Concept Based Learning International School of Ulaanbaatar: November 2012 International School of Ulaanbaatar What’s the BIG idea? Do we ‘get it’? How.

Concept Based LearningInternational School of Ulaanbaatar:

November 2012

International School of Ulaanbaatar

What’s the BIG idea? Do we ‘get it’? How will the children? How will we KNOW they have?

Starting with ‘C’ for Concepts

C = Concepts

Drive the….

I = Inquiry

Leading to….

A = Action


Example: Concept of Pollution (Factory) > Investigation > Action as a result of understanding

HOUSEKEEPING – Day 1*

WELCOME - do you have your: Making the PYP Happen, your school’s programme of inquiry, ‘A Basis for Practice,

access to planners that you are involved with planning, teaching and reflecting on?

Session 1: 8.30am – 10am

Break: 10am – 10.30am

Session 2: 10.30am – 12.15am

Lunch: 12.15pm – 1.15pm

Session 3: 1.15pm – 2.30pm It’s a JOURNEY…….

Break: 2.30pm – 3pm

Session 4: 3pm – 4pm


Tuning IN – prior knowledge


‘A ’ central idea for this workshop

Concepts drive teaching and learning that is relevant, engaging,

challenging and significant

“Concepts are a very important part of thinking ”

Edward de BonoInternational School of Ulaanbaatar

As an In-School workshop we will adapt to the needs of the groups as we go along…

Wall Wisher In your groups you will be given one of the questions from the Wall Wisher page.

Brainstorm ideas and thoughts that you think are the answers to the question given.

Prepare to feedback to the workshop, beginning with “We believe…..”


Or another ‘Central Idea’ for this workshop could be:

The PYP is a ‘concept driven’ curriculum which aims to lead children to appropriate and responsible action, as a result of ‘structured’ inquiry.

What is (should be) the ‘concept’ (big idea) of this workshop?


Finding OUT – The ‘idea’ of concepts.


Reading….

‘Futility’ article - Wiggins…. In groups of 4-5. Read your section.. Share the main read with the rest of the group and collate into a shared

understanding.


Agree? Disagree?

Teaching is not about coverage and content. It is about BIG IDEAS that will

change the world.


Your ‘summative’ assessment task

To plan a brief presentation to parents for your Grade level(s) or area of expertise to explain the nature of

‘concepts’ in the PYP. This could be part of a parents’ night presentation for

example. Groups of 4--5

Consider: (6 facets of understanding – reading handout)•What they are•Why we use them – practical importance•What the children will do and understand


OK – so what do you know well? Explain to the person on your right..something you know well – football/travel/local food - How have you come to

know/understand it?

Think:What skills did you learn?What new knowledge did you gain from the

experience?What was your attitude about yourself and

learning when you accomplished your goal (s)?What action did you take?

Is it just Gladwell’s 10,000 hour theory? Is this essentially what we need to be doing with the

children?


Concepts – ‘or NOT’ and if so how BIG/important are they?

Make a T chart on a piece of paper and list under ‘topic’ and ‘concept’ from the following.

conflict, family, culture, chance, fitness, human, rights, China, bears,

persuasion, dinosaurs, co-operation, patterns, literature,

scale, rhythm, hope, hunger, meat


Concept Definition

In your groups come up with a set of criteria for defining concepts. Try finding up to 5

Wait for it….. They are…….


Definition of

concept

Nouns that are:

Timeless - e.g. ‘conflict’

Universal – specific examples may differ from culture to culture but….

Abstract and Broad

Represented by 1 or 2 words


Concepts across the curriculum

Bus stop activity


As we know from our own experiences

I tell you one thing, if you learn it by yourself, if you have to get down and dig for it, it never leaves you. It stays here as long as you live because you had to dig it out of the mud before you learned it.

Norton 1985 quoted from Wiggington (author) ‘Sometimes a Shining Moment – The Fox Fire

Experience’


The main proposition of constructivism is that learning means constructing, creating inventing and developing our own knowledge. Others can give us information, we can find information in books, and we can get information from the media, but as important as information is - and it is extremely important – receiving it, getting it and hearing it does not necessary equal learning. Marlow and Page 2005 ‘Creating and Sustaining the Constructivist Classroom’

Learners constructing meaning – The PYP definition of curriculum (MtPYP Happen page 9)


5 Essential Elements

Concepts

Knowledge

Trans-disciplinary Skills

Attitudes

Action


Sorting Out – concepts / PYP concepts

Now lets look specifically at the PYP Key Concepts!

Which are…? And what ‘key questions’ go with them?

Sort the cut out pieces of the PYP concepts out use your MiH or Basis for Practice to help you if you need it


What does the IBO say about Concepts

Highlight any points you agree with or

that create questions for you.

A Basis for Practice pg. 7+8


Going Further – developing a deeper understanding and getting practical


How can we better understand the PYP Concepts?

Change groups. 8 groups please (4’s?)

Try to find – 1 K~2, 1 3`5, 1 local, 1 specialist

In group, use the concept worksheet to investigate your given concept.

Gallery walk around room to view other concept research papers.

Discuss results as a group.


Getting Practical….

How do we set up our classrooms to ensure there is concept driven inquiry taking place?

What would we see in these classroom (classroom environment)?

What would we hear in these classrooms (teacher and students)?

What would we do in these classrooms (learning engagements)?

Stand on the shoulders of giants!


Welcome Back to Day 2All the teachers of

ISU!!

Find your seat, set yourself up, turn on your brain…

now meet us in the corridor!

Prize for the first group

to meet us


Concentric Circles

So what – why and how do you think concepts/concept driven curriculum can help our students?

What are the 8 PYP Key concepts and their related questions?

Define a ‘concept’ – 5 criteria (Erickson)

How is your classroom going to change as a result of your learning yesterday?

What are the 5 essential elements (including concepts) of the PYP?


Quick Journal Writing…

Spend 3 minutes writing a reflection on yesterdays learning in your journal…


If we are teaching the CONCEPTUAL IDEA….

How do we use the lines of inquiry?

What is the purpose of the teacher questions?



What is a good guiding question?

Read Rob Traver article… 4 page article.

Think: In your group of FOUR, 4, quatre, dorov, take one page each.

Share: Develop one BIG IDEA per page. Share back with the whole group.

On the wall chart

Step 1: Write down the ‘BIG IDEA’ + 2 key concepts.

Step 2: Now circle the one key concept that puts the spot light on the BIG IDEA

Step 3: Now go back inside and combine the 2 into the ‘enduring understanding’ – THIS IS YOUR CI !!!



Planning time for your next unit

Application

Apply what you now understand to developing your next unit of inquiry.

Do this keeping both the BIG concept and PYP Key concepts at the forefront of your thinking.

Remember to have students consider the BIG idea as well as the PYP conceptual ‘lens.’

Less of v More of in the classroom

After what we have learned about the concepts: what does this mean for you in your classroom? What in your teaching do you need to do less of and what do you need to do more of?

Connect, extend, challenge….


OUR ENDURING UNDERSDTANDING


Recommendationsthank you for sharing your learning with us.

All central idea’s will contain one BIG IDEA (concept), where the enduring understanding is easily understood – goes beyond a topic or ‘skinny’ concept, and become something that is important now and in the future.

The one or two PYP KEY Concepts will be used to focus the learning of the big idea, and should be apparent in the central idea.

Keep the unit simple but profound. Keep referring back to the guiding question.


Recommendations continued

Classrooms will be interactive learning environments, where the key components of the unit will be: at eye level, used regularly, be attached to student and teacher questions.

Classrooms will show evidence of VISIBLE THINKING! E.g. related to learner profile, attitudes, skills, questions both new and answered.


Thank youEnjoy your

concept driven PYP

journey here at

ISU


Slides not used this time

But worth keeping for another day


Concept PyramidWhere do concepts come in the scheme of

things?


Workbook page 17and handout

How can inquiry help student understanding?

Inquiry in the PYP leads to the learner developing a higher conceptual understanding.

Theory Building

GeneralisationsExpressions of the relationshipBetween two or more concepts

ConceptsClassified/ categorised groups of related facts

FactsTruths about specific events, objects, people.

These are easily investigatedFrom: Focus on Inquiry by Jeni Wilson and Lesley Wing Jan



Also please see page 6 of your workbook for another idea which includes Learner Profile and Attitudes



Applying our understandingsRegroup: Move back into your year level groups

Question: How can you best use the next 40 minutes to apply your understandings from today?

Action: Suggestions… Look at your Central Ideas and check that they match

the Central Idea criteria Look at your Central Ideas and check that they include

conceptual understandings Look at your Teacher Questions and check that they

match the question criteria Look at your Teacher Questions and check that they

include conceptual understandings Check that your concepts are articulated through the

Central Idea, Inquiry Points, and Teacher Questions.


Group PresentationLunch plus 45 minutes to prepare a

presentation to parents based on explaining a concept driven curriculum to them

Presentation should be no more than 5-8 minutes


Reflect on your planningDid you write an engaging and relevant inquiry point to

drive your inquiry?

Did you write 2-3 essential questions that will frame your inquiry investigation?

Have you identified some primary sources that you can use for your inquiry?

Did you establish how you will demonstrate your learning?

Have you planned 2-3 activities that you can engage in to answer your inquiry questions?


Yesterday’s Homework

Large Group Brainstorm on questions:

What does a concept based curriculum do for you as a teacher?

What does a concept based curriculum do for your students?


‘nice to know’

foundational concepts & skills

“big ideas” worth understanding

Worth being familiar with

Important to know and do

“Enduring” understanding

Establishing Curricular PrioritiesInquiry based on concepts develops enduring

understandings that span all subject areas.

Concepts through disciplines

Break into 6 concept groups and each group unpacks that concept through a disciplinary lens. - Use your Making the PYP Happen and / or the OCC

Mind Map

How do each of the concepts look in the subject areas? Are they different? How/Why?

Then consider related concepts under that key concept.

How do the related concepts work in each of the subject areas, are they the same or different in each of the subject areas?


Gallery Walk of Mind Maps

Using Post it notes – add to the mind maps

Think about the following questions.

What potential is there to explore disciplinary knowledge through concepts to develop understanding?

How do the concepts transcend subject boundaries?

What opportunities exist for us to explore the same concept through different disciplines?


Lynn Erickson model three levels, scaffolding thinking to complex levels.

Level 1: How or why? People design and build shelters to meet their needs.

Level 2: So what – is the significance or effect? People design and build shelters to create a home.

Level 3: People seek places where they feel a sense of belonging.


Six Facets of Understanding – Wiggins and Mc Tighe

explain:Provide thorough and justifiable accounts of phenomena, facts, and data.

interpret:Tell meaningful stories, offer apt translations, provide a revealing historical or personal dimension to ideas and events; make subjects personal or accessible through images, anecdotes, analogies, and models.

apply:Effectively use and adapt what they know in diverse contexts.

have perspective:See and hear points of view through critical eyes and ears; see the big picture.

empathize:Find value in what others might find odd, alien, or implausible; perceive sensitively on the basis of prior indirect experience.

have self-knowledge:Perceive the personal style, prejudices, projections, and habits of mind that both shape and impede our own understanding; they are aware of what they do not understand and why understanding is so hard.International School of Ulaanbaatar

Assessing Understanding

How do you assess conceptual understanding?

Formative

Summative

How can the facets of understanding assist you with this?


Concept Based Learning International School of Ulaanbaatar: November 2012 International School of Ulaanbaatar What’s the BIG idea? Do we ‘get it’? How.

Documents

school workshop

result of understanding

pm session

idea of concepts

workshop concepts

concept big idea

concepts c

central idea