The Concept Analysis Model
Concept Analysis Model
Five components
- Name (what the concept is called)
- Definition (what the concept means)
- Characteristics (critical attributes)
- Examples and non-examples
- Place in the concept hierarchy
Hierarchy
- Superordinate (the larger concept above)
- Coordinate (concepts at the same level)
- Subordinate (smaller concepts below)
Modes
- Inductive (examples first, definition emerges)
- Deductive (definition first, examples follow)
Where it fits
- Themes in science, social studies, Islamic studies, languages
- Any concept that needs a full definition
The concept analysis model is a planning tool. The teacher analyzes the concept into five components before teaching, and then presents each component in the lesson. Without all five, the concept is incomplete.
The five components
A complete concept analysis has five components. The teacher writes them down before the lesson.
1. Name. Every concept has a name. The concept of energy is called “energy.” The concept of food is called “food.” The concept of noun is called “noun.” When teaching, the teacher tells students the name explicitly.
2. Definition. What the concept means. A good definition is precise enough that students can apply it to decide whether something fits the concept.
3. Characteristics (critical attributes). Features the concept has. Some characteristics are critical (always present in true examples). Some are general (often present but not required). The teacher should know which is which.
4. Examples and non-examples. Specific instances of the concept and specific instances that look similar but are not the concept. Non-examples are as important as examples. They show students where the boundary of the concept is.
5. Place in the hierarchy. Concepts exist in hierarchies. Above the concept is a superordinate (a larger concept it belongs to). Beside it are coordinate concepts (at the same level). Below it are subordinate concepts (smaller concepts that fit inside it).
Name, definition, characteristics, examples and non-examples, hierarchy
Name: what the concept is called.
Definition: what the concept means.
Characteristics: critical attributes that make a thing fit the concept.
Examples and non-examples: instances that fit and instances that look similar but do not fit.
Hierarchy: the superordinate concept above, coordinate concepts beside, and subordinate concepts below.
The hierarchy in detail
The hierarchy is the component teachers most often miss. A concept does not stand alone. It belongs to a larger family of concepts.
Superordinate concept. The bigger concept that this one is part of. The superordinate of “noun” is “parts of speech.” The superordinate of “food” is “health and nutrition” or “food science.”
Coordinate concepts. Concepts at the same level as this one, sharing the same superordinate. The coordinates of “noun” are “verb,” “adjective,” and “adverb.” The coordinates of “food” are “diet” and “dietary habits.”
Subordinate concepts. Smaller concepts that fit inside this one. The subordinates of “noun” are “common noun” and “proper noun.” The subordinates of “food” are “food pyramid,” “organic food,” “whole food,” “natural food,” and “junk food.”
Showing the hierarchy helps students place the concept in their wider understanding. They see that nouns are not isolated; they are one type of part of speech, and they have their own subtypes.
Example: the concept of noun
The full concept analysis for “noun” looks like this.
Name. Noun.
Definition. Name of a thing, place, person, or abstract entity (such as birth, happiness, or magnetism).
Characteristics (critical attributes). Many nouns have clear endings: “-er” (painter, carpenter, wood cutter), “-ist” (scientist, economist, educationist), “-ism” (magnetism, consumerism). Many nouns can be made plural. A noun usually fits in the slot “the ___” in a sentence.
Examples. River, jam, capital, painter, scientist, Pakistan, school, board, table, chair, book.
Non-examples. Eating, walking, standing, writing, reading. These are actions, not things. They are non-examples because they look like words but they are verbs.
Hierarchy.
- Superordinate: parts of speech.
- Coordinate: verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, pronoun.
- Subordinate: common noun, proper noun.
A teacher who covers all five for the concept of noun gives students a complete picture. A teacher who gives only the definition and a few examples leaves the picture incomplete.
Example: the concept of food
Here is a class where the teacher asked grade five students “What is food?” The students gave examples (apple, banana, burger, pizza, roti, salan) but could not define food. The teacher helped them work toward a definition together.
The full concept analysis for “food” looks like this.
Name. Food.
Definition. Any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. Usually of plant or animal origin.
Characteristics. Most foods have taste and smell (water is an exception, being tasteless and odorless). Many foods are cooked while others are eaten raw. Sour foods contain organic acids. Some foods provide energy (carbohydrates, proteins, fats), while others provide nutritional support without energy (water, minerals).
Examples. Vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, fish, rice, water, wheat, chewing gum, chocolate.
Non-examples. Animal feed, live animals (until prepared for sale at a market), plants prior to harvesting, medicinal products, tobacco and cigarettes, narcotics, cosmetics. These are non-examples because they are consumed or used by humans but are not food.
Hierarchy.
- Superordinate: health and nutrition, food science, food technology.
- Coordinate: diet, dietary habits.
- Subordinate: food pyramid, organic food, whole food, natural food, junk food.
The non-examples are useful. A student who knows that medicine is consumed for health but is not food understands the concept better than a student who only knows examples.
Inductive vs deductive in concept analysis
Concept analysis is a planning tool. The teacher must do all five components in the analysis. But the teaching itself can be inductive or deductive.
Deductive presentation of a concept. The teacher tells students the name, then gives the definition, then explains characteristics, then gives examples and non-examples, then shows the hierarchy. Students follow the teacher’s structure.
For “noun” in deductive mode:
Inductive presentation of a concept. The teacher does not give the definition first. Instead, the teacher asks students to give names of things in the room. The teacher writes the names on the board. Then the teacher asks: “What is common in all these things?” Students discuss. Together they arrive at the definition. Then students give characteristics, examples of plurals and endings. Then the teacher asks where these words fit in language, and students figure out that they are part of a larger group called parts of speech.
Both modes work. Deductive is faster. Inductive is more engaging and helps students remember because they did the thinking. Many teachers use a mix: inductive for the definition, deductive for the hierarchy.
Important. Many teachers use only deductive mode and only cover definition and examples. They leave out characteristics, non-examples, and hierarchy. The result is shallow learning. Whichever mode the teacher uses, all five components must appear.
They show students where the boundary of the concept is
Examples show what the concept includes. Non-examples show what it excludes.
A student who knows that medicine is not food understands food better than a student who only knows that fish is food.
The concept becomes clear when both the inside and the boundary are visible.
Why “concept analysis”
The model is called concept analysis because the teacher analyzes the concept into parts before teaching. The teacher deals with the concept “in bits and parts,” addressing every aspect: definition, examples, critical attributes, the concepts above and below.
Without analysis, the teacher’s lesson is fragmented. The teacher gives a definition. Then jumps to examples. Then maybe mentions one characteristic. The student gets pieces but not the whole picture.
With analysis, the lesson covers everything. The student leaves the lesson with the concept’s name, definition, characteristics, examples, non-examples, and place in a wider hierarchy of concepts.
This thoroughness is what makes the concept analysis model useful for science, social studies, Islamic studies, and language teaching, where many concepts need to be taught.
The advanced organizer model takes a different approach: it shows the big picture first and then drills into the parts.