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November 2025
Conceptual Learning in the Primary Years Program
Conceptual learning is central to the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP). The IB is grounded in the belief that children learn best when they explore ideas that connect across subjects (a transdisciplinary approach).
What Is Conceptual Learning?
Conceptual learning focuses on understanding big ideas, and not just memorizing facts. Children learn to think, make connections, and apply their understanding in new situations. By using IB’s specified concepts such as causation, change, connection, responsibility, and perspective to guide their inquiry, students begin to see how learning links to real life and helps them make sense of the world. This approach develops curious, flexible, and capable problem-solvers, skills they will use for life as lifelong learners.
Why Conceptual Learning Matters
Metacognition, “thinking about thinking,” plays a significant role in this process. Students learn to plan how they will approach a task, check their understanding as they work, and reflect on what strategies help them learn best. These skills help students become self-directed, adaptable learners who take ownership of their learning. They do not just learn facts, but rather understand how those facts connect.
Example
Rather than just memorizing the fact that “plants need water and sunlight,” students explore the broader concept of “how living things depend on their environment.” When they revisit these big ideas in different contexts over time, they learn to transfer their understanding, one of the highest forms of thinking.
Facts are like individual puzzle pieces.
A concept is like the picture on the puzzle box. Concepts help students understand how the pieces fit together.
