Interactive 2-Day workshop
NOVEMber 21 - 22, 2026
Hosted By
Jeju, Korea
St Johnsbury Academy
Concepts should do more than fill another box on a unit planner.
When Concept-Based Curriculum is designed with clarity and intention, concepts, conceptual understandings, knowledge, skills, guiding questions, assessment and learning experiences work together to give a unit intellectual direction. Students do more than accumulate information: they use knowledge to recognize patterns, make connections, and build understanding that can transfer to new contexts.
Join Rachel French for two immersive days in Jeju and learn the complete process for designing a rigorous, coherent Concept-Based unit.
You will experience a model Concept-Based lesson, unpack the curriculum design behind it, examine examples from across grade levels and disciplines, and apply each stage of the process to a unit from your own context.
You will have time to collaborate, ask questions, and receive feedback as your unit develops.
No previous experience with Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction is required.
Learn the complete process for designing a high-quality Concept-Based unit
Presented by Rachel french, with Korean Language support from Eunjee ko
Explore how factual, conceptual, and debatable questions serve different purposes, then use them together to create an intentional, inductive pathway toward deeper understanding.
Design questions that help students construct understanding
Learn how to identify the conceptual intent of a unit and write strong conceptual understandings, or generalizations, that express what students should understand beyond the specific topic.
Clarify the deeper learning that anchors each unit
DO YOU WANT TO:
Move Beyond Conecepts as another box on the planner?
Connect the title, conceptual lens, unit web, conceptual understandings, knowledge, skills, guiding questions, and assessment so every element supports the unit's purpose.
classroom
Build a coherent unit from beginning to end
Many educators include concepts in their planning, yet still find they have little influence on the unit's purpose, questions, or design.
The result can be a curriculum that looks Concept-Based on paper but remains focused primarily on covering content or completing activities.
This workshop will help you make the shift from simply naming concepts to designing curriculum around the important conceptual understandings you want students to develop.
Develop a clear understanding of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction, the nature and role of concepts, and the relationship between factual knowledge, conceptual understanding, and transfer.
Explore the Erickson and Lanning Structure of Knowledge and Structure of Process and consider how curriculum design differs across knowledge-based subjects, process-based subjects and interdisciplinary units.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
Understand what distinguishes a genuinely Concept-Based curriculum
Learn how to select a meaningful conceptual lens, organize the content and processes of a unit, and write strong conceptual understandings that clearly express its deeper intent.
Craft factual, conceptual, and debatable guiding questions that work together to focus inquiry and scaffold thinking. Consider how these questions support an inductive approach in which students draw on knowledge and examples to construct understanding for themselves.
Design strong conceptual understandings and guiding questions
Follow a complete, repeatable unit-design process and apply each stage to an existing unit, curriculum framework, or set of standards from your own context.
Depending on your experience and whether you attend individually or as part of a team, you can leave with a substantial first draft of your unit’s written curriculum, ready for continued development after the workshop.
Begin developing a high-quality Concept-Based unit for your context
a genuinely Concept-Based curriculum
- What concepts are and the role they play in curriculum design
- The relationship between knowledge, concepts and conceptual understanding
- The Erickson and Lanning Structure of Knowledge and Structure of Process
- The role of a conceptual lens in focusing and integrating thinking
- How knowledge-based, process-based and interdisciplinary units require different design decisions
Your Two-Day Workshop Experience
Experience a Concept-Based lesson
- Creating a clear, purposeful unit title
- Selecting a conceptual lens
- Organizing a unit through a unit web or disciplinary strands
- Writing strong conceptual understandings or generalizations
- Identifying the knowledge students need to know
- Identifying the skills and processes students need to be able to use
- Crafting factual, conceptual, and debatable guiding questions
- Designing assessment that aligns with the unit’s conceptual intent
- Considering how guiding questions inform the sequence of learning experiences
You will receive:
- A complete Concept-Based unit-planning template
- Practical guidance for writing strong generalizations
- A framework for crafting purposeful guiding questions
- Examples of completed units from different grade levels and disciplines
- A copy of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, the workshop text co-authored by Dr. H. Lynn Erickson, Dr. Lois A. Lanning, and Rachel French
- A certificate recognizing 12 hours of professional learning
IS THIS RIGHT FOR ME?
Who This Workshop Is For
Classroom teachers
Curriculum coordinators and curriculum writers
Instructional coaches
School and academic leaders
Early years, elementary, middle school and high school educators
Teachers from knowledge-based and process-based disciplines
Educators designing interdisciplinary units
This workshop is designed for educators responsible for shaping meaningful curriculum and learning, including:
The process can be applied in IB schools and in schools working with national, state, or other curriculum standards.
New to Concept-Based Curriculum?
Already using concepts or an inquiry framework?
Use the workshop to examine the rigor and coherence of your current planning, strengthen your conceptual understandings and questions, and become more intentional about how each component contributes to the unit’s purpose.
You will be able to work collaboratively on a shared unit, build a common language for curriculum design, and establish a strong foundation for applying this work across your school.
Individuals are warmly welcomed; attending with at least one colleague will give you additional opportunities for collaborative planning and feedback.
You will build a clear understanding of the foundational principles and be guided through the design process one stage at a time.
Attending with colleagues or a school team?
Learn Through Collaboration, Practice and Feedback
This live workshop gives you the space to:
- Work through the process with expert guidance
- See new examples across disciplines and grade levels
- Test and refine your thinking as your unit develops
- Receive immediate answers and feedback
- Collaborate with educators who are equally passionate about Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction
- Return to your school with both a stronger unit and a repeatable process for future planning
You will not simply hear about Concept-Based design. You will experience it, examine it and begin doing the work yourself.
Rachel French has spent more than 12 years helping educators and schools transform the way they design curriculum and develop students’ conceptual understanding.
Personally mentored by the founders of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. H. Lynn Erickson and Dr. Lois A. Lanning, Rachel co-authored the workshop text, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, with them. Erickson, Lanning, and French designed this two-day workshop, which brings their curriculum-design process to life through modeling, examples, guided practice, and feedback.
Rachel is also the co-author of Concept-Based Inquiry in Action and The Concept-Based Inquiry Learning Design Planner. She leads the Erickson and Lanning Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Trainer Certification Institute, supporting experienced educators to develop the depth of understanding and facilitation skills required to lead this work with others.
Rachel has presented workshops in more than 25 countries and has coached over 500 educators in unit planning across more than 250 schools. Her work is grounded in a simple but ambitious goal: to help educators design curriculum that develops knowledgeable students who can think conceptually, make connections, and transfer their understanding.
Director of Professional Learning International, author, curriculum designer, and Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction consultant
meet your PRESENTER
Rachel French
Eunjee Ko is a secondary English (EFL) educator and Erickson and Lanning CBCI Certified Trainer with 16 years of experience and a strong background in inquiry-based language teaching.
Eunjee serves as a lecturer for the IB Educator Certificate (IBEC) program at Namseoul University and as an adjunct professor at Gongju National University of Education. She is also a freelance translator and consultant for IB Multilingual Editorial Production, supporting the Korean adaptation of official IB publications. She completed her doctoral coursework in English Education at Korea National University of Education.
As Director of Academic Research for the Korea Concept-Based Education Association, Eunjee contributes to national efforts to strengthen conceptual teaching and professional learning. Her translation work includes major titles such as Inception to Fruition, the ATL Series, and From Agency to Zest, reflecting her commitment to improving educational resources for teachers across Korea.
The workshop will be presented in English. Slides and course materials will be available in English and Korean. Eunjee will provide Korean-language facilitation and interpretation when needed, supported by an AI translation app, and will be available to answer questions and support participants with their planning.
Supported by
Korean-Language Facilitation
Eunjee Ko
Ruba Abi Saab
Instructional Coach
Al-Rayan International School
"I wanted to understand the role of concepts in the classroom and how to help my students reach higher levels of thinking through the inductive approach."
Working alongside teachers from different schools let me ask meaningful questions, discuss real classroom examples, and leave with strategies I was eager to try out straight away.
I've shifted from a deductive to an inductive approach, using questions to scaffold student thinking. My classroom has become a genuine thinking classroom, where students independently gather and organize information, spot patterns, and reach their own conceptual understandings, and I now feel confident coaching other teachers to design strong, well-rounded units of inquiry.
what they're saying
Transform the way you design curriculum
for $750 USD
- Two full days of interactive professional learning
- 12 professional-learning hours
- A copy of Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom
- A complete unit-planning template and supporting frameworks
- English or Korean course materials
- In-workshop planning support and feedback
- Morning tea and lunch on both days
- A certificate of participation
YOUR INVESTMENT
Group Offer
Register five or more participants together and get $ 50 USD off per person.
Payment options: Schools can pay online by credit card, or request an invoice to pay by bank transfer.
Registration closes November 13, 2026.
Receive $ 50 USD off when you register by October 9, 2026.
Hosted by St Johnsbury Academy, Jeju
St. Johnsbury Academy Jeju is a NEASC-accredited PreK–12 day and boarding school on the beautiful island of Jeju, South Korea. Character, inquiry, and community guide its educational program and are infused into everything the school does.
We look forward to welcoming educators from Jeju, throughout Korea, and beyond for two days of purposeful learning, collaboration, and curriculum design.
This immersive experience encourages you to uncover patterns and connections, helping you develop and express your own conceptual understandings. The debrief then explores the key strategies that make inductive teaching effective and intentional.
Join Rachel French for this interactive 2-day workshop.
Let's get started!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need prior experience with Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction?
No. The workshop is carefully structured to establish the foundational principles before guiding participants through the complete unit-design process.
Experienced Concept-Based educators will be able to work from their current level, refine their thinking, and apply the process to a unit from their own context.
Is this workshop only for IB educators?
No. The workshop is highly relevant to IB educators, but the curriculum-design process can also be applied to national, state, and other curriculum standards. Participants will work with the curriculum and context relevant to their own school.
Is the workshop relevant to my grade level or subject?
Yes. The workshop is suitable from early years through high school and includes examples from different disciplines. You will explore the design of knowledge-based, process-based, and interdisciplinary units.
What should I bring?
Bring an existing unit, relevant curriculum standards, or a unit you want to redesign. If possible, bring the materials in a format you can annotate and develop during the workshop. Participants attending as a team may choose a shared unit to work on collaboratively.
Will Korean-language support be available?
Yes. The workshop will be presented in English, with slides and course materials available in English and Korean. Eunjee Ko will provide Korean-language facilitation and interpretation when needed, supported by an AI translation app.
What is the cancellation policy?
Registrations are non-refundable. If you can't attend, you may transfer your place to another participant at any time, including on the day of the workshop.
The US$750 fee includes the two-day workshop, 12 professional-learning hours, the workshop text, planning resources, English or Korean course materials, morning tea and lunch on both days, and a certificate of participation.
For registration questions, contact contact@prolearnint.com.
What is included in the registration fee?
No. The workshop is carefully structured to establish the foundational principles before guiding participants through the complete unit-design process.
Experienced Concept-Based educators will be able to work from their current level, refine their thinking, and apply the process to a unit from their own context.
No. The workshop is highly relevant to IB educators, but the curriculum-design process can also be applied to national, state, and other curriculum standards. Participants will work with the curriculum and context relevant to their own school.
Yes. The workshop is suitable from early years through high school and includes examples from different disciplines. You will explore the design of knowledge-based, process-based, and interdisciplinary units.
Bring an existing unit, relevant curriculum standards, or a unit you want to redesign. If possible, bring the materials in a format you can annotate and develop during the workshop. Participants attending as a team may choose a shared unit to work on collaboratively.
Yes. The workshop will be presented in English, with slides and course materials available in English and Korean. Eunjee Ko will provide Korean-language facilitation and interpretation when needed, supported by an AI translation app.
Registrations are non-refundable. If you can't attend, you may transfer your place to another participant at any time, including on the day of the workshop.
The US$750 fee includes the two-day workshop, 12 professional-learning hours, the workshop text, planning resources, English or Korean course materials, morning tea and lunch on both days, and a certificate of participation.
For registration questions, contact contact@prolearnint.com.