Supporting Concrete Examples

Below are various means of supporting concrete examples. You can build some of these assets and interactive opportunities into your courses and you can share these ideas with students so that they have a means of building concrete examples into their own study sessions.


Customizable Tools to Support Concrete Examples

These tools have been designed to be customizable by faculty. Furthermore, they can be embedded directly into your LMS content. For further information on how to utilize these tools in your LMS see the Interactive-Components page.

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Accordion Builder

Accordion ID Accordion Name Accordion Contents

1

Short Answer with Feedback

Short answer questions require students to construct a written answer. The question acts as a prompt for a concise and focused response.

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Question 1 text: What are four benefits of using concrete examples?

    feedback : Concrete examples increase student engagement, clarify concepts, connect to prior learning and enhance understanding and remembering.

    Quiz Settings

    The following setting(s) are available, please type response in the following space provided:

    1. Randomize the questions when the page is loaded or refreshed by the learner? Type y for yes or n for no. yes
    2. Insert Quiz Questions inside a Panel?Type y for yes or n for no. yes
    3. Make Panel Collapsible? Type y for yes or n for no. no
    4. Panel Title? Type the title of the panel. Short Answer Quiz Tool Exemplar


    Tips for Writing Short Answer Questions

    • Structure the question so that it provides a clear focus, scope, and direction to guide the student's response.
    • Include verbs that match the intended learning outcome to ensure you are assessing the appropriate level of learning.
    • Ensure that there is only one correct answer to the question.
    • Provide clear instructions so the student knows whether to answer in sentences or bullet points, provide a specific number of statements, etc.

    2

    Multiple Choice Questions

    Multiple choice questions are a quick and simple way to assess learning and provide prompt feedback to students. With multiple choice questions, students select one correct option from a list of possible answers.

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    Question 1 text: Which is the best source of concrete examples for learning?

    feedback: While sharing examples with friends and collecting examples from class are useful, the best concrete examples are those you develop yourself. Examples from the internet may not be relevant, and so they are not a reliable source for concrete examples.

    Question Settings

    The following setting(s) are available, please type response in the following space provided:

    1. Question 1 Answer:Type option number for the correct answer. 4
    2. Randomize the options when the page is loaded or refreshed by the learner? Type y for yes or n for no. Yes

    Quiz Settings

    The following setting(s) are available, please type response in the following space provided:

    1. Randomize the questions when the page is loaded or refreshed by the learner? Type y for yes or n for no. yes
    2. Insert Quiz Questions inside a Panel?Type y for yes or n for no. yes
    3. Make Panel Collapsible? Type y for yes or n for no. no
    4. Panel Title? Type the title of the panel. Multiple Choice Quiz Tool Exemplar

    Tips for writing multiple choice questions:

    • Structure the question so that the stem provides a cue for the student. The options help the learner to identify the correct response through recognition.
    • Carefully selected multiple choice options promote learning of information related to that on the questions. Provide 3-4 options for each question, so that the question is neither too easy to guess or too time consuming to read. All options should be similar difficulty; do not include silly options as they distract from the learning.
    • Avoid the use of “none of the above” options. None of the above exposes the student only to incorrect options and does not provide an opportunity for the student to identify and learn the correct response.



    EdTech Tools to Support Concrete Examples

    There are many EdTech tools that can support you in embedding concrete examples into the learning experiences you create. In addition, making students aware of some of the simpler tools below can also support them in building strategies to support more effective independent learning.

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    Accordion Builder

    Accordion ID Accordion Name Accordion Contents

    1

    MindMeister or Venngage

    Create mind maps using applications such as MindMeister or Venngage to add words or images around a concept.

     

    2

    Canva, Piktochart or SketchPad

    Illustrate concepts using Canva, Piktochart, or SketchPad.

     

    3

    Padlet or Flip

    Have students share examples and experiences of, or related to, a concept using Padlet , Flip (formerly Flipgrid) or a collaborative document (OneDrive, Google Docs, etc.).

     

    4

    Kahoot, Mentimeter or PollEverywhere

    Use polling, quiz or game applications such as Kahoot, Mentimeter or Poll Everywhere to determine if students can accurately connect an example to a concept.

     

    5

    LMS Discussion Boards

    Include discussion boards with learner prompts and instructor and/or peer responses or feedback to identify accurate or inaccurate connections.

     

    6

    LMS Multiple Choice or Matching Questions

    Offer formative or practice multiple-choice or matching quiz questions that ask students to connect a concept to an example (or vice versa), and provide detailed feedback for the incorrect responses.

     


    Using Concrete Examples Outside the Digital Space

    To support students in building their own tool box of study strategies, encourage students to engage in the some of the following activities as they are preparing for your assessments.

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    Accordion Builder

    Accordion ID Accordion Name Accordion Contents

    1

    Use Examples

    • Include specific examples in course materials.

    2

    Encourage Examples

    • Encourage students to develop and share their own examples through active learning strategies.

    3

    Provide Opportunities for Reflection

    • Provide reflection activities to connect student experience to course concepts.

    4

    Use Examples in Assessments

    • Integrate examples into assessments – some students find it easier to express their learning through storytelling.

    Tips to Support Concrete Examples

    The following are some quick tips that you can use when you are building your learning experiences to embed concrete examples directly into the learning. 

      1. Begin by introducing the abstract concept and then immediately use an example or story to illustrate/demonstrate the concept.
      2. Generate examples ahead of class so you do not have to try to generate one in the moment.
      3. Bring the students’ attention back to the concept following delivery of the example and highlight the direct connection for them.
      4. Provide students the opportunity to generate their own examples and explain how the example illustrates or connects to the concept.
      5. Provide multiple examples with different characteristics to help learners recognize the underlying principle shared by the examples.
      6. Scaffold the transition from working with concrete examples to the abstract concept to enable transfer of knowledge.

    Checking Your Knowledge

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    Question 1 text: The key to using concrete examples effectively is:

    feedback: Concrete examples that connect with students' prior knowledge and experience will help them to understand the concept.

    Question Settings

    The following setting(s) are available, please type response in the following space provided:

    1. Question 1 Answer:Type option number for the correct answer. 2
    2. Randomize the options when the page is loaded or refreshed by the learner? Type y for yes or n for no. Yes

    Question 2 text: What challenge may students encounter when using concrete examples?

    feedback: Students are more likely to focus on the surface details of the example and not make deeper connections to the concept.

    Question Settings

    The following setting(s) are available, please type response in the following space provided:

    1. Question 2 Answer:Type option number for the correct answer. 1
    2. Randomize the options when the page is loaded or refreshed by the learner? Type y for yes or n for no. Yes

    Quiz Settings

    The following setting(s) are available, please type response in the following space provided:

    1. Randomize the questions when the page is loaded or refreshed by the learner? Type y for yes or n for no. yes
    2. Insert Quiz Questions inside a Panel?Type y for yes or n for no. yes
    3. Make Panel Collapsible? Type y for yes or n for no. no
    4. Panel Title? Type the title of the panel.



    References

    Photography on this page used with permission from the Durham College Online Photo Database.

    Harvard, B. (2018, January 1). A more concrete classroom. The Effortful Educator. https://theeffortfuleducator.com/2018/01/01/a-more-concrete-classroom/

    The Learning Scientists. (n.d.). Concrete examples. The Learning Scientists. https://www.learningscientists.org/concrete-examples

    Weinstein, Y., Madan, C.R. & Sumeracki, M.A. (2018). Teaching the science of learning. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-017-0087-y

    Weinstein Y., & Smith, M. (2016, August 25). Learn to study using... concrete examples. The Learning Scientists. https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/8/25-1