The Concentric Method of Instruction
The spiral approach, also known as the concentric approach, is a technique of designing a curriculum that begins with fundamental concepts, then moves on to related topics before returning to the primary concept and adding additional complexity and depth.
It differs from the topical technique, which covers all significant subjects in a sequential fashion without reviewing concepts, and the functional approach, which emphasizes skill development above theoretical grounding.
Fundamentals of the Concentric Curriculum:
For decades, concentric techniques have been utilized to teach arithmetic and mathematics.
Numbers are given and analyzed before being revisited for subtraction, multiplication, and other operations.
Starting with fundamentals and reviewing, expanding on, deepening, and widening them on a regular basis is supposed to lead to a better understanding of a subject’s interconnections.
The Origins of Concentric Curriculum:
Jerome Bruner’s cognitive psychology principles inspire the concept of concentric curricular design.
Bruner felt that the human cognitive process includes three stages: the enactive phase, in which the learner interacts with and utilizes things or processes; the iconic phase, in which the student manipulates pictures of these items or processes; and the symbolic phase.
Final Answer
The concentric approach, also known as the spiral approach, is a method of structuring a curriculum that involves putting out fundamental principles, covering related topics, and then returning to the core notion and filling in more complexity and depth.