How can K-5 educators put concept-based instructional theories into practice?
Wayne Poncia
Transformational Executive Driving Strategic Growth and Operational Excellence
Concept-based instruction is, at its simplest, a learning pedagogy that helps students make connections across curricula/domains such as math, English, social studies, science and art. Concept-based instruction is driven by “big ideas.” Rather than solely focusing on subject-specific content, context is king in concept-based instruction. Students source their understandings from the contextual “real-world” and build content knowledge from these real-world understandings and experiences. Subjects of study do not exist in isolation from each other, and learning doesn’t happen in a silo, so there are enormous benefits of embracing this approach in an intentional way in the classroom.
Integrated concept-based learning is important for K-5 students because it helps prepare them for life-long learning. In the OECD report, The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice, the last of their seven principles for learning is building horizontal connections. “The learning environment strongly promotes “horizontal connectedness” across areas of knowledge and subjects as well as to the community and the wider world” (Dumont, Istance & Benavides,6).
Concept-based learning also contributes to the development of 21st century skills, and the OECD report highlights how important it is to lay the foundations for these skills from an early age. Further, building horizontal connections into the curriculum and teaching practice helps motivate and engage learners as they discover how their learning is connected to their past, present and future lives.
What is the role of the teacher in integrated concept-based learning?
As you might expect, the teacher moves from a “sage on the stage” to “a guide on the side” position, in a more student-centered approach where they can design learning experiences that stimulate curiosity and are relevant to their students. Educators too must understand that there is no one learning strategy that works for all students all of the time, so a more differentiated approach is necessary -- which neatly ties in with the principles of concept-based learning. In fact, teachers do not need to only consider differentiation and personalization, but also which type of approach to take - whether that be the various forms of a multidisciplinary curriculum; or an interdisciplinary approach where the curriculum is arranged around common learnings across disciplines, such as literary, numeracy and thinking skills; or transdisciplinary where teachers organize learning around student questions or concerns, such as in project and inquiry based learning. For the first two approaches the teacher's role is to facilitate and function as a specialist and in the third the teacher becomes more of a collaborator and generalist (Susan M. Drake and Rebecca C. Burns, 2004).
Now let's turn to some principles and practices for K-5 educators to build integrated concept-based learning into their classrooms.
Create blended learning environments
A blended learning environment uses technology to combine in-class and out-of-class teaching, maximizing the educational impact for students and help deliver learning. A principle-led instructional suite such as Hāpara enables the use of different learning tools seamlessly making it easy for students to navigate their online learning environment. Technology means that learning is accessible by students anywhere anytime, and educators can more easily and efficiently create personalized learning pathways.
Teachers can switch between online and face-to-face learning to consolidate skills, and choose their blended learning model–station rotation where students move between group work, online learning, small group instruction and full class collaboration; the flipped classroom where students encounter topics at home first, and then further in class; or the flexible option where students work through online assignments at their own pace with teacher assistance when needed.
Giving students voice and choice with project and inquiry based learning
Project-based and inquiry learning are student-centered teaching pedagogies that involve active learning and problem-solving. Student voice and choice is built in and gives learners the autonomy to make their own decisions. Both help deepen and strengthen 21st century skills such as the ability to think flexibly, work in a team and share information effectively. Learners can make those critical horizontal connections by having a real world problem to explore, ask questions of, research and present their findings. Research shows that students learn more through PBL & inquiry based curriculums than more traditional methods, in part because they are motivated.
Our infographic runs down the eight elements of PBL according to the Buck Institute for Education (2018). Implementing this in the classroom sounds like a lot of work, because it can be–especially when you embark on personalized learning. This is where the right instructional management system comes into its own. Our Hāpara suite of tools take out much of the legwork, as they work seamlessly with Google Classroom or happliy stand alone to deliver the full teacher and student workflow. Students can research and collaborate and be safe and focused online with our Highlights tool - our ethically managed Chromebook monitoring tool. Teachers can curate tailor-made and differentiated flexible learning spaces with Hāpara Workspace. A great example of an inquiry based Workspace is this one on Non-Living Things for English Language Arts Grade 1. Learners can choose from a variety of non-living things to engage in a personal inquiry and are prompted to read, research and share their learning in a way they are comfortable with. Hāpara curates tens of thousands of multi-day concept-based instructional Workspaces from K - 12–all available for teachers and school districts to localize to their needs.
Make planning a team effort
Integrated concept-based learning fosters collaboration amongst learners, and educators should model that same value in their planning too, not least because by its very nature integrated learning lends itself to teamwork between teachers and across departments. It is an excellent way to build relationships across faculties and strengthen the school community. Successful planning and collaboration needs a streamlined tech solution to deliver the content. Hāpara’s Workspace has an “Add teacher” function which is truly invaluable when curating content across departments. It means that teachers can co-edit and build their content together in one space for ease of access for students. There are many examples of teacher-teacher collaboration, district coordination of concept-based Workspaces and multi-district collaborations building and sharing year long experiences across all grades.
Build clear learning goals and assessment into your plans
Clear learning goals and embedded, ongoing assessment from the start and throughout your learning planning are essential. In a meta-analysis of over 800 studies Hattie (2009) found that constructive and assessment based feedback was one of the most important factors in improving student learning. In the K-5 context, feedback helps students take more ownership of their learning, think more actively of where they are going, and how to get there as they evolve to become partners with their teacher in their learning journey. This gradual release of responsibility from the teacher to the student for learning begins from a young age and echoes all of the principles of 21st century skills and concept-based learning that we as educators want to encourage.
One of the most important elements of feedback is that it is timely. Technology can help with that in the blended classroom. K-5 students are especially dependent on formative feedback–ongoing low-stakes feedback given during a piece of work–to aid their learning and close the gap between what they know and what they need to know. Hāpara Teacher Dashboard expedites this process and makes giving formative feedback simple because all student work is gathered in one view. Teachers can easily comment and make suggestions on student files. The younger cohort of K-5 students may find feedback sent by video especially useful whilst they are developing their literacy skills and the Screencastify Chrome extension lets you send your recording as a link to send as you wish or paste into the document you are commenting on. Our Highlights tool gives teachers the ability to send real-time messages that pop up on the student’s screen, to gently steer them back on track or acknowledge good work right in the moment.
Clearly there is much for educators to consider, and a truly integrated approach to concept-based instruction necessitates a reach far beyond the teacher in the classroom to include principals, district administrators and education leaders to recognize, foster and implement the principles of integrated learning. And, of course, the right technology tools to make it all work for teachers and their students.
Works cited
Dumont, H., D. Istance and F. Benavides (eds.) (2010), “Executive summary” in, The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264086487-2-en
Susan M. Drake and Rebecca C. Burns (2004), Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum.
Kingston, S. (2018). Project Based Learning & Student Achievement: What Does the Research Tell Us? PBL Evidence Matters. 1(1), 1-11.