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Conceptes as content and curriculum organizers

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Conceptes as content and curriculum organizers

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PiP: Learning and Teaching/approaches to learning

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PiP: Learning and Teaching/approaches to learning

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PiP: Learning and Teaching/concept understanding

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PiP: Learning and Teaching/concept understanding

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Please complete this anonymous evaluation for me. Thank you!

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ATL page 13

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PYP Blog: PYP early years series: Concept based learning (ep.2) 

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PYP Blog: PYP early years series: Concept based learning (ep.2) 

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In the second of a series focused on the PYP support material 'The early years in the PYP', IB voices spoke to Anne van Dam and Kathryn O'Connell, 2 early years educators who have worked in local and global contexts, to explore what concept based learning looks like in action and to discuss some of the tensions educators feel when working conceptually with young children. Read a summary based on the podcast conversation.

"The IB has identified play as the primary driver for inquiry, as it reflects the holistic and authentic way in which children explore, grow and learn. Play offers learners the opportunity to learn through multiple sensory experiences, which other forms of learning might not. Through play, learners draw on their existing knowledge and understanding of concepts to explore, think, test and extend the ideas about the world around them. Focusing on conceptual understanding helps learners to make connections to real life experiences, recognize and classify patterns, make generalizations, predictions and connections across their learning and to transfer and apply understandings."

Sue:
Can you describe what concept based learning looks like in your context? What are some of the ways children express their conceptual understanding and what would I see and hear if I walked into one of your classrooms? Anne, I'd like to offer that to you first.
Anne:

Sure. We write conceptually based units. When we look at these documents, we also document sort of emerging lines of inquiry and emerging concepts. So although we have identified concepts before we start, we also acknowledge that through that inquiry, new things may arise. One of the big things for us, is that we document children's learning during play and that we really see play as inquiry and as a way making sense of their world. Through those interactions with materials, with each other, with spaces, we identify emerging concepts.

Form and function come into play very often. So when we meet, we bring our documentation and we discuss this. We look at our photos, our videos and our anecdotal notes and we talk about the children's learning. And we really aim to link the children's investigations to certain concepts. For example, we've got this group of children who are really interested in how things flow, outside with water and inside with sand, and we're thinking about how does it work? There's also something sensory about this exploration, but also about causation as the children are also thinking about ways that they can manipulate the flow of the water. Then we use a concept map to map out these concepts with an online tool called Miro, where we make connections visible between certain concepts. It really helps us with having this overview and having a look at how things are connected and how things evolve.

Kathryn:

I agree with everything Anne said. If we start from a point of belief that children are conceptual thinkers and that they're testing concepts and wondering about concepts all the time, then our job is a little bit different than being a traditional teacher. It's being a conceptual guide. As teachers, we love to tell kids things and instead, if we can stop telling and start asking, we're on our way to being conceptually based. Not just looking for how are children conveying what they know, but how are they trying to make sense of the world.

Anne:

Yes, it is important that we build over time the children's understanding of what concepts are. I think it connects with that question, 'what would I see and hear if I walked into one of your classrooms?' We might say things like, "you're thinking about responsibility", or "you're thinking about roles" or, "you are creating a system." And I think it's in that language that we've noticed that children start using that language as well.

Kathryn:

And can I add to that Anne? I often think it is naming, noticing and exploring. Those three things can happen in any order, but if we are truly the conceptual guide, then we can be talking about the concepts we're thinking of and that modeling does help children internalize it. They're able to more concretely talk about the concepts and they realize that they're conceptual thinkers.

Anne:

I often find that there is that sort of ethical feel for documentation where we have to check in with children. Like this is what I think about your thinking, but what you think about your thinking?

"When we start seeing the child as competent, perhaps we will have less of a tendency to tell and more of a tendency to start listening."

Sue:
What are some of the tensions an educator can feel during concept based inquiry? What is the role of the educator?
Kathryn:

Documentation, observation and being a conceptually driven inquiry-based teacher requires that educators are vulnerable, and it requires that they are a co-learner with their students, which is different from the way that we learned as kids. It also requires that we suspend judgment. So my advice to teachers is when they're feeling the tension, I know exactly what this needs, to go stop yourself. It's a journey that requires that you are completely open-minded.

Anne:

When we move towards a more child centered curriculum, that's actually a really complex process and it requires complex cognitive processes. I think it really starts with really seeing and believing the child to be a competent person. So that means that we really have to go back to our own image of the child, our own construct of who children are, what their rights are, what their responsibilities are. Do we see young children as learners, as thinkers, as constructors of meaning? Do we see them as inquirers through play?

And that's where we get to the documentation. We have to make this visible. It provides the future possibilities for us to either reject a certain idea or build on it or further explore it with the children.

When we start listening and documenting, and having conversations with other educators about their point of view, thinking about the best way to support these theories, these curiosities, these fascinations, then we can start thinking about what kind of situations we set up that help children to either deepen or extend, or even perhaps confront some of their own ideas. When we start looking at the children, and following their thinking, we will stay more connected with them. Then, the inquiry process becomes just so much more powerful.

Anne van Dam has worked as a teacher, coordinator, head of school and vice-principal at international schools in China, Singapore and Switzerland. She joined Eton House International Pre-School in 2007, drawn to the school for its vision to centre learning around young children's competencies in making meaning and establishing relationships. In August 2011, Anne became the Assistant Principal at the International School of Zug and Luzern(ISZL). At ISZL, she supported the development of a new shared vision for learning in the early years, placing a strong emphasis on relationships, play, learning spaces and documenting learning.

Anne moved back to the Netherlands in 2015. This has given her the opportunity to collaborate for two years with the PYP development team at the IB regional office in The Hague. She has been working on the IB PYP review focusing on learner agency, early years, inquiry and several aspects of 'the learning community'. Anne still works for the IB as a workshop leader and collaborates with international schools as an independent educational consultant. Since May 2019, Anne also learns alongside 4,5 and 6 year olds at an inner city, local PYP school in her home town The Hague.

Kate O'Connell is a passionate educator and lifelong learner with 25 years of experience in teaching and leading. She has worked and consulted in 30 schools, in 12 countries on 4 continents. This experience includes teaching various grade levels and leading as a PYP coordinator, Principal, and Head of School. She is currently teaching at The Australian International School Phnom Penh.

She received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Michigan State University. She is currently pursuing a Certificate of School Management and Leadership through Harvard Business School and Harvard Graduate School of Education.

She leads and writes workshops for the International Baccalaureate, Compass Education, and online she has coached courses through Harvard Graduate School of Education's WIDE World.

She is unapologetically passionate about children and education.

Sue Tee is a PYP curriculum manager with responsibility for early years and the arts, based in the IB global office here in The Hague. Originally from the UK, she has worked in a number of international schools in Hong Kong and The Netherlands as both a class teacher and administrator. Whilst she has worked across the primary age range, her heart belongs with the early years and it is here she has spent most of her time, learning from and with amazing educators and children.

The early years is designed for PYP students ages 3-6. To learn more about the PYP early years implementation strategies and Programme outcomes, please click here .

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PYP early years series: Concept based learning (ep. 2)

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In the second of a series focused on the PYP support material 'The early years in the PYP', IB voices spoke to Anne van Dam and Kathryn O'Connell, 2 early years educators who have worked in local and global contexts, to explore what concept based learning looks like in action and to discuss some of the tensions educators feel when working conceptually with young children.

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How do you know they are developing a conceptual understading?

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How do you know they are developing a conceptual understading?

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Researchers in cognitive science have theorized that there are several types of knowledge. Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl, who made revisions to Bloom's Taxonomy (an ordering of cognitive skills), identified four types of knowledge:

(1) factual knowledge

(2) conceptual knowledge

(3) procedural knowledge

(4) metacognitive knowledge

These four types of knowledge refer to the kind of knowledge to be learned. Basically, knowledge that learners acquire or construct. This is different from the original Bloom's Taxonomy that addresses the cognitive process (the process used in acquiring knowledge).

Four Types of Knowledge Defined

Factual Knowledge is the basic elements a learner must know to be acquainted with a subject or solve problems. It refers to terminology, symbols, vocabulary, events, people, dates, and general sources of information.

Conceptual Knowledge is the interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together. It refers to classifications, categories, principles, theories, models, or structures that are specific to a subject.

Procedural Knowledge is a set of directions on how to do something or solve a problem. It refers to performing skills, methods of inquiry, as well as criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods.

Metacognitive Knowledge is the process or strategy of learning and thinking, including awareness and knowledge of one's own cognition. It refers to the awareness of how one learns and the ability to control, monitor, and regulate one's own cognitive process.

These four knowledge types can be grouped and arranged to form levels of knowledge. Factual and procedural knowledge constitute low level knowledge whereas conceptual and metacognitive constitute higher level knowledge.

These levels can also be arranged from concrete to abstract starting with factual and working towards the abstract of metacognitive. Additionally, the first two types (factual and conceptual) constitute knowledge of "what," while the last two types (procedural and metacognitive) constitute knowledge of "how to."

About the Levels of Knowledge

Factual knowledge consists of the basic elements learners must know in order to be familiar with a subject or solve problems. This is the information that is learned through exposure, repetition, and commitment to memory. It includes knowledge of terminology and specific facts.

Conceptual knowledge consists of the interrelations among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable them to function together. It begins by collecting facts and ideas and grouping them into clusters that represent connectivity.

This second level of knowledge is formed by discovering facts across different areas and uncovering patterns, similarities or differences between them in order to form an understandings of the corresponding relationships among them. This type of knowledge is acquired through purposeful and reflective learning. Through reflection, people make connections and categorize information based on established patterns and principles.

Procedural knowledge is information that is needed to accomplish certain tasks, perform actions, and participate in certain activities. It is typically stored across a time continuum and typically describes the specific skills or algorithms that need to be computed to execute a task. It includes subject-specific skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods, as well as criteria for deciding when to use the right procedures.

Metacognitive Knowledge

Metacognitive knowledge refers to what individuals know about themselves as cognitive processors. It is a person's awareness and understanding about what and how various factors act and interact to affect their own learning and thinking. It includes knowing their strengths, weaknesses, and identifying gaps in their knowledge.

Metacognitive knowledge also includes a person's ability to use previously learned knowledge to plan a strategy, be self-reflective, or understand the world around them.

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Types of knowledge, factual, conceptual, procedural, metacognitive, levels of knowledge, dimensions, Bloom's Taxonomy

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1. Connect: How do we go from global issue to central idea?

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Developing a transdisciplinary programme of inquiry (pgs 5, 13, 29)

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Developing a transdisciplinary programme of inquiry (pgs 5, 13, 29)

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PYP Learning Engagement_ Concepts-in-Use Strategy (Grade 3)

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PYP Learning Engagement_ Internalization Strategy (Grade 4)

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This is the planner I prefer.

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Learning engagement: Bringing learning back

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Learning engagement: Bringing learning back

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Learning and Teaching for Conceptual Understanding Toronto 2025

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🎉 The double-sided Bubble Talk cards were an absolute hit—such a fun and fantastic icebreaker! I can already see myself using them throughout the school year, especially during math lessons to boost social-emotional learning. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing resource! 🙌✨

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Planning for conceptual understanding deepens students' understanding and relationship with the outside world, allows them to make connections, draws their interest and understanding of why what they're learning is important.

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Learning and Teaching for Conceptual Understanding Toronto 2025 (1)

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This explanation works better for me.

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this can be an evidence of learning + documentation + assessment

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Students reflect on specified concepts throughout the unit of inquiry. Hind

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Resource for assessing conceptual understanding 

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Resource for assessing conceptual understanding 

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Great examples on this site.

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10 Easy Strategies for Assessing Conceptual Understanding in the IB PYP.

Helping students build conceptual understanding is at the core of how we approach knowledge in the IB PYP. But how do we ensure they're truly grasping big ideas rather than just recalling facts? I've put together 10 simple, effective ways to check for conceptual understanding at different grade levels ( supporting differentiation and diverse learning styles)-whilst encouraging student agency. Plus, you'll find links to several resources that I designed for my class to support their self-assessment and reflective thinking practice.

Look for the and to support deeper thinking across all transdisciplinary IB PYP This or That Exit Slips Reflection Task Cards for Concepts themes. They were such a hit for students and teachers!

For Your Lower Grades Learners

1. Provide a variety of real-world objects and have students sort them into categories based on concepts like change, form, or function. Concept Sorting with Real Objects This is an example of internalisation & classification in action.
For example, sort objects by "natural" vs. "man-made" when exploring How the World Works theme. Ask them to explain their choices using guiding questions that connect with the concepts you are focusing on. For example: Form: What do the natural materials feel like? What do the man-made materials feel like? Connection: How might all of the materials connect?

2. Before reading a book, do a picture walk and ask, "What do you think this book is about?" After reading, revisit the images and connect them to one specified concept or, as the example below for our study with the Picture Walk Concept Connections
Gingerbread Man shows, all of the concepts.

I like to create a community chart, sharing the children's thinking so that we have a record of our on-going thoughts and can refer back to is as the inquiry progresses, reinforcing the changes in their understanding as knowledge is transferred. For example, while exploring 'relationships' in Who We Are, ask, "How do the characters' relationships change?"

Students' feedback brings value to planning.

For Lower Grades

1. quick reflections on conceptual understanding. You can simply give two statements related to a concept and have students choose which aligns with their thinking, then justify their choice. Create simple This or That Concept Exit Slips - these offer structure with an open-ended feel, supporting those lower grades students where necessary.
This or That Exit Slips provide For example, "Rules help us OR Rules limit us" in How We Organize Ourselves. In words or pictures, the children can they show their perspective OR create a simple tally of community results and use that data as a community reflection.

2. Concept maps are a great way for students to show their understanding through representation. Have students create a quick concept map with a partner, connecting their unit of inquiry's concepts to personal experiences, books, or classroom activities. Then, discuss to share their understanding and how it has evolved over time. Concept Mapping with Partner Talk
The concept map above comes from the very talented Dilek & Alona's PYP kindergarten in Ankara, @reggio.inspired.pyp The obvious concept is expertise, explored through the concepts within Who We Are.
5.Math Talk: Concepts Reflection Cards: Concepts-in use is applied when these task cards with specific guiding questions link to the maths concepts we learned about. This supports transfer of knowledge and understanding. The children worked collaboratively in small guided maths groups to share their thoughts to guiding questions that connect the math s with the specified concepts, giving a picture of their conceptual understanding & how it all connects. This strategy could also connect with the Concept Reflection Journals, as listed in strategy 6.

Reflection Task Cards for Conceptual Thinking

1. Use to encourage deeper thinking about the concepts within your unit of inquiry. These cards provide prompts for students to consider connections between their learning and real-world applications. Reflection Task Cards for Concepts For example, when studying causation in How the World Works, ask, "What would happen if gravity didn't exist?"
I created a set for each of the IB PYP transdisciplinary themes, covering many additional concepts within each theme. These were such a powerful tool to implement into our on-going practice of self-assessment and reflection. Take a closer look at each set for each theme here.

2. Have students keep a concept journal where they reflect on key ideas throughout a unit or even within a specific subject. They can use drawings, diagrams, and written reflections to explain their understanding and how it's evolving. Sketch notes and doodles are a great way to make this strategy more diverse and engaging for your reluctant writers. You can use task cards with guiding questions to differentiate and support those learners who need more guidance with reflection. Take a look at the Concept Journals
maths concept task cards that I created to do exactly that with my students. We connected the specified concepts with our maths concepts and then used these cards to reflect on our conceptual understanding, recording reflections in our journals or notebooks.

3. Post images, quotes, or artifacts around the room that relate to your inquiry. Have students walk around, jot down connections, and discuss in small groups how each item relates to your focus concepts - specified or additional. For example, in Gallery Walk with Conceptual Thinking
Where We Are in Place and Time, our focus throughout was on place & time. I wanted to check students' understanding with these concepts before progressing with our next line of inquiry. I created a set of concept discussion mats to spark collaborative discussions a s a community reflection. This allowed both myself and the students to evaluate current understanding before planning our next steps. These were such a success! I have since created a set for every theme. You can take a look at those tools, right here.

4. Challenge students to create real-life scenarios that illustrate your concepts. If exploring responsibility, they could write or act out a short skit showing responsible vs. irresponsible environmental choices. The photo below demonstrates how my grade 3s shared their understanding of the concepts of earths structure; namely the rock cycle, using a "living diagram". Mime Living Diagrams: Student-Created Scenarios
The children had to plan together how best to mime their understanding. Mime removes the crutch of language, requiring students to express their understanding through movement, which deepens their grasp of concepts beyond words. By embodying ideas through gesture and expression, students demonstrate their conceptual understanding in a rigorous, creative, and thought-provoking way.

5. Ask students to create analogies for concepts. Concept Analogies
For example, "Function is like a toolbox because..." or "Change is like a river because..." This encourages them to think beyond surface-level definitions. The photo below shares the key words that my grade 4 felt was the focus of our inquiry before they knew that the central idea was: Arts influence our emotions and behaviour.😉

10. Peer Teaching with Conceptual Questions
Have students design 3-5 questions that assess conceptual understanding and ask a classmate to answer them. This encourages meta-thinking and clarity in their understanding of a concept.

By using these simple strategies, you'll encourage student-led inquiry while ensuring meaningful engagement with big ideas. Try incorporating my and IB PYP This or That Exit Slips Reflection Task Cards for Concepts into your practice for even more structured yet student-centered reflection.

And if you'd like the tools to apply these kind of ideas every month, in addition to instructional coaching with fresh ideas and strategies and, oh yeah, $10 back to spend on anything you choose, join our monthly Essentials for Inquiry members' hub! Unbelievable value!

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10 Easy Strategies for Assessing Conceptual Understanding

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Helping students build conceptual understanding is at the core of how we approach knowledge in the IB PYP. But how do we ensure they're truly grasping big ideas rather than just recalling facts? I've put together 10 simple, effective ways to check for conceptual understanding. Read on for ideas.

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This can be an Evidence of learning, a map, a documentation and many more

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Create real-life scenarios/tableau to represent concepts

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Create real-life scenarios/tableau to represent concepts

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Assessment of Conceptual Understanding - Google Docs

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We use these all the time in JK for our math talk but you can use it for any topic. We have them posted above our whiteboard so that we can always go back and reflect on these.

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Kindergarten Learning Plan_ “All About Me and My Favorites”

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PYP Learning Engagement_ “Our Classroom Community”

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PYP Learning Engagement_ “I Can Do It Myself