Future-proof your young learners with concept-based inquiry, an innovative new methodology in English language learning that combines concept-based and inquiry-based learning to educate tomorrow’s changemakers.
It was an unremarkable, cold and wintery afternoon when suddenly a little voice said:
“I’m the boss of you!”
My five-year-old niece’s words sent an icy shiver down my spine as I realized that — one day — this adorable ‘pocket rocket’ might indeed be the boss of me. I quickly erased the unwelcome image of myself as a very, very old person …
“Maybe,” I replied bravely. “But not today!”
“Maybe when I’m six?”
“Hmm. Maybe …”
This brief exchange started me thinking: a five-year-old’s day-to-day life is very different from mine. When you’re five, the whole, wonderful, wide world revolves around you. You can have anything you want. Indeed, you may think it’s your right to have anything you want. And have it NOW. Not later. You don’t have to share your toys, your ice cream, or an adult’s attention with anyone because, for the moment, it’s all about you.
Fortunately, the majority of us don’t think or behave this way for very long. We grow into reasonable, collaborative, thoughtful people. We learn to share our possessions, skills, and ideas. We care about our environment. And as educators, we want our young learners to have the best possible chance of quickly becoming pro-social, pro-planet people, too. The question is, how do we achieve this?
Introducing concept-based inquiry
Concept-based Inquiry is an innovative new approach in English language learning that integrates inquiry-based learning and concept-based learning.
As a pedagogy, it uses questioning as a strategy to help students learn. This encourages deeper thinking by asking questions that guide students towards a conceptual understanding—meaning they truly grasp the ideas behind what they are learning, not just surface-level knowledge.
Within this framework, a concept is a ‘big idea’ — a principle or notion which goes beyond the limits of time, place, and situation. Learners graduate from smaller concepts (like ice cream) to bigger concepts (like fairness and cooperation) that are so crucial to a harmonious and happy world. Other examples of concepts include kindness, justice, change, conflict, imagination, resilience, and fun!
Concept-based learning emphasizes understanding broad, transferable concepts rather than memorizing isolated facts. Students explore ideas in ways that they can apply to different situations, subjects, or real-world problems. Concepts help structure and connect new knowledge, making it easier to understand and retain.
Here are three ways concept-based learning helps students develop the building blocks of empathy, understanding, and responsibility.
[1.] Concept-based learning allows for deeper critical thinking
While discovering a big concept like, for example, diversity, children can be encouraged to:
Compare & analyze differences — e.g. human diversity: How are these people’s lives similar to yours? How are they different?
Explore cause & effect relationships — e.g. diversity in nature: What would happen if all the bees disappeared?
Take different perspectives — e.g. diversity of thought: Can different people have different answers to the same question?
Pro-social and pro-planet outcomes:
- Students learn that individuals have different backgrounds, beliefs, and ways of doing things.
- They appreciate differences instead of rejecting them.
- They practise being inclusive, realizing that everyone has unique experiences.
- They understand that every living thing has a purpose.
- They see that protecting one species helps many others.
- They realize that we are part of nature’s system, so our actions matter.
[2.] Concept-based learning promotes emotional intelligence
Let’s imagine you decide to explore the concept of perspective. As part of the investigation, students read, watch, or listen to Goldilocks and the Three Bears — they then consider the different perspectives of the characters in the story, and practise retelling the story from those perspectives.
Did Goldilocks really intend to eat other people’s food and break their chairs?
Should Mummy and Daddy Bear have locked the house instead of leaving the door open?
Maybe Goldilocks had a special reason for going into the bears’ house?
Could Goldilocks have made better choices? What could she have done instead?
Is Baby Bear just making a big fuss about nothing or is he right to feel upset?
How would you feel if someone came into your house or ate your breakfast without asking?
Pro-social outcomes:
- Students develop empathy by understanding how actions affect others.
- They learn about respect for boundaries: recognizing personal and shared space.
- They appreciate fairness and the need to take responsibility for mistakes.
- They connect this concept to real-life social behaviour, e.g. respecting classmates’ belongings, asking permission, or apologizing when mistakes are made.
[3.] Concept-based learning builds environmental awareness
By exploring concepts like order, patterns, sustainability, beauty, adaptation, or resilience, children quickly grasp the importance of protecting the planet we call ‘home’. This in turn encourages them to adopt eco-friendly habits, such as reducing waste, conserving energy, appreciating and protecting the beauty of nature, and reusing materials.
Pro-planet outcomes:
- Students learn that resilience isn’t just about nature adapting and fixing its problems, but that humans can be part of the solution.
- They understand that the beauty of nature has been recognized and valued for centuries.
- They identify actionable ways of sustaining the planet.
- They see themselves as active problem-solvers, not just passive observers of environmental issues.
Concept-based Inquiry beyond the classroom
When children see themselves as part of a larger system, they feel empowered to contribute positively. Whether through taking action on their doorstep or innovative problem-solving, they grow into changemakers who actively work towards a better world.
By focusing on big ideas and interconnected learning, concept-based education nurtures kids who are not only future-ready, but also compassionate, socially responsible, and environmentally conscious.
When you’re five, you’re definitely the most knowledgeable you’ve ever been, but the future’s bright! Just think — next, you’ll be six!
To find out more about Concept-based Inquiry, download our new free paper. You can also try the approach out now with a free trial of Blue Dot! This brand-new primary course uses a Concept-based Inquiry method to educate tomorrow’s changemakers.
“When I was five, I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I’m as clever as clever.
So I think I’ll be six now, forever and ever!”
(A.A. Milne, 1927)
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Kenna Bourke is a full-time author of ELT and children’s literacy books. Kenna is the author of several young learners’ titles published by Oxford University Press, including Oxford Discover and Blue Dot. She is British and lives and works in Oxford.
