Summary
This post highlights Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (CBCI) and its focus on teaching essential soft skills like communication and teamwork. CBCI shifts from memorizing facts to applying key concepts in real life. Through workshops, students practice these skills hands-on, preparing them for success both in their careers and everyday interactions.
In my work as an educator, I’ve recently been diving into Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (CBCI), and it’s changed the way I think about teaching soft skills. Instead of focusing on cramming in tons of content or getting lost in the details, CBCI shines a light on the big ideas that really stick with students and apply to all sorts of situations. It’s not just about having students memorize facts. It’s about fostering real understanding.
One of the things I love most about CBCI is how it helps students connect what they learn in the classroom to the world outside of it. Rather than stressing over every little fact, the focus shifts to core concepts they can actually use in life. For me, it’s all about encouraging students to think deeper and make meaningful connections with what they’re learning.
In the workshops I’m creating, the focus is on soft skills. Soft skills are those crucial abilities like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. These skills might not always get the same spotlight as technical knowledge, but they’re just as important in the workforce. My research has shown that may even be more important! Through activities like mock interviews, group discussions, and presentations, I want students to practice these skills in real-life situations.
One challenge with soft skills is that they’re harder to measure than technical abilities. I’m working on coming up with more creative ways to assess growth. Things like peer reviews and self-reflections can help students see their own progress in a more meaningful way.
This approach ties into two TCE threshold concepts:
1. Both teachers and student have empowerment/agency. Students as active agents of their learning
My goal is to have students truly engage with these soft skills by taking an active role in their own learning. It’s about more than just sitting back and absorbing information—they need to apply it.
2. Curriculum is more than standards, textbooks, or courses of study. Education as a transformative experience. These soft skills don’t just matter at work, they impact how we interact with people and solve problems in everyday life. That’s what makes CBCI so powerful, it shapes not just students’ knowledge, but the way they move through the world.
At the end of the day, CBCI has helped me focus on teaching concepts that actually matter. By building workshops around soft skills, I’m aiming to give students tools they can take with them far beyond the classroom. It’s about creating learning experiences that stick and set them up for long term success.
The links below dive deeper into why understanding key concepts is so important for students. I especially like how the second blog points out that CBCI isn’t about dismissing the facts. It’s about rethinking how we teach them.
https://lessonbud.com/blog/teaching-for-understanding-concept-based-curriculum-and-instruction
This article emphasizes that Concept-based instruction is based on the following characteristics: abstract, timeless, and universal.
Here’s a link to a podcast on Concept Based Curriculum and Instruction with Karen Yager, who is known for her work with CBCI:
Thank you for the inclusion of the podcast! It is nice to find another voice on the subject outside of the authors of the book. After reading your post I’m curious how you would give students the opportunity to apply their soft skills like you said when connecting to the TCE threshold concept of empowerment/agency? I am always looking for ways to give students the opportunity to show their soft skills in class along side their academic ones.
Thanks for your thoughtful response! I completely agree that developing soft skills through real-life experiences is essential for students.
As for strategies, I believe incorporating regular self-assessments alongside peer feedback could be effective. This way, students can track their progress over time and see how their skills evolve.
I really like your take on CBCI for higher education. I think it is extremely important for all students to develop their soft skills in relief experiences. I agree that focusing on core concepts and genuine understanding is crucial for students’ long-term learning and application. The core concepts will be more applicable in years to come than just remembering facts to be used on a test. Assessing soft skills can be challenging; I think it’s great that you’re working on creative ways to measure growth and progress. I like the idea of integrating peer reviews and self-reflection into your assessment process; I think that would help students see how others interpret their skills. Do you think there’s a strategy that would be most effective in helping students recognize their development in soft skills?