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As the learners build the concept of cause and effect, it is sent to permanent memory forever and learners will be able to apply it to any other context they encounter and predict what the outcomes of those unknown contexts may be.
There are no ‘correct’ solutions when choosing between the two different approaches and the choice that is made is up to the relevant decision makers, whether they are at an educator, school, regional, or department or Ministry (government) level. The concept frameworks for the seven learning domains or subjects, that cover the first 9–10 years of learning in school can be accessed from http://www.MarkTreadwell.com.
We offer three reasons why learning using a conceptual approach is far more efficient than topics:
• By presenting concepts as the driver for learning and keeping rote-learned knowledge to a minimum, we are optimising the efficiency of our brain’s ability to learn.
• After the learners have completed investigating an initial context together, each group of learners takes on an additional context and each team does their own research on that selected context. Which contexts they choose is almost immaterial (explained later). Learners have about 3–4 hours to create a lesson that they will then ‘teach’ to their peers. In this way, each group become local experts in their specific context, whether that is dinosaurs, weather or new materials or any other context.
• Each group develops an understanding of their concept. It may take up to a week for the groups of learners to present their new understanding as there will be other learning to be done during the week as well as the micro lessons. Each of the other groups of learners take on the role of being educators for the rest of the class. The ‘celebration time’ is when the educator or one of the learning groups, tests the class by seeing who can make the more accurate predictions for a context that the class has not experienced before.
The best way to consolidate learning is to educate someone else. By taking on the role of educator, the learners must perform and present their ‘micro-lesson’ to their peers. Taking on the role of the educator is something most learners enjoy, especially if they have a history of doing this since they were young. Educators need to model the micro-lesson before expecting the learners to take on this task. Educators gradually introduce the learners to the process. Educators can do this by having the learners initially taking minor roles, and as they develop confidence, they can take on the entire process depending on the age of the learners.
Micro lessons compact the learning process via focussing on what learning needs to be understood with the knowledge introduced Just-in-Time. Only the knowledge that is required to understand the concept in each context is introduced and subsequently applied to build the learners conceptual understanding. The shift from a thematic approach to a conceptual one ensures learners build conceptual frameworks, which subsequently allows them to predict how that concept will play out in contexts that they may have never experienced previously.
At Monument Mountain Regional High School in Massachusetts, educators responded when students came forward with an idea for an entirely student-led approach to school. In one independent-study-type course, students set their own learning goals, work collaboratively and seek help from mentors when it’s needed. They study math, science, social science and literature topics that interest them through a driving question each week, presenting their findings to a group. Their teachers were impressed with the rigor of their work and the motivation students displayed when they drove the agenda.113 KatrinaSchwartz
113 Schwartz, K. (2015, Jan 15). Unexpected Tools that are Influencing the Future of Education. Mindshift: How we learn. Retrieved from http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/01/22/unexpected-tools-that-are-influencing-the-future-of-education/