Concept-Based Instruction
Posted on 25 June 2009
I just finished Stirring the Head, Heart, and Soul: Redefining Curriculum, Instruction and Concept-Based Learning (2008) by H. Lynn Erickson. I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in concept-based instruction.
Erickson’s main idea is that we as educators need to engage students in deep thought in the classroom and not just cover material. While this is a common statement amongst educational theorists, Erickson outlines a clear (an achievable!) system to meet these goals.
Concept-based curriculums are ones in which the lesson/unit/course is focused around a “mental construct that is timeless, universal, and abstract” (30). Instruction based around a concept allows students to engage with a larger, relevant idea instead of only examining individual facts. To explain the goals of this system, Erickson writes:
In a concept-based paradigm, depth of instruction means using the fact base as a tool to teach a deeper understanding of the key concepts and principles of a discipline…. Content serves not as an end product, but as a tool to lead students to deeper thought” (12).
This is so exciting for me as it provides a framework to develop a curriculum that addresses the age-old student question of “why is this important?” We as teachers should not only be able to answer this question, but we should develop our lessons with this in mind. If students are asking “why bother?” we have missed a crucial component of our lessons! Developing lessons around a larger concept highlights the applicability of the material outside of the individual lesson.
The book addresses key issues such as developing a concept-based curriculum and units, aligning them with state and local standards, assessing student learning and instruction in the classroom. There are also a variety of templates and examples.
Finally, the book is especially great for social studies educators as many of the sample lessons, questions and units are from our curriculum. I working within this framework as I develop next year’s lessons and I will continue to post as my understanding of this system develops.
No responses yet. You could be the first!