of different phases. The teacher must be sure that the
students are clear about their task of the first phase.

Support System:- The nature of data should be such that students may understand and identify the
concept. The lessons require concept which can be arranged so that concepts may be drawn from
the material. The material should be presented in discrete units: positive or negative. The students
should know the sources of data or material.

Classroom Application:- It is more useful in classroom for language-teaching. The language-learner

attains the linguistic structure, grammar or the syntactic structure of every language. The basic
concepts of mathematics can be effectively taught. The concept attainment model can be used to
establish the fundamental ideas which are at the root the difficulty. It can also function as a model for
television teaching.

Introduction
Our world is filled with an endless amount of objects, events, and ideas, but we can only talk about
a few thousand of them. The concept attainment model process and development contribute to this.
The process of defining concepts by finding the traits that are necessary to the meaning and
ignoring those that are not is known as concept attainment. It also entails learning to distinguish
what is and is not an example of the notion.

Jerome Bruner created the concept attainment model of teaching as a strategy. It is an inductive
teaching style in which students identify the characteristics in a data set and then determine the
category to which they belong and the features of that category.

Bruner was a psychologist who researched how we think. In 1956, he and his co-authors published
“A Study Of Thinking”, which outlined the concept attainment process. Learners perform better
when they are permitted to reach their conclusions, according to their research. Inductive teaching
methods are standard in today's classroom. Let's take a look at how they work and where the
concept attainment model can be applied.

How Does Concept Attainment Model Work?

New ideas are introduced—and defined by students—inductively during the concept attainment
process via the "act(s) of categorization" (Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin 1956:244). Students
observe qualities, instances, and non-examples, develop hypotheses, and then test those ideas
against the evidence provided until they can label the notion.

This reverses the traditional method of introducing a concept (for example, gravity) by narrowly
describing it (e.g., the force that attracts a body toward another physical body having mass).
 4

Instead of merely reflecting an idea with a definition, the Concept Attainment method pushes
learners to focus on qualities, categories, and relationships.

This conceptual method is a good fit for teaching in the STEM area, distinguished by change,
ambiguity, and new (and frequently unfamiliar) ideas.

Advantages Of Concept Attainment Model

There was a time when we thought of the instructor or professor as the source of knowledge, and
students and learners as passive recipients. The classroom was all about taking notes, and
knowledge was assessed through exams and tests. This worldview, however, has shifted. The
assumption that learners have no agency in the learning process is no longer prevalent. This is
central to the concept attainment model. Consider the following advantages:

 Students are engaged in concept formulation, as in all forms of inductive education. They are
provided the tools and framework to arrive at the rules and principles of the idea on their own
through concept attainment model examples, which promotes deep research and activates
cognitive functions such as analysis and critical thinking.
 The concept attainment model of teaching is a student-led paradigm that promotes group
collaboration in the classroom. It promotes teamwork and cooperation.
 Recognizing learners' innate knowledge and ability is a liberating experience. In a society
where lifelong learning is the norm, establishing the importance of learning through autonomous
effort has long-term personal growth ramifications.
Disadvantages Of the Concept Attainment Model
While its advantages are undeniable, concept acquisition and inductive processes in the classroom
are not uniformly applicable. A more straight flow of information can be advantageous at times.
Consider the following drawbacks of the concept attainment model:

 It takes some time. Students take the lead in the idea attainment model example. They must be
allowed to explore. This can sometimes lead them to the incorrect learning path. This is supported
by a well-run inductive classroom. It takes time to give research tools, and adjustments are made if
students stray. This is an essential component of the procedure and cannot be avoided. If time is
limited, the idea attainment model may not be adequate.
 Complex issues cannot be addressed. The examples of concept attainment models show that the
technique has several limitations. Not all data lends itself to this type of comparison. Not all learning
can be explained logically. Some facts, information, and regulations would take too long to learn in
this manner, and the process would not help students.
 Some students may dislike it. Those who are unfamiliar with inductive teaching methodologies may
be confused. It may not be appealing to students who prefer a deductive approach.
Whether or not it is appropriate in every context, the concept attainment model can be employed in
some way in any classroom. It can even be used in tests. As a result, it is a flexible tool in the
hands of teachers.

Inductive vs Deductive Strategies

 5

Bruner's concept attainment model, as we've seen, is an inductive teaching technique. We may see
how the concept attainment model works by delivering facts to learners and asking them to weigh
the features of these facts to come up with rules that apply to the concept.

In contrast, the deductive form of education offers students the rules that apply to a certain notion
and then asks them to explore the qualities. The inductive model provides several advantages over
the deductive approach. They are as follows:

Encourages Students to Think

Students are challenged to think more in all types of inductive tactics. They are expected to arrive at
answers using their processes of thinking, analysis, and logic. It involves higher cognitive function
among learners and enhances learning agility in this way.

Builds a Stable Foundation

Traditional teaching methods that focus on lectures and rote learning have been heavily criticized.
Inductive methods, on the other hand, we feel, develop a deeper comprehension of the subject.

Encourages Lifelong Learning

Learning is no longer thought to be something that only children do. We must continue to study to
advance professionally. Inductive teaching methods foster a culture of inquiry and questioning that
lasts a lifetime. Self-directed learning is a strong tool, and methods like the concept attainment
model of teaching prepare us for it.

Conclusion
Inductive teaching methods have become widely used in educational institutions over the last few
decades. Bruner's concept attainment model is also widely used in the classroom. Every teacher's
job is to stay current on modern teaching techniques, course design, and teaching styles. Teachers
continue to learn throughout their careers, both in terms of the subjects they teach and how they
teach them.