Concepts
A Concept is a defined idea or skill Bloom expects a learner to master—clear enough to assess fairly, big enough to matter. The full curriculum is a connected knowledge graph of these Concepts across nine primary disciplines: knowledge, skills, tools, and experiences in academics and in life.
Concepts are the unit of progress parents and teachers watch: when a Concept is mastered, the Knowledge Frontier advances.
Two types of Concepts
Section titled “Two types of Concepts”| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Atomic | One clear mastery target inside a primary discipline—for example a specific math skill or a science idea |
| Integrative | Mastery that pulls more than one discipline into one clear goal—history with writing, science with mathematics, literature with moral judgment, and similar links |
Integrative Concepts appear on the path when the Concepts they depend on are secure—the same rule as everything else on the frontier. They keep learning connected rather than a set of isolated subjects.
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”Some learning must come first. Prerequisites connect Concepts to each other.
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Hard | The Concept opens only when those prerequisites are mastered. The learner is not asked to try work they are not ready for. |
| Soft | Shapes practice, support, and order of work without a hard block—help and sequencing, not a gate. |
Material the learner already understands does not hold them back from progressing. See How learning works.
What “mastered” means
Section titled “What “mastered” means”Every Concept has clear proficiency criteria—what “good enough” looks like in concrete terms. Bloom confirms mastery mainly through a Proficiency Demonstration (or, when the curriculum says so, a Project that counts as a demonstration).
Mastery is not:
- Finishing a Learning Unit
- Accumulating Mastery Points
- Sitting through a unit of time
- A quiz average alone
How work attaches to a Concept
Section titled “How work attaches to a Concept”Every piece of assigned work—Learning Unit, Proficiency Demonstration, or Project—has exactly one main Concept. Supporting ideas may show up inside the work, but progress and mastery decisions depend on that main Concept.
| Work type | Role | Mastery? |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Unit | Practice—build skill | No—builds readiness only |
| Proficiency Demonstration | Demonstration—prove skill | Yes—when criteria are met |
| Project | Application—use skill | Sometimes—only when the curriculum marks it as a demonstration path |
What students, parents, and teachers see
Section titled “What students, parents, and teachers see”- Students see Concepts they can work on now, how close practice is to a fair demonstration, and what is still locked behind foundations.
- Parents see the same mastery and readiness record—not a watered-down summary.
- Teachers see class and individual frontiers with the same definitions of readiness and mastery.
Keep reading
Section titled “Keep reading”- Learning Units — practice on a Concept
- Proficiency Demonstrations — proof of mastery
- Readiness & mastery — when demonstration is fair