Importance of Concept-Based Learning for in study curriculum

Abhishek Gupta, Founder & CEO, High School Moms

"Concept-based learning, which compels students to only move on from a concept after demonstrating that they have acquired the pertinent knowledge and abilities, is something that High School Moms strongly encourages more schools to implement. When done properly, it guarantees that every pupil exits the classroom ready for either the workforce or postsecondary study," says Abhishek Gupta, Founder & CEO, High School Moms.

"Our objective in school should always be to work towards performance enhancement and mastery. That is, in many ways, how the real world operates," he adds further.

In contrast to the schools of today, where time is held constant, and each student's learning is different, concept-based learning framework places a strong emphasis on ensuring that all students master the necessary standards and competencies.

He thinks that in our existing seat-time approach, students move on to the next concept after focusing on it for a certain amount of days, weeks, or months. Regardless of the student's performance, effort, or level of understanding of the subject, teachers instruct, occasionally give a test, and then advance the class to the next section or body of information. The educational system of today sends the message to students that perseverance is pointless since you will eventually move on.

According to Abhishek Gupta, this dynamic is altered by concept-based learning, where students are required to persevere and accept failure as a necessary step toward knowledge. It shouldn't be the goal of education to simulate life in the actual world. It ought to focus on preparing students for success in such an environment. It makes little sense to put students into a system that judges them at arbitrary times and then sorts them with little chance to adjust their classification. Contrast that with a system where all kids learn the abilities necessary to land jobs after they graduate.

The key is that, as long as the evaluation is rigorous and doesn't consist of mindless multiple-choice questions perfect for gaming, allowing students to improve their performance and retake work is a benefit in this system, not cheating. The objective is to work toward performance enhancement and mastery. That's how the real world operates in many ways.

"However, we shouldn't pretend that mastery-based learning will be easy to implement, but we also shouldn't run from obstacles if overcoming them will help us better prepare students to succeed in a complex world," Abhishek Gupta concludes.