Using positive and negative examples in concept teaching

Abstract

Concept teaching is crucial in all kinds of curriculum and has flourished in the field of western educational psychology. However, in China, problems about concept teaching in terms of theory and practice exist for a long history. Particularly, the importance of knowledge and concept teaching has been overlooked since the implement of new curriculum. This article introduces studies about effectiveness of positive and negative examples in concept teaching, especially the Tennyson concept teaching model and Variation theory by Marton. The author points out that positive and negative examples designed according to principles of match, divergency, and easy-to-difficult can largely enhance students' concept learning and proposes that research about use of positive and negative examples in concept teaching in China should be strengthened in future.