Are you an educator who's noticed that your students easily memorize information —but struggle when asked to think critically?
What if your students could move beyond surface-level recall? What if they can start engaging more deeply with the content — asking questions, drawing connections, and applying learning across contexts?
Concept-based inquiry might be exactly what you're looking for. Ready to explore how it works, why it supports deeper learning, and how to use it to help students succeed? You'll be a pro in no time!
What is Concept-Based Inquiry?
Concept-based inquiry (CBI) is an approach within inquiry-based learning that focuses on using students' questions to direct learning. Teachers choose one or two big ideas and use these to guide the unit. This encourages exploration and connections.
Lee Beavington outlines six key frameworks for inquiry-based learning:
Learner-centred: Students lead their own learning and assessment. 🧑🏽🎓
Active: Learning is hands-on, not just listening or reading.🚦
Reflective: Students examine and adapt their learning methods.❓
Curiosity-driven: Teachers foster exploration and risk-taking. 🧐
Process-based: Students focus on the learning process as they work toward a final product. ♽
Constructivist: Learning is social and active. Students build knowledge through experience. 🛠
Inquiry-Based Learning vs. Concept-Based Inquiry
Concept-based inquiry combines inquiry-based learning with concept-based learning. While these approaches have some overlaps, their focus is slightly different.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Focus: centres on the process — how students learn through questions, investigation, and discovery.
Process: Active exploration and problem-solving based on student interest.
Goal: developing critical thinking and research skills.
Concept-Based Learning
Focus: centers on the content — what students learn, organized around big ideas and transferable concepts across subjects.
Process: students explore themes and connect concepts across disciplines.
Goal: fostering the ability to apply concepts in new contexts.
Core Elements of Concept-Based Inquiry
Concept-based inquiry (CBI) may sound new, but it reflects many strategies you already use. It’s based on four key principles:
1. Big ideas come first.
Start with broad concepts instead of isolated facts.
Example: Instead of listing different animal habitats, start by exploring the conditions that different animals need for survival.
2. Put the students in the driver’s seat.
Students investigate real-world questions.
Example: Some students research the applications of trigonometry in architecture, while others research how trigonometry is used in video game design, all linked to the big idea of mathematics around us.
3. Deep understanding is better than memorization.
Focus on why and how concepts work, not just facts.
Example: Ask, “What causes change over time?” instead of memorizing dates.
4. The teacher acts as a facilitator.
Teachers guide student inquiry by asking questions and providing resources.
Example:Lead a conversation about what it means to be a responsible citizen, share resources on youth-led social activism, and support students in their decision to write letters to elected officials.
Quiz
Which statement below best reflects CBI's effectiveness in the classroom?
CBI Lesson Planning in 5 Steps
Start with big ideas. Begin with broad concepts (e.g., justice, change) before teaching specific facts. Consider using concept mapping to demonstrate connections between ideas.
Make it real. Connect lessons to current events or real-world examples.
Ask open questions. Use “why” and “how” to spark deeper thinking. Read more about this from the Experiential Learning Depot's blog on writing inquiry-based questions.
Give students choice. Let them explore topics within the concept that interest them.
Reflect and connect. Have students link new learning to other ideas or their own experiences.
5 Step CBI Lesson Plan: An Example
Leveraging CBI in your classroom doesn't mean starting from scratch or overhauling your process. By adding a few intentional shifts, you can effectively center your teaching around curiosity, foster students' creativity, and build students' understanding.
Let's use the example of addressing injustice in a social studies class: the murder of George Floyd.
1. Start with big ideas.
Start with a conceptual lens. Choose a broad, transferable concept like injustice to anchor your unit. Frame it with a guiding statement such as:
“Throughout history and today, people have experienced unfair treatment based on race, class, gender, or identity. What does injustice look like — and what can we do about it?”
2. Make it real.
Provide age-appropriate sources on the George Floyd case (e.g., news clips, protest photos, editorials). Let students develop their own questions and explore topics such as policing, systemic racism, or protest movements.
Give students multiple examples of civil rights movements and injustices (e.g. residential schools, apartheid, Black Lives Matter). Then, ask them to find common causes or patterns.
3. Ask open questions.
Use guided and open-ended questions to spark inquiry and discussion. For example:
Who decides what is fair or unfair?
What systems contribute to injustice?
How have people responded to injustice over time?
4. Give students choice.
Provide choice for students to explore the material more deeply. Have students choose how they'd like to create a visual representation — like a poster, slideshow, or collage —that defines injustice in their own words and shows what they’ve learned.
5. Reflect and connect.
Promote transfer of understanding to other areas. Ask students to think about the concept of injustice and how it applies to other contexts. Students might research current events, local leaders, or international issues with similar themes.
Apply CBI!
Ms. Lee is teaching a unit on injustice using concept-based inquiry.
She begins by showing students images from recent protests and sharing news clips about the death of George Floyd.
She then asks, “What makes something unjust?” and invites students to research other historical and current examples.
As students explore, they begin drawing connections between systemic racism, civil rights movements, and government structures.
Together, the class maps these connections on a concept map.
Quiz
Which of the following activities could Ms. Lee propose next, aligned with the CBI approach? Select all that apply:
Take Action
With concept-based inquiry in your toolkit, you’re set to challenge your students, spark their critical thinking, and prepare them to tackle real-world problems.
You’ll move beyond textbooks and whiteboards, empowering students to engage with meaningful challenges that matter.
With your thoughtful guidance and insight, who knows — the next great thinker or innovator could emerge right from your classroom!
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