THE PLI INQUIRER
A monthly newsletter from Professional Learning International
Welcome to our March edition
This month, we are highlighting several opportunities for educators and schools seeking to strengthen their understanding of and ability to implement Concept-Based Inquiry.
Applications for the CBCI Institute are now open. The Institute is designed for experienced educators who are ready to deepen their expertise in Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction and work toward becoming a CBCI Certified Trainer. It is an intensive learning experience that helps participants develop the knowledge and facilitation skills needed to support Concept-Based Inquiry teaching and learning within their schools and professional communities.
Many schools are also beginning to plan professional learning for the coming months. Private workshops and private cohorts for our online courses provide teams with an opportunity to engage in shared learning tailored to their context while working directly with PLI facilitators.
If your school is considering professional learning for the year ahead, we would be happy to discuss options that support your goals.
Looking ahead, we are excited to once again offer our Korean Inquiry Course in June with Grace Shin.
Wherever you are in the school year, building momentum, refining your focus, or planning next steps, we are proud to support a global community of educators committed to thoughtful, concept-driven teaching and learning.
Warm regards,
The PLI Team
MARCH
2026
#33
RACHEL
FRENC
H
A Message From Rachel
Although March marks the start of autumn back home in New Zealand, I’m currently spending time in the United States and have been encouraged by the growing interest in Concept-Based Inquiry across schools here.
Spending time with educators who are so committed to reflecting on their practice and exploring new possibilities for teaching and learning is always inspiring. It’s a reminder of how powerful professional dialogue can be when educators come together with curiosity and purpose.
In particular, the conversations around Concept-Based Inquiry in Mathematics have been thoughtful and energising. Educators are asking important questions about how we move beyond procedural teaching toward deeper conceptual understanding and transferable thinking in mathematics.
As I look ahead to the coming months, my travel schedule is beginning to take shape. I’ll be visiting Australia in April, followed by time in Europe and Asia in October, and I’m currently arranging on-site professional learning with schools and educator networks.
If your school or organisation is exploring in-person professional learning later this year, please feel free to reach out. I always enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with educators and support schools as they continue to develop Concept-Based Teaching and Learning.
I look forward to connecting with many of you along the way.
- Rachel
Online Courses
Upcoming online courses
Whether it’s the first step of your journey into Concept-Based Inquiry or you’re looking for advanced frameworks, we’ve got a course for you.
Group pricing is available for six or more participants from the same school. Please email [email protected] to register your group.
Concept-Based Inquiry in Action [Korean]
Discover the power of a Concept-Based inquiry approach, available in Korean!
This introductory CBI course for K-12 educators is packed with practical strategies that will transform the way you think about unit design.
Facilitated by Grace Shin, this 8-week course begins on June 18 (with all sessions conducted in Korean).
The cost for the course and 1-1 coaching is $700 USD.
Early bird pricing is available! Register before 15 May to save €50 per participant.
Concept-Based Inquiry in Action
Discover the power of a Concept-Based Inquiry approach! This introductory CBI course for K-12 educators is packed with practical strategies that will transform the way you think about unit design.
Facilitated by Rachel French and Carla Marschall, this 8-week course begins on September 28, 2026.
The cost of the course, including 1-1 coaching, is €850.
We also offer special rates for groups of 20+. If you would like to explore this possibility for your own private cohort, follow this link for more information:
https://professionallearninginternational.com/inquiry-in-action-school-group
Building Scientific Understanding:
With A CBI Approach
Embark on a transformative journey to elevate your science classroom to new heights. You’ll explore how scientific exploration through practical labs and hands-on learning plays a vital role in every Concept-Based Inquiry Science classroom.
Facilitated by Jessica Humble-Crofts and Andrea Uhl, this 6-week online course for K -12 Science Educators, including Elementary Teachers & Curriculum Leaders, begins on September 28.
The cost of the course and 1-1 coaching is €650.
Early bird pricing is available! Register before August 28 to save €50 per participant.
Mastering the Art of Integrating Curriculum with a CBI Approach
Embark on a transformative journey to elevate your integrated units to new heights. You’ll learn how to write interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary units that honor all integrated disciplines and build common understandings that help students transfer learning seamlessly between and within disciplines and subjects.
Facilitated by Rasha El-Haggan, this 4-week online course for K-12 Educators, including Elementary Teachers & Curriculum Leaders, begins on September 28.
The cost of the course and 1-1 coaching is €450.
Early bird pricing is available! Register before August 28 to save €50.
The Power of Play: International Conversations
Join Dr. Jo Fahey as she and 12 international educators journey through four unique online modules that will provide you with a strong foundational understanding of the Power of Play, and its various forms in both indoor and outdoor settings around the world.
This course will challenge your thinking, inspire you and your children to push the boundaries, and encourage you to reimagine the POWER of PLAY!
Facilitated by Dr. Jo Fahey, this 4-week online course for early years educators begins on 2 November.
This is the last time Jo will offer this course - so don’t miss out!
The cost of the course is €450.
Early bird pricing is available! Register before October 2 to save €50.
Start your journey into Concept-Based Inquiry
Get ready to transform the way you teach, empower your students to think for themselves and connect with like-minded thought partners. Whether it’s the first step of your journey into Concept-Based Inquiry or you’re looking for advanced frameworks, we’ve got a course for you.
Upcoming Workshops
Rachel French is taking CBI in Action on the road in 2026; these workshops always fill quickly. If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to dive deeper into inquiry with Rachel in person, now is the time to register.
These two-day, hands-on workshops are one of the most energizing ways to experience Concept-Based Inquiry: learning with other educators, building ideas together in the room, and walking away with practical strategies you can use the very next day.
Concept-Based Inquiry in Action
Cornish College, Melbourne
Across Australian schools, we’re seeing something familiar: students who complete tasks but struggle to transfer their learning beyond the lesson.
Many professional development programs still prioritise coverage over thinking, leaving teachers to wonder:
How do we design learning that truly sticks and transfers?
This is not a generic inquiry workshop.
It is two days focused on:
Concept formation
Conceptual understanding
Transfer
Integrating curriculum responsibility with student agency
Practical design strategies that work in real classrooms
If you are the kind of educator who wants learning to mean something… this room will feel like home.
Practical strategies for immediate classroom use
Transferable frameworks that teachers can adapt across units and subjects
Alignment with your school’s strategic learning goals
PRIVATE
WORKSHOP
Monthly Masterclass
MARCH FREE MASTERCLASS
Many schools have invested significant time in designing Concept-Based or inquiry-driven units. These units often include conceptual understandings, guiding questions, and supporting knowledge and skills.
Yet many leaders still notice that student conceptual understanding and transfer remain inconsistent.
In this Masterclass, Rachel French explores why this happens and how leaders can support teachers in designing learning experiences that truly support conceptual understanding.
📅 24 March 2026
🕒 7:30 am UTC
This session will explore the difference between activity-driven lessons and Concept-Based learning experiences that help students synthesize patterns, develop understanding, and transfer their learning.
MONTHLY MASTERCLASS
Never miss a Masterclass
Did you know you can automatically register for all future Masterclasses?
Just fill out this form once, and we’ll add you to the list for every Masterclass. If you can’t make it to one, you can easily opt out—but this way, you’ll never miss an opportunity to join.
REG
I
STER
ALL
Applications now open for the 2026/2027 Institute
Erickson & Lanning CBCI Institute
If you’re starting to map out your professional growth: a new role, greater influence, or simply a deeper sense of mastery, the CBCI Institute is designed to help you get there.
This is far more than a course.
It’s a year-long transformation for educators who want to lead Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction with clarity, expertise, and purpose.
Across twelve months, you’ll sharpen your curriculum design skills, build a reliable coaching toolkit, and grow into someone others look to for direction and insight.
And the impact is real.
Some move into new leadership roles. Others stay in the classroom and become powerful catalysts for change within their own school.
There are flexible pathways to join:
Educators can self-fund, investing directly in their own growth; or
Schools can sponsor participants, often sending multiple educators to build a shared language and expertise across departments.
Schools consistently tell us that having more than one CBCI Trainer on staff accelerates implementation, strengthens curriculum coherence, and improves teacher confidence across the board.
Wherever you imagine yourself in the next few years, leading, consulting, presenting, or elevating your practice, the Institute gives you the structure, support, and community to get there.
If you’re ready to back your ambition, we’d love to see your application.
Graduates frequently go on to:
Present at conferences (regional, national, and international)
Lead school-wide curriculum reviews or redesign key programs
Become internal CBI experts who guide teams and mentor colleagues
Consult with other schools on curriculum design and inquiry practice
Facilitate workshops and support professional learning communities
"It was the best professional development I have experienced!"
Engy Olama, CBCI Certified Trainer & Education Consultant.
Bring Professional Learning International to your school
BOOK A WORKSHOP OR PRIVATE COHORT
Every school is unique; your goals, your students, your teachers, and your curriculum context. That’s why we design Concept-Based Inquiry workshops tailored to your needs, delivered on-site by experienced facilitators who understand what meaningful professional learning looks like in practice.
Whether you’re adopting the CBI Inquiry model, strengthening IB implementation, or helping teachers connect conceptual understanding to classroom practice, our team works with you to create a program that fits.
What to expect
We start by listening. Once you share your goals, we’ll help you define the outcomes you want and match you with the right PLI facilitator or training team. From there, we design a hands-on, highly interactive workshop focused on your real classroom challenges, not just theory.
Every workshop emphasizes:
Practical strategies for immediate classroom use
Transferable frameworks that teachers can adapt across units and subjects
Alignment with your school’s strategic learning goals
Plan ahead for 2026 and 2027
We’re now booking private, school-based professional learning for 2026 and beyond.
Whether you’re a curriculum leader, IB coordinator, or head of teaching and learning, our team can help you plan a workshop that creates lasting impact for your school.
PRIVATE
WORKSHOP
Cathy's Corner
Meet Cathyrn Berger Kaye M.D
Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., founder of CBK Associates, has consulted in person with schools in 55 countries to influence young people to be purposeful global citizens and to assist educators with dynamic curriculum design for meaningful action. Cathryn was a lead co-author of the International Baccalaureate Programme’s CAS Guide for the Diploma Programme, with influence on the Middle Years’ Service as Action Programme and Career-Related Programmes.
She authored The Complete Guide to Service Learning and two books with Philippe Cousteau on environmental stewardship for children and teens: Make a Splash and Going Blue. Cathryn’s expertise also includes social and emotional learning, intercultural understanding, youth leadership, and joyfully uplifting the service ethos throughout school communities. Her work always exemplifies the best teaching practices.
Cathy's Corner - Reflections on February
My house is decorated with piles of books. From September through January, I read hundreds of picture books, fiction, and nonfiction for all grades, and the stacks kept climbing. Even after returning books to the library, many remain. While books shelves are definitely going to be built, at the moment I appreciate seeing the stacks and catching a glimpse of the covers, each one jostling a memory about a treasured story that made me think deeper, laugh out loud, or wonder, “How can I schedule an interview with the author?” – one of my hobbies I will discuss next time.
And then there are the book spines, the outside edges of the book that are gathered and bound. Just like the cover and the back of the book, the spine is a preview of what is to come when you open it and dive inside.
Books Make Good Friends may be the ultimate book for book lovers. Within the pages of this picture book, we meet Lotti, a shy child who loves to read and also uses books as a shield to avoid meeting people. As the story unfolds, Lotti is surprised to learn that books are also a portal to friendships with real humans! A charming, relatable story. The marvel within this particular book is also how the author/illustrator Jane Mount includes 736 hand-drawn book spines from titles you know and love. Additional book covers and synopses of books are also scattered throughout.
In this age of using tablets to read, I appreciate the feel of a book in hand, the texture of the pages, and how turning the pages invites me to keep exploring. Books do make good friends, and while there are times when I donate books to Free Little Libraries, schools, or public libraries, I will linger with these piles a little bit longer.
Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., of CBK Associates, is currently working on the third edition of The Complete Guide to Service Learning and reading many books with social justice themes to annotate within this new version. Learn more about her work at cbkassociates.com and send her a note to [email protected].
CATHY'S
CORNER
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