Concepthelping

Concepthelping is an instructional approach that emphasizes guiding learners to develop and reorganize robust conceptual understandings rather than focusing primarily on memorization of facts. In concepthelping, teachers and tutors help learners articulate their current conceptions, surface misconceptions, and compare competing ideas to reveal the structure of a domain.

Core practices include eliciting prior knowledge, introducing coherent conceptual models, and using guided inquiry to support students as they test and refine their ideas. Techniques commonly associated with concepthelping include concept maps to visualize relationships, contrasting cases to highlight key distinctions, analogies to bridge new and familiar ideas, and explicit discussions of coherence, explanatory power, and boundaries of a concept.

Instruction is typically scaffolded: questions and prompts lead learners toward deeper explanations, with support gradually removed as competence increases. Assessment emphasizes conceptual change and transfer, using tools such as concept inventories, diagnostic questions, and formative feedback rather than only procedural fluency.

Contexts and applications: concepthelping is applied in science and mathematics education, but has been explored across disciplines and in professional development and tutoring. It aligns with constructivist and cognitive apprenticeship theories and complements other instructional designs by foregrounding understanding over rote recall.

Critiques note that concepthelping can be resource-intensive, requires skilled facilitation, and poses measurement challenges for conceptual change. Proponents argue that while demanding, it can foster durable understanding and transfer.

See also: constructivism, conceptual understanding, problem formulation, formative assessment.