Designing for concept

Kind of goal · categories and their features · All situations

29 rows from 28 pages say what to change when the brief's kind of goal is concept; 26 of them cite a claim. Pages whose rows cite claims come first. Read the basis before relying on a row: many carry a claim to learners or settings it did not test, and say so.

Cognitive Flexibility

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Age child, early years (about 2–5), a number concept reachable by several methods (estimating, counting, lining up)	Embed the comparison in a purposeful choice ("which pile do you want?"); model one method and ask what its result means for the choice, then show that a second method gives the same answer; expect the child to propose the cross-check unprompted only later, across months.	Numerical routines individualize through a three-stage sequence of vertical and horizontal bonding [+W]: a teaching experiment with four children, no comparison group; it describes a sequence, not an effect
Goal a STEM concept taught through representations	Add a second representation (sketch, simulation, an embodied or walk-on model) beside the formula, with tasks that connect them; keep the first available so learners can switch back to check; monitor reported load and representational skill.	Multiple representations improve learning [~M]; one undergraduate physics field study and a review; benefit depends on representational competence. Students who got stuck on the desk-scale number line proactively returned to the body-scale number line to validate their answers, achieving perspectival mutuality [+W]: one middle-school design study, no comparison group

Ask Experts

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept, principle or transfer, not only a procedure	Have the expert ask and prompt more and explain less; include one changed problem in each consultation for the learner to reason through aloud	Contingent scaffolding improves learning more than fixed or absent support. [+M] (interactive tutoring gave better transfer with similar immediate scores) and Human tutoring has a medium effect over no tutoring, and in one small study students learned as well when tutors only prompted them as when tutors also explained and gave feedback [~M] (eighth graders, circulatory system)

Debriefing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is judgement, a concept or a principle (diagnostic reasoning, a negotiation, an ethical decision)	Spend most of the time on the learners' reasoning at two or three decision points; end with the general rule stated in the learner's words and tested on a new case	Prompting learners to self-explain… [+M] (immediate tests, study of examples and text; carried to debriefs)

Design tools so productive usage is guaranteed by affordances and constraints rather than instructions

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is open exploration of a concept or principle (a simulation)	Constrain little: make productive actions obvious and leave free movement between parts; add challenges for continued engagement	Authors report that flexibility in sim access supports student agency while students tend to explore in a productive sequence [+W] (authors' belief; not tested)

Digital Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept, a principle, or transfer	Keep answer-checking, but add explanation prompts and changed items; hold discussion of reasons in a live or threaded session	Prompting learners to self-explain improves understanding and problem solving on immediate tests by a moderate average amount, with little evidence yet on delayed or classroom gains. [+S] (not specific to digital delivery)

Dual Coding

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept or hierarchy to be understood across a unit	Have learners build and revise a concept map across sessions, with labelled links, starting from given nodes	Concept mapping [+M] (STEM and non-STEM; constructing showed more benefit than studying, against different comparisons)

Engagement

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept or principle, measured by conceptual-understanding	Judge success by an explanation or prediction probe, not by on-task time; make the engaged task one of explaining or predicting	Constructive learning beats active and passive learning [~M] (ordering only partly held in the field)

Error Analysis

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
goal is a concept or principle with a known misconception	Build one incorrect/correct pair around the misconception, require a written "why" explanation, and test with changed problems, not only the practised procedure.	erroneous examples [+M] (children, decimals, one session); productive failure [~M] (gain on conceptual, not procedural, outcomes)

Experience with Languaging Activities (ELAs) guided by a sequence of experience-based questions

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is understanding of a concept or principle in a course	Write a content-specific step 4 prompt for each session and score the answer against the named idea; keep the number of reflections constant rather than adding more.	Specific reflection prompts [+S] (engineering undergraduates; school writing-to-learn studies)

Experiential Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is a science or mathematics concept	Have learners manipulate the system (physical or virtual), predict before acting, and map the result onto the formula or diagram afterwards; if a physical lab is unavailable, a virtual one is a fair substitute	Physical Experience Enhances Science Learning [~M] (undergraduate physics); Hands-on learning improves achievement [+M]

Experiential Learning Cycle

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is a science or mathematics concept	Make the experience a predict-then-manipulate task (physical or virtual), with a stated prediction before acting, and map the result onto the formula or diagram during the principle step; use a virtual lab when a physical one is not available.	Physical experience [~M] (undergraduate physics; physical and virtual manipulation equally effective); cognitive conflict [+M] (science-education conceptual-change strategies)

Guided Practice

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept, principle or transfer, not only a procedure	Replace some feedback-giving with prompts that ask the learner to explain or predict the next step; include one changed item in each round	Human tutoring has a medium effect over no tutoring, and in one small study students learned as well when tutors only prompted them as when tutors also explained and gave feedback [~M] (eighth graders, 11 tutor–student pairs: prompting without feedback learned as well)

Handouts/Online Guides/Visual Reading Aids

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is understanding an argument or concept, not only locating facts	Replace some blanks with "why" and "how does this connect" prompts; add one organizer showing the argument's structure	Prompting learners to self-explain improves understanding and problem solving on immediate tests by a moderate average amount, with little evidence yet on delayed or classroom gains. [+S] (immediate tests)

Knowledge Organization

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is telling similar categories or cases apart (concept)	Organize as a comparison: place two or three cases side by side and have learners list similarities and differences before the principle is named	Comparing cases side by side improves learning and transfer by a moderate average amount, though in one algebra study it raised procedural knowledge and flexibility but not conceptual knowledge [+S] (tests comparison, not organization as such)

Mnemonic Device

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept, principle or transfer, not recall	Teach the relationship first and test it with a changed case; use a mnemonic only for the labels the reasoning uses	Learning techniques have much smaller effects on deep learning and far transfer than on surface learning and near transfer [~M] (all ten techniques; only 109 of 1,619 effects measured deep outcomes)

Modeling

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept or principle, or transfer, not only a procedure	Model on two items that differ on the surface; at each pause ask why, not what; include one error and its repair, and ask learners what gave it away	Prompting learners to self-explain improves understanding and problem solving on immediate tests by a moderate average amount, with little evidence yet on delayed or classroom gains. [+S]; Erroneous examples improve conceptual understanding by forcing comparison with correct models. [+M] (grades 4–5, decimals, tutoring; carried to live modelling)

Multimodal Instruction

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is a principle or concept in a mathematical or physical domain (how a quantity behaves)	Add a dynamic or manipulable representation (simulation) and a learner-made sketch beside the symbolic form. Budget for higher effort while learners work.	Multiple representations [+M]: one undergraduate electrodynamics course; untested with children or outside physics

Physical Activity

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is understanding a physical or spatial concept (concept)	Use a short enactment or gesture that maps onto the quantity, then link it explicitly to the diagram or formula; a well-built simulation is an acceptable substitute where movement is not possible	Physical Experience Enhances Science Learning [~M] (college physics; physical and virtual manipulation equal in one study)

Responsive Teaching

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept or principle with known misconceptions	Use the contrast and confrontation moves first; re-observe with an item the misconception gets wrong	Erroneous examples improve conceptual understanding [+M]; Instruction that confronts science misconceptions [+M]

Sequencing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is conceptual understanding or transfer (a concept or principle), learners older than the early primary grades	Put a short problem-solving attempt before instruction, then teach from learners' attempts; judge it on conceptual and transfer items, not on procedural ones	Productive Failure Improves Conceptual Learning [~S] (no difference on procedural knowledge; mostly mathematics and physics)

Skills Sprint

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is a concept or principle learners have not met yet	Teach it before the sprint, or use the sprint only as the application after instruction; check understanding unaided after the debrief, not only by the product	Minimal guidance is less effective for novices than explicit instruction [-S]; see Problem-based Learning for problem-first designs

Structured Academic Controversy

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is concept or principle knowledge of the topic, not argument	Put the content check in the source pack and in step 8 (an individual item on the evidence itself). Do not assume discussion delivered the content.	structured discussion methods [~M]: only a minority of discussion approaches improved comprehension or critical thinking (general discussion, not SAC)

Teach response precision and new associations with minimal errors, using mediators and stimulus fading

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Target is a concept, principle or transfer to new problems, not a pairing or a tolerance	Do not use this design; let learners attempt problems first and teach from their attempts, or use guided practice with explanation prompts	Productive Failure Improves Conceptual Learning [~S] (conceptual and transfer outcomes; reversed for second to fifth graders); The usefulness of induction and errorful learning varies with the type of terminal task being taught [+W] (conceptual analysis)

Transfer of Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a principle or concept to be used in new cases	Pair cases and prompt comparison before stating the principle; test on new cases rather than definitions	Analogical Reasoning Improves Transfer [+S] (undergraduates, negotiation; meta-analysis across domains)

Universal Design For Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept or principle	Pair a visual and a verbal representation of the same relation and ask learners to translate between them; feedback on the process, not only the answer	Multiple representations improve learning [+M] (undergraduate physics, one field study) and Adding relevant pictures or graphics to text improves learning from it, with a small pooled effect on reading comprehension, though whether dual coding explains the benefit is disputed [+S] (comprehension from text with graphics)

Distributed Cognition

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is the learner's unaided understanding (concept, principle) for an individual exam	Keep the reasoning steps with each learner; the shared representation records the group's results, not the reasoning; every learner writes some entries in their own words and takes a turn explaining the representation unaided	Untested proposal; writing into a shared artifact is argued, not shown, to deepen the writer's own knowledge (Externalizing knowledge into a wiki can itself produce individual learning through deeper processing [+W], theoretical); Among AI-exposed students, open collaboration predicted higher aggregate offloading, which was associated with lower Week 8 higher-order thinking (indirect estimate −0.34) [~M] (exploratory, one study, AI tool rather than peers)

Game-based Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The goal is a concept, principle or complex-skill	Make the core move the reasoning itself; add a debrief and one non-game transfer task; expect slower gains than for facts	untested; from the earlier page

Gamification

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Goal is a concept, principle or complex-skill	Award points for correct explanations and for solving changed problems, not for speed; avoid timed, speed-ranked quiz rounds	untested; from the earlier page (timed leaderboard formats reward speed and suit fluency more than reasoning)