From Knowing to Understanding: Designing Concept-Based Teaching & Learning

This signature workshop is designed to deepen educators’ understanding of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (CBCI) as a powerful approach to fostering transfer, rigor, and intellectual engagement. Grounded in the work of Dr. Lynn Erickson and Dr. Lois Lanning, the workshop contrasts traditional coverage models with a three-dimensional approach that integrates knowledge, skills, and conceptual understanding.

Across two days, participants will engage in highly interactive sessions, analyse authentic classroom footage, and explore how students think, question, and construct meaning in concept-based environments. The experience is designed to challenge assumptions, expand pedagogical thinking, and provide practical strategies that can be immediately applied.

Participants will explore how to design curriculum and instruction that moves beyond “knowing” toward understanding and transfer, while engaging both the hearts and minds of learners.

Structure of the Workshop

This workshop takes place over two days, with four sessions per day, allowing for deep reflection, and exploration of opportunities for implementation.

Day 1

1. Why Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (CBCI)
2. The Architecture of the CBCI Model
3. A Deep Dive into the Structure of Knowledge: Generalisations and Guiding Questions
4. A Deep Dive into the Structure of Process: Generalisations and Guiding Questions

Day 2

1. How Do Content-Based and Process-Based Concepts Interact?
2. Aligning Conceptual Understandings, Experiences, and Questions
3. Design of Relevant and Meaningful Concept-Based Learning and Assessment Experiences
4. Planning a unit of Inquiry

Five Key Impacts of This Workshop

Participants will:

• Develop a clear understanding of the CBCI model and how it differs from traditional curriculum design.
• Strengthen their ability to teach for conceptual understanding and transfer, not just content coverage.
• Gain confidence in designing rigorous, engaging learning experiences that promote deep thinking.
• Learn how to structure knowledge and process to intentionally develop students’ intellect.
• Build a shared professional language that supports coherence across teams and programmes.

Facilitator Biography

J. Rafael Ángel is an experienced international educator, pedagogical leader, and workshop facilitator who brings a unique and credible perspective to professional learning. What distinguishes Rafael is not only his deep understanding of concept-based curriculum design, but the fact that he actively teaches while leading a school that has embraced the concept-based inquiry model as its pedagogical backbone.

His daily engagement with classrooms, teachers, and learners allows him to ground theory in authentic, lived practice. Rafael’s facilitation style is relatable, reflective, and responsive, creating learning experiences that are both intellectually challenging and immediately relevant. Participants value his ability to bridge research and reality, offering insights that are practical, contextual, and applicable.

Key Takeaways

By the end of this workshop, participants will:

• Design clear and powerful conceptual understandings (generalisations) that drive learning.
• Develop guiding questions that move inquiry from factual to conceptual levels.
• Create concept-based units of instruction aligned with knowledge, skills, and concepts.
• Apply strategies to achieve synergy between lower-order and higher-order thinking.
• Assess learning in ways that capture deep understanding and transfer, not just performance.