1. Concept-based Instruction
Key Understandings

2. Developing and designing the Key Understanding is the integral part of the lesson.
Everything else revolves around it!

3. In your group, determine a definition for “Key Understanding”.
Relevance?
Inspire Ed. Article
How do we get there?

4. Texas Depth and Complexity Model
Where is the TAKS Test?

6. Three-dimensional Curriculum
To stimulate more complex thinking, we need to create an interactive synergy between the simpler and more complex processing centers of the brain.
The mind must process information on both the factual and conceptual levels.
To memorize information is lower-level cognitive work.
The conceptual mind uses facts as a tool to recognize patterns, connections, and deeper, transferable understandings.
Curriculum materials rarely are designed to systematically set up this intellectual synergy between the factual and conceptual levels of thinking.
Extrapolating deeper understandings from factual knowledge is hard work.
It is a skill that takes practice.
It involves thinking beyond the facts to the “so what?” – the significant and transferrable understandings.
Conceptual understandings should be stated in a manner that is both brief and clear.

7. Conceptual Lens
Integration of Factual and Conceptual

8. Conceptual Lens A specific strategy for creating intellectual synergy.
The vehicle that establishes a synergy between the factual and conceptual processing centers in the brain.
Students think deeply because they must process the facts in terms of their relationship to the ideas (i.e. humanity v. inhumanity)

9. Conceptual Questions:
What examples of inhumanity can you cite from our world today?
What acts of humanity can you site from our present-day world?
How are beliefs, values, and perspectives related to views of humanity and inhumanity?

10. Can one be inhumane and civilized at the same time?
Essential Question:
Can one be inhumane and civilized at the same time?
Students retain factual information longer because the use of the conceptual lens requires them to intellectually process at a deeper level.
Because students bring their own thinking to the factual study, they are better able to make personal meaning.
This involves them emotionally so the motivation for learning increases. (They become personally vested).

11. Sample Conceptual Lenses
Tragedy
Archetypes
System
Change
Power
Function/Structure
Conflict
Paradox
Patterns
Revolution
Reform
Innovation
It is best to start with the topic and then select the lens.

12. Information without intellect is meaningless.

15. Macroconcepts Broadest most abstract concepts.
Often used as a conceptual lens to develop breadth of understanding.
Their big ideas are REALLY big!
Each discipline has their own concepts to reflect its knowledge base.
Some are the same across disciplines
Macro – often called integrating concepts because they can collapse many different examples.
If understand generally what a system is and how it works, can transfer that understanding across different types of systems (economic, social, environmental, etc.)

16. Macroconcepts System Change Freedom Conflict Relationships
Beliefs/Values
Civic ideals
Revolution
Power
Reform

17. Microconcepts Subconcepts
The more specific concepts within a discipline
Used to develop disciplinary depth
Experts in a discipline have the gretest command of the micro concepts and their relationships
Can relate the micro concepts to the broader, organizing concepts of the discipline

18. Microconcepts Colonies Customs Cultural Identity Values Oppression
Trade
Goods/Services
Representative Government
Competition
Isolationism

19. In your group, identify at least 3 topics to match each concept listed.

20. Generalizations (Key Understandings)
Statements of conceptual relationship.
Teachers need to generalize the deeper understandings from what they teach.
Hard work
Curriculum usually does not do this for you

21. To develop the intelligence of our students to sophisticated levels, curriculum and instruction must shift the paradigm from covering objectives to using the factual content as a tool to develop deeper understanding of underlying concepts, principles, and generalizations.

22. Change can lead to conflict if compromise is not made.
Cause/Effect, Change, Conflict/Cooperation, Oppression
American Revolution

23. Texas Depth and Complexity Model
How do we move toward this?

25. Key Understandings Generalizations Relates two or more concepts
Transfer to other situations
Transfer across cultures
Transfer through time

26. 8th Grade Social Studies: The War for Independence
Concept
Key Understanding
Conflict, Perspectives
Conflicting perspectives over economic policies may lead citizens to depose a government once all other means have been exhausted.
Freedom (Political, Economic and Social), System
The desire for political, economic and social freedom may drive people to fight against an oppressive system of government.
Conflict, Beliefs and Values, Revolution
Conflicting beliefs and values may cause a revolution if people do not feel represented in the political decision-making process.

27. In your group, develop another key understanding for each set of concepts.

28. 8th Grade Social Studies: The War for Independence
Concept
Key Understanding
Conflict, Perspectives
Conflicting perspectives over economic policies may lead citizens to depose a government once all other means have been exhausted.
Freedom (Political, Economic and Social), System
The desire for political, economic and social freedom may drive people to fight against an oppressive system of government.
Conflict, Beliefs and Values, Revolution
Conflicting beliefs and values may cause a revolution if people do not feel represented in the political decision-making process.

30. Topics Revolution American War for Independence American Civil War
French Revolution
Industrial Revolution

31. Concepts
What is the connection?

32. Articles of Confederation
US Constitution
Articles of Confederation
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Great Britain
Representative government

33. Generalizations Draft a generalization to connect the two concepts:
Revolution + Representative Government
Revolution and representative government. Could also be Conflict and representative government

34. Topical v. Concept-Based Units and Lessons
Two-dimensional= Topic based
Two-dimensional= knowledge + skills
Three-dimensional= Concept based
Three-dimensional= knowledge + understanding + skills

35. Guiding Questions
Teacher-talk to students to lead students to the key understandings.
The path to guide student thinking toward the big picture.

36. How do you design units and lessons that support three-dimensional, concept-based teaching and learning?

37. Bloom’s Taxonomy Remember the original? List the steps.
Knowledge, Understanding, Analysis, Application, Evaluation, Synthesis

38. The Taxonomy Table Cognitive Process Dimension Knowledge Dimension
1.Remember
2.Understand
3.Apply
4.Analyze
5.Evaluate
6. Create
A. Factual
B. Conceptual
C. Procedural
D. MetaCognitive
Hand out Revised Taxonomy
The verb is used in the cognitive process
The noun is used in the knowledge dimension
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

39. The Knowledge Dimension
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

40. Knowledge

41. The Cognitive Process Dimension
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

42. Cognitive Process

43. Cognitive Process
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

44. Cognitive Process
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

45. Cognitive Process
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

46. Cognitive Process
SOURCE: by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl, Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. All rights reserved.

47. Developing and designing the Key Understanding is the integral part of the lesson.
Everything else revolves around it!

48. Instructional Procedure:
Includes background information, teacher talk, equipment/safety concerns as necessary.
A novice teacher should be able to gather the resources and teach the lesson.
Based on the 5-E model of instruction

49. 5-E Model
Focus – Engagement of learner, connection to prior learning, objective of learning, scaffolding questions (as necessary)
*Explain – Whole group, modeling, definitions, attributes, examples, process steps, rules, scaffolding questions (as necessary)
*Explore – Guided practice, independent practice, collaborative practice, scaffolding questions (as necessary)
Evaluate – Performance indicator, guided questions for key understandings (as necessary)
Closure – Reflection, conclusions, guided questions for key understandings
*Sequence of Explain/Explore may vary according to content and instructional strategies.

50. Danna Beck
Region 16 ESC
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