The 4MAT Model: Meaning and Concept
The 4MAT Model: Meaning and Concept
Foundation
Two ideas: (1) children are diverse; they have different needs, learning styles, interests. (2) Humans have left and right brain hemispheres that perform different functions.
The four quadrants
- Meaning (Why)
- Concept (What)
- Skills (How)
- Adapt (If)
Each quadrant has a right-brain step and a left-brain step.
Quadrant 1: Meaning (Why)
- Connect (right brain): connect new learning to the child’s prior experience
- Attend (left brain): the child notices and reflects on their own learning
Quadrant 2: Concept (What)
- Image (right brain): the child imagines what the new thing is, brainstorms ideas
- Inform (left brain): the teacher gives knowledge, often through textbook or explanation
Common error
Most schools start at Inform (the third stage of the second quadrant) and skip the first two quadrants entirely. This is why children memorize but do not connect.
Why a Model for Diverse Learners
A teacher’s class has many different students:
- Different needs (Maslow’s pyramid, different levels)
- Different learning styles (some visual, some hands-on, some social)
- Different interests
- Different abilities
The 4MAT model was built to address this diversity inside one teaching cycle.
Two ideas underlie it:
- Children are diverse, so a single approach will not reach everyone.
- Humans have left and right brain hemispheres that handle different kinds of thinking. The right brain handles imagination, connection, and creativity. The left brain handles analysis, rules, and detail.
By moving through stages that hit both hemispheres, a lesson can reach every student at some point.
The Four Quadrants
The model is a circle divided into four quadrants. The students move through them in order:
- Meaning (Why): Why does this matter to me?
- Concept (What): What is this thing?
- Skills (How): How do I do it?
- Adapt (If): What if I use this in my own life?
Each quadrant has two sub-stages, one for the right brain and one for the left.
Quadrant 1: Meaning (Why)
The first quadrant connects the new learning to the child’s existing world. Without this, the rest of the lesson lands on dry ground.
Stage 1: Connect (Right Brain)
The teacher links the new topic to something the child already knows.
Example: Teaching the concept of size to small children.
The teacher sets up a small exhibition with caps, ties, shoes, rings, bangles, ribbons. The teacher invites children to try them on. Children have worn caps, shoes, and ribbons before, so the experience is familiar.
Example: Teaching algebraic addition.
Before introducing algebra, the teacher gives children simple arithmetic addition. Children know simple addition. Some may say “we already know this,” but the teacher insists, because the simple addition is the connection point for the new algebra.
Stage 2: Attend (Left Brain)
The child notices and reflects on what they are doing. The teacher prompts:
- “Which caps fit you well?”
- “Which ones are too big or too small?”
- “How did you do this addition?”
- “What method did you use in your head?”
The child attends to their own learning. They become aware of what they already know and what they do not know yet.
Quadrant 2: Concept (What)
After the child has connected the new topic to their experience, the teacher introduces the actual concept.
Stage 3: Image (Right Brain)
The teacher invites the child to imagine what the new thing might be. Brainstorming. Open thinking.
Example: Algebra.
The teacher writes an algebraic expression on the board and asks “What do you think this means? What does it look like? Describe it.”
Example: A new topic in social studies.
The teacher introduces the topic and asks the children to predict what it might be about. Lists their guesses on the board.
This stage uses the right brain. It is open, generative, and free of right or wrong.
Stage 4: Inform (Left Brain)
The teacher gives the formal knowledge. This is the textbook stage. The teacher explains, defines, demonstrates.
Example: Algebra.
The teacher now formally explains what an algebraic expression is, the rules, the notation.
Example: Social studies.
The teacher now teaches the lesson properly, with definitions, dates, key facts.
This stage is left brain. It is structured, detailed, and rule-based.
The Common Mistake
Most teachers skip Quadrants 1 and 2 (Meaning) and start directly at Stage 4 (Inform).
Steps a typical lesson follows:
- Open the textbook.
- Read or explain.
- Solve some problems.
The child has not connected the topic to their experience. The child has not noticed what they already know. The child has not imagined what this could be. The teacher just informs.
What happens:
- Three or four children listen. They have a strong learning style match with the Inform stage.
- The rest of the class drifts. The Inform stage by itself does not motivate them. They have no reason to care about this new topic. They have no entry point.
The lesson covers the syllabus but reaches a small fraction of the class.
Why the Order Matters
Imagine teaching addition by jumping straight to “5 + 3 = 8” without ever asking “How many fingers do you have? How many do you and your partner have together?”
The children may produce the right answer because they memorize the rule. But they have not connected addition to anything in their world. The understanding is shallow.
The 4MAT model fixes this by forcing the teacher to spend time at the Meaning stage first, then move through Concept, then Skills, then Adapt.