Boost Students’ Conceptual Thinking

3 Ways to Boost Students’ Conceptual Thinking

Coaching students to think in terms of concepts helps them understand how to apply their learning in the future.

By Carla Marschall September 10, 2019
https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-ways-boost-students-conceptual-thinking

Questions to Consider During Lesson Planning

To help students go from surface to deep learning, we can ask ourselves three questions:

  1. From the facts or skills being taught, which concepts are at the heart of the learning? For instance, a unit on the human body may be driven by the concepts of system, interdependence, and health.
  2. Which connections between concepts would we like students to make as a result of the learning? For example, in mathematics, we may ask students to connect the concepts of multiplication and division. In science, we may wish to see how they draw links between photosynthesis and energy transformation.
  3. What opportunities for application and transfer can we design to help students take their learning further? For instance, we may ask students who have learned about principles of art and design to create posters for a social or environmental cause of their choice.

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