1. Teaching for conceptual understanding through Inquiry
JuloCon
Teaching for conceptual understanding through Inquiry
Monday 18 July 2017

2. What does it mean to teach for conceptual understanding?
Prior knowledge
What does it mean to teach for conceptual understanding?
Add notes to our padlet
Scan this QR code or
Password: stleonards

3. What does it mean to teach for conceptual understanding?
Prior knowledge
What does it mean to teach for conceptual understanding?
Takes students beyond facts and details to understand the “WHY” behind details and reach to deeper understanding
Facilitates the transfer of knowledge to new contexts
Gives a sense of purpose and energy to learning
Develops and shapes the conceptual minds of students
Kathy Short

4. Making the PYP happen
Central to the philosophy of the PYP is the principle that purposeful, structured inquiry is a powerful
vehicle for learning that promotes meaning and understanding, and challenges students to engage with
significant ideas. Hence in the PYP there is also a commitment to a concept-driven curriculum as a means
of supporting that inquiry.
MTPYPH page 15

5. Making the PYP happen
The decision to structure the PYP curriculum around important concepts is driven by the following beliefs.
A concept-driven curriculum helps the learner to construct meaning through improved critical thinking and the transfer of knowledge.
By starting with the students’ prior knowledge, and by confronting and developing their earlier conceptions and constructs, teachers can begin to promote real understanding.
The exploration and re-exploration of concepts lead students towards an appreciation of ideas that transcend disciplinary boundaries, as well as towards a sense of the essence of each subject area.
Students gradually work towards a deepening of their conceptual understanding as they approach those concepts from a range of perspectives MTPYPH page 15

6. Standards and Practices
Standard C2: Written Curriculum
6. The written curriculum incorporates relevant experiences for students.PYP requirement:
a. The written curriculum provides opportunities for student learning that is significant, relevant, engaging and challenging.

7. Standards and Practices
Standard C3: Teaching and Learning
2. Teaching and learning engages students as inquirers and thinkers. PYP requirement:
a. The school ensures that inquiry is used across the curriculum and by all teachers.
13. Teaching and learning engages students in reflecting on how, what and why they are learning.

8. Standards and Practices
Standard C4: Assessment
1. Assessment at the school aligns with the requirements of the programme(s).
PYP requirements
a. Assessment at the school is integral with planning, teaching and learning.
b. Assessment addresses all the essential elements of the programme.
c. The school provides evidence of student learning over time across the curriculum.

9. Knowledge Vs Understanding
A key difference between knowledge and understanding is that the latter is always fluid, transferable to new contexts and transformable into new theory.
Genuine performances of understanding occur when students are able to take new information and skills and apply them flexibly and appropriately in a new and at least somewhat unanticipated situation.
Howard Gardner 1991

10. Planning for conceptual understanding
When planning a Unit of Inquiry, you need to explicitly articulate what are your desired results for each of the 5 Essential Elements.
It is not enough to simply identify the action, skills, attitudes, concepts and knowledge. You need to articulate what this will look like. Otherwise, how do you know what you are looking for?

11. Planning for conceptual understanding
ACTION
How do we want students to act?
SKILLS
What do we want students to be able to do?
ATTITUDES
What do we want students to feel,value and demonstrate?
CONCEPTS
What do we want students to understand?
KNOWLEDGE
What do we want students to know about?

12. Are you aware?

13. Planning for conceptual understanding
Central Idea: People express their ideas, feelings and cultures through stories

14. DESIRED RESULTS ACTION We want students to:
How do we want students to act?
We want students to:
● Understand storytelling as a means of communicating
● Value story
● Communicate their own stories
● Create and share stories that reinforce their belief about why stories are shared
SKILLS
What do we want students to be able to do?
We want students to be able to:
● Read a range of genres
● Apply knowledge of story structure to own writing
● Listen to stories
● Share oral stories
● View stories
● Use non verbal communication to share stories
● Comprehension
● Determine an author’s purpose
● Organise ideas to create story
● Use evidence to support a belief
Know how to develop a belief statement

15. DESIRED RESULTS ATTITUDES
What do we want students to feel,value and demonstrate?
Respect,Tolerance,Creativity
We want students to demonstrate:
● Respect for author’s work
● Tolerance for others interpretations of stories
Creativity to adapt current stories and develop new stories
CONCEPTS
What do we want students to understand?
Form, Connection, Reflection
We want students to understand:
● Different stories often share common features or purpose
● Stories are part of who we are
● We use stories to make sense of our World and to understand each other.
● Stories are a way of experiencing other people / places/ times.
● Stories inspire us to ask questions.
● Stories offer us the freedom to think, ask and feel.
● People have different beliefs about why stories are created and shared.
We can make connections amongst stories based on their purpose as well as their structure/ features.
Central Idea: People express their ideas, feelings and cultures through stories

16. DESIRED RESULTS KNOWLEDGE What do we want students to know about?
● We learn through stories
● How to structure a story
● The features of different genres
● Grammar and punctuation that supports their storytelling
● Imagery and descriptions to engage the audience
● The different purposes for creating stories
● The structure of different genres of story
● How genres are suited to purpose
● Stories can be connected
● How our connection to a story influences our interpretation

17. Look at your current/ next Unit of Inquiry.
Your task today
Look at your current/ next Unit of Inquiry.
Use the blank “desired learning outcomes” template think more deeply about the actions, skills, attitudes, concepts and knowledge you want the students do/know/understand/be/feel/act.

18. Further reading
Teacher Professional learning page on STL link
IB publication: Concept-based teaching and learning H Lynn Erickson
Articles in Professional Reading 2017 handout
Section 2: Concept based curriculum and instruction