What Is A Concept-Based Curriculum?

A while ago I wrote about how to develop a concept-based curriculum (you can read that here) and I now just want to take a step back to thinking about what one is and why you might want it.

What is a concept?

A concept is an idea or a theme. These ideas or themes might be found throughout a subject, or even across different subjects.

Take the concept of 'survival' for example: we talk about survival in geography when we are thinking about why a place exists where it is; we also think about survival in history when we look at prominent explorers. We might also talk about survival in other history units when learning about the Indus Valley, the Roman Empire, the Viking invasion of Britain, and so on.

In the previous blog post I shared the following list as an example of concepts that might be found across the primary curriculum:

Activism Adversity Belief Belonging Change Citizenship Civilisation Community

Compassion Conflict Democracy Discrimination Duty Empire Environment Equality

Excellence Freedom Identity Innovation Integration Invasion Justice Legacy

Migration Occupation Power Prejudice Resilience Responsibility Rights Settlement Survival Travel

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What is a concept-based curriculum?

Now we're clear on what a concept is, let's take the next step and think about concept-based curricula.

A concept-based curriculum is one that is designed to teach specific, chosen concepts over a period of time and in different contexts. A concept-based curriculum will teach content in such a way that those concepts are revisited time and time again, but in different contexts, including in different units and in different subjects.

A concept-based curriculum would not feature concepts that are only covered once. The purpose of the concepts is to highlight the interconnectedness of different content and, more importantly, to ensure that pupils have a very good grasp of the concepts themselves to the point where they can give several examples of representations of that concept.

Take 'conflict' as an example. If you wanted pupils to understand this concept then, over the course of a few years, you would teach units of work which exemplified that concept: conflict as depicted by artists (Guernica by Pablo Picasso springs easily to mind), empire-building as a result of conflict, how religion and conflict have a shared history, how conflict is depcited in classic texts, and so on.

Why might you want a concept-based curriculum?

• It fits with what we know about how we learn - simply put, we learn new things by adding the new knowledge to things we've learned before. If we have begun to learn about the idea of 'equality' in a PSHCE lesson, and then we come across examples of it in an RE lesson, a history lesson and an English lesson, then there is somewhere to anchor each piece of new knowledge.

• It helps teachers and pupils to refer back to previous knowledge - previous knowledge sometimes gets lost in our brains but the more we recall it, the better we remember it. If a curriculum is developed to be concept-based, there are more deliberate opportunities for pupils to recall and remember what they have learned previously.

• It contributes towards a coherent curriculum - the nature of primary teaching is that teachers can be very familiar with what they teach in their year group, but can be less au fait with what comes before or after. A concept-based curriculum makes it clear in its documentation that the current learning is not only based on what has gone before, but is also the foundation for something that will come later. Concepts are a great way to simply signify to teachers where those links are.

• Concepts provide a focus for choosing curriculum content - in the previous blog post I shared the formula 'content = concepts in context'. Choosing what to teach out of all the possible content can be mind-blowing but, if you have chosen your concepts you have something which acts as a guide as to what you should be teaching. Choosing concepts and then selecting content means that you have a tight, purposeful curriculum in which all content is helping teachers and pupils work towards a common goal: that pupils have a strong understanding of the chosen concepts.

Making impactful change in your school can be overwhelming. I know - I've been there myself and have guided many other school leaders through the process. I can help you to build the enriching experience you want for your pupils.

Your 3-step enrichment plan:

1. Drop me an email

2. Have a phone call with me to talk about your school

3. We'll work together to empower you and your staff to enhance teaching and to enrich your pupils' lives

Take a weight off your mind today - let me spin a couple of your plates!