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Concrete Examples

Why should any of this matter to me?

Let’s say you find yourself stranded on a beach with no water. How could your knowledge on separating materials in GCSE Chemistry save your life?

Really great teachers help students to see their subject at work in the world. If you can practice the skill of finding real examples of something you’ve learned, it will also enrich your schema (knowledge structures in the mind, that memory relies on).

Anyway, back to life-saving science. Watch the video below to find out more…

How does it work?

Many psychologists believe it is easier to learn about things that are concrete (objects, or observable phenomenon) because they activate visual and language parts of the brain together*. This is the idea behind Dual Coding theory – so don’t forget to check out the information from that page, too.

Practice

Let’s take two seemingly dry ideas from Biology – Photosynthesis and Respiration. UK students all need to learn these ideas in some form, so see if you can find out how they link to these real-life examples:

  1. Why are plants essential to us living on other planets? 
  2. What makes cyanide such a dangerous poison? How and why does it kill people?
  3. Is it true that our bodies literally run on sugar?
  4. How can re-planting forests help address climate change?
  5. Why should you buy shade-loving plants for a north facing garden?
  6. Why do we make water more acidic when we blow through it?
  7. Why do athletes like to train at high altitudes?
  8. Why is it a good idea to have gas heaters in greenhouses? 
  9. Why is there less grass underneath dense trees?
  10. Can a fire create water? If so, how is a fire like ‘burning through’ calories?

References

* Paivio, A., Walsh, M., & Bons, T. (1994). Concreteness effects on memory: When and why? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 1196-1204.

* F. Jessen, R. Heun, M. Erb, D.-O. Granath, U. Klose, A. Papassotiropoulos, W. Grodd, (2000) The Concreteness Effect: Evidence for Dual Coding and Context Availability, Brain and Language 74, 103-112