Conceptual Learning

  • IB Education is Concept-Driven Education

    In both the Primary Years and the Middle Years, teaching and learning happens through concept-driven units of inquiry. 

    Conceptual learning...

    • connects new information with what students already know and understand.
    • bridges disciplines and subjects to support deeper knowledge of topics and ideas.
    • sharpens metacognitive abilities for students and facilitates higher order thinking.
    • draws students into immersive learning experiences with multiple starting points.
    • rewards multiple ways of thinking, learning and expression.
    This information comes from H. Lynn Erickson, a leading researcher and innovator in concept-driven learning.
     
    You can learn more about concept-driven learning from this video: What is Concept Based Learning?
     

    Concepts in the PYP

    Conceptual Learning in the Primary Years Programme begins with the Six Key Concepts:

    Form: What is it like?

    Fucntion: How does it work?

    Causation: Why is it the way it is?

    Change: How does it change?

    Connection: How is it connected to other things?

    Perspective: What are the major points of view?

    Responsibility: What is our/my responsibility?

    Reflection: How do we know?

Concepts in the MYP

In the Middle Years Programme, students build on the conceptual understanding they developed in their Primary Years. The 16 Key Concepts for the MYP are:


Aesthetics

Change

Communication

Communities

Connections

Creativity

Culture

Development

Form

Global Interactions

Identity

Logic

Perspective

Relationships

Time, Space and Place

Systems