The Effect of Explicit Teaching and Implicit Learning of Concept and Generalization Structure on The Acquisition of Explicit Knowledge of Concept and Generalization Structure

Abstract

The general purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of explicit teaching and implicit learning of the concept and generalization structure on the acquisition of explicit knowledge regarding concept and generalization structure in the Learning-Teaching Theories and Approaches course instructed in the non-thesis master’s program of the Secondary Education Teaching Department in Educational Sciences. The study was conducted as a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design with 97 students in two experimental and two control groups. The data was analysed using means, standard deviations, adjusted means, chi-square analysis, one-way Anova, covariance (Ancova) and Bonferroni analysis. Results indicate that when compared to implicit learning, the explicit teaching provided to the first experimental group was found to be effective in the acquisition of explicit knowledge regarding concept and generalization structure, increasing the perceived confidence rating about the accuracy of responses, and providing successful learning. However, it is recommended that students should be exposed to a wide number of correct examples and to frequently have applied the practices with a view to making the gained explicit knowledge usable in a specific context.