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Transitioning to Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction
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Transitioning to Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction
How to Bring Content and Process Together

Foreword by Malcolm Nicolson



December 2013 | 224 pages | Corwin

A cutting-edge model for 21st century curriculum and instruction

How can you spot a thinking child? Look at the eyes: they’ll light up, signaling that transformative moment when your student has finally grasped that big idea behind critical academic content. If experiences like this are all too rare in your school, then you need a curriculum and instruction model that’s more inquiry-driven and idea-centered. Now.

H. Lynn Erickson and Lois Lanning demonstrate how, through concept-based curriculum, you can move beyond superficial coverage and lower-level skills practice to effect intellectually engaging pedagogy, where students engage in problem finding and problem solving. New insights include:

  • How to design and implement concept-based curriculum and instruction across all subjects and grade levels.
  • Why content and process are two different (but equally important) aspects of any effective concept-based curriculum.
  • How to ensure students develop the all-important skill of synergistic thinking.

We’re all looking for the best curriculum and instruction model to meet the changing demands of the 21st century. This is it.

"With the onset of the Common Core and new national content standards, concept-based learning is now more crucial than ever. Erickson and Lanning are 'ahead of the curve' in providing teachers and curriculum leaders with rich instructional strategies to meet these challenging standards. This is an essential book for planning tomorrow’s curricula today."
Douglas Llewellyn, Educational Consultant and Author of Inquire Within, Third Edition

"Powerful teaching engages minds with powerful ideas. At its core, such transformative teaching is neither transmission of information nor practice with inert skills. Rather it is a careful choreography between a mind and an idea such that the mind comes to own the idea in a form that is true to the discipline and expansive for the learner. Erickson and Lanning teach teachers to be choreographers of learning—understanding both what makes content worth knowing and how to engage young minds with that content in ways that extend their capacities to understand it at a deeper level, use it, transfer it, and ultimately create with it."
Carol Ann Tomlinson, Ed.D., Chair of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy
Curry School of Education, University of Virginia


 
List of Figures and Tables
 
Foreword by Malcolm Nicolson
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Introduction
Purpose of the Book

 
Audiences

 
Chapter Overview

 
 
Chapter 1. Curriculum Design: From an Objectives-Based to a Concept-Based Model
A Short Retrospective, From the Authors, on Educational Swings

 
The Value of Know, Understand, and Able to Do in Concept-Based Models

 
Problems With Traditional Content Objectives

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 2. Two-Dimensional Versus Three-Dimensional Curriculum Models
Contrasting the Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Models

 
Introducing the Structures of Knowledge and Process

 
The Interplay of Process and Knowledge

 
Contrasting Instructional Descriptions

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 3. The Structure of Knowledge
Understanding the Relationships in the Structure of Knowledge

 
How the Structure of Knowledge Guides Curriculum Design

 
Designing Disciplinary Curriculum Frameworks at the National, State, or Local Levels

 
Mathematics as a Concept-Driven Discipline

 
Examples of Concepts and Subject-Specific Generalizations

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 4. The Structure of Process
The Structure of Process

 
How the Structure of Process Guides Curriculum and Instruction

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 5. The Developing Concept-Based Teacher
Bridging the Gaps Between Knowing, Doing, and Understanding

 
Collaborative Concept-Based Lesson Planning

 
Common Terminology Used to Describe Quality Instruction

 
The Developing Concept-Based Teacher

 
Do The Developing Concept-Based Teacher Rubrics Have a Place in Teacher Evaluation Plans?

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 6. The Developing Concept-Based Student
What About Thinking?

 
The Relationship Between Critical Thinking and Concept-Based Teaching and Learning

 
Developing Critical Thinking

 
The Developing Concept-Based Student

 
Why These Categories?

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 7. What Do Teachers Need to Understand About Concept-Based Pedagogy?
The What and Why of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction

 
The How of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction

 
Four Critical Aspects of Concept-Based Pedagogy

 
Quality Pedagogy

 
Concept-Based Classrooms

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 8. What Do Principals and Instructional Coaches Need to Understand? Implementing and Sustaining Concept-Based Curricular and Instructional Models in Schools
Setting the Stage for Curriculum Implementation

 
Staff Development

 
Staff Support With Accountability: Building System-Wide Synergy

 
The Collection and Analysis of the "Right" Data

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 9. What Do District Leaders Need to Understand About Concept-Based Curriculum Designs?
District Leaders Discuss Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction

 
Discussion Questions

 
Summary

 
 
Chapter 10. Summary and the Road Ahead
Curriculum and Instruction: The Warp

 
Concept-Based Learning: The Weft

 
The Path Forward

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Resources
Resource A. Concept-Based Mathematics Unit

 
Resource B. Concept-Based Science Unit

 
Resource C. Concept-Based Art Unit

 
Resource D. Concept-Based World Language Unit

 
Resource E. Concept-Based Music Unit

 
Resource F. Adapted Learning Activities for Chapter 7

 
 
References
 
Index

"With the onset of the Common Core and new national content standards, concept-based learning is now more crucial than ever. Erickson and Lanning are “ahead of the curve” in providing teachers and curriculum leaders with rich instructional strategies to meet these challenging standards. This is an essential book for planning tomorrow’s curricula today."

Douglas Llewellyn, Educational Consultant and Author of Inquire Within, Third Edition

"Powerful teaching engages minds with powerful ideas. At its core, such transformative teaching is neither transmission of information nor practice with inert skills. Rather it is a careful choreography between a mind and an idea such that the mind comes to own the idea in a form that is true to the discipline and expansive for the learner. Erickson and Lanning teach teachers to be choreographers of learning—understanding both what makes content worth knowing and how to engage young minds with that content in ways that extend their capacities to understand it at a deep level, use it, transfer it, and ultimately create with it."

Carol Ann Tomlinson, Ed.D., Chair of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy
Curry School of Education, University of Virginia

"As educators we all think we understand concept-based curriculum, but those who read this text will have a comprehensive understanding of the meaning and value of concept-based curriculum. This text clearly explains concept-based teaching for the educator to use and develop a change in their teaching to effectively reach and engage students in critical thinking that will enable them to be productive citizens and lifelong learners."

Mrs. Karen Creech, Loudoun County Teacher
Catoctin Elementary School, Leesburg, VA

"High school department heads take notice! You will want to read this book with your curriculum supervisor and with your teachers before you re-design your courses to align with the aspirations of the CCSS and NGSS. The curriculum model and specific examples in this book provide you with a clear guide for designing complex, intellectually stimulating curriculum while integrating the new standards."

Dr. Carol Spencer, Director of Curriculum, K - 12
Addison Northwest Supervisory Union, Vergennes, Vermont

"Providing today’s students with the skills to become critical, analytical, and life-long learners is an obligation each teacher must make. The authors present a clear path to transition from fact-based learning curriculum to concept-based curriculum. They have provided us with a clear, researched-based approach to help us advocate at our school and district level to make this critical change in curriculum."

Betty Rivinus, Learning Specialist / Autism Consultant
Canby School District, Canby, OR
Key features
  • Discusses the contributions and problems inherent in the traditional design model of content and skill objectives
  • Brings together Lynn Erickson’s Structure of Knowledge with Lois Lanning’s Structure of Process to give educators the full explanation of the foundations of concept-based curriculum related to both content and process
  • Provides subject-specific, annotated examples of how the structure of knowledge and structure of process can guide curriculum design in social studies, science, mathematics, language arts, world language, visual arts, and music
  • Describes the characteristics of developing concept-based teachers and students and provides a rubric of novice, emerging, and exemplary characteristics to help teachers and administrators monitor their progress
  • Explores the pedagogical shifts required to move from the traditional two-dimensional, coverage model of instruction to the more sophisticated three-dimensional concept-based model
  • Provides tools and strategies to ensure a coordinated alignment among the written curriculum, student performance data, and the ongoing support of teachers as they develop their skills to meet student needs
  • Explains how district leaders can ensure that a strong curriculum infrastructure is in place to build staff capacity

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