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