Reported are the results of a study which investigated the relative efficacy of four instructional strategies for promoting three levels of awareness of mathematical concepts. It was determined that there are basically two kinds of moves used in teaching concepts: characterization (C), and exemplification (E). The four patterns studied were C, CE, EC, and ECE. The three levels of awareness were identified as comprehension (1), application (2), and analysis (3). Programed booklets were designed to teach concepts from probability theory. The students were enrolled in a beginning college mathematics course, and had no previous probability instruction. Upper and lower ability groups were determined by SAT scores. Significant differences were found on the means of the two ability level groups for all levels of awareness. A significant difference was found in favor of the C pattern over the other three patterns when the awareness of the concept was measured by level 1 responses. No other significant differences were found between patterns and awareness levels. (Author/RS)