Concept based learning – a workshop

Discovering the tools to discover deeper student learning

“Hands up if you often forget the things you learn in class.”

“Hands up if you’re sometimes overwhelmed by an information overload.”

Both times, all hands go up, including mine.

We were at a workshop on Concept Based Learning held on 8th and 15th September and facilitated by Ms. Seervai. It was part of our journey as a PYP school which believed that concept based teaching and learning offers a solution to the ‘crowded curriculum’ by linking students’ interests to essential understandings that are transferable across disciplines.

The workshop helped us explore how concepts, knowledge and skills interact to construct deeper student learning. We worked with the ‘Structure of Knowledge’ and ‘Structure of Process’ to design a unit of study to scaffold student learning and develop their capacity to think conceptually. We learned how to design powerful statements of inquiry and guiding questions. The workshop has left us thinking about the essential aspects of a quality concept based unit plan.

– Ms. Pooja Bajaj