Relationship of Understanding

1. Relationship of Understanding Andrea Nielsen M.ED. Supplimented by Understanding by Design Handbook

2. Understanding Understanding • How can a teacher know that a student is understanding? • Bloom (1956) • For example, some teachers believe their students should “really understand” others desire their students to “internalize knowledge,” still others want their students to “grasp the core or essence.” Do they all mean the same thing? Specifically, what does a student do who “really understands,” Do they all mean the same thing? Specifically, what does a student do who “really understands,” which he does not do when he does not understand? Through reference to the taxonomy … teachers should be able to define such nebulous terms (p.1). “ • What are the signs that show that students are understanding? • A student can have a thorough understanding without knowing why it is justified, what the knowledge means, or what can be done with that knowledge.

3. Six Facets of Understanding • These connotations of understanding demonstrate different aspects of understanding. Ideally to have complete understanding you must have parts of each of these six facets. • Explain • Interpret • Apply • Perspective • Empathize • Self-knowledge

4. Explain • Definition: Sophisticated and apt explanations and theories, which provide knowledgeable and justified accounts of events, actions, and ideas. • Basically it explains how things work, what they mean, where they connect, and why they happened. • Examples: • A cook explains why adding a little mustard to oil and vinegar enable them to mix. The mustard acts as an emulsifier. • A 10th grade history student provides a well- supported view of the causes of the American Revolution. • A 10th grade student knows the facts of the Boston Tea Party and the Stamp Act but not why they happened and what they led to (12). • Write down three examples, one that isn’t a good example and two good examples for Spanish.

5. How can we help our students Explain? • You can use verbs like explain, justify, generalize, support, verify, prove, and substantiate. • Have them show their work • Explain why the answer is right or wrong • Give evidence and argue for a view point • Defend a view • Have them ask the 5 W questions of Journalism • Who • Why • What • When • Where • Give an example in Spanish of helping our students explain a concept.

6. Interpretation • Definition: Interpretations, narratives, and translations that provide meaning • Basically, providing a story that allows your student to understand as they find meaning, maintain understanding, and identify the morals. • Examples • A grandfather tells stories about the Depression to illustrate the importance of saving for a rainy day. • An 11th Grade student shows how Gulliver’s Travels can be read as a satire on British Intellectual life. The book is not just a fairy tale. • A middle school student can translate all the words but does not grasp the meaning of a Spanish sentence(15). • Write down three examples, one that isn’t a good example and two good examples for Spanish.

7. Application • Definition: The ability to use knowledge effectively in new situations and diverse contexts. • In other words, using prior knowledge to understand new concepts. • Example: • A young couple uses their knowledge of economics to develop an effective financial plan for saving and investing. • 7th Grade students use their knowledge of statistics to accurately project next year’s costs and needs for the student-run candy and supply store. • A physics professor can’t diagnose and fix a broken lamp(18). • Write down three examples, one that isn’t a good example and two good examples for Spanish.

8. How can we help our students Apply? • Lesson Plans should reflect real life situations • Have them use it • Adapt it • Customize it • Performance-based learning • Authentic tasks • Supported by the conventional tasks. • Authentic materials • Supports the tasks • Give an example in Spanish of using Authentic Tasks

9. Perspective • Definition: Critical and insightful points of view • Or to see things from another perspective. • Not necessarily a students perspective but to help bring their perspective to another level which brings is things that they • Take for granted • Assumed • Overlooked • Things glossed over • Example: • A 10-year old girl recognizes the fallacy in TV advertising of using popular figures to promote products. • A student explains the Israeli and Palestinian arguments for and against new settlements on the Gaza Strip. • A bright but rigid student refuses to consider that there is another way to look at gun control(20-21). • Write down three examples, one that isn’t a good example and two good examples for Spanish.

10. How do we help our students adapt their perspectives? • Confronting alternative theories • Diverse points of view • Have them answer questions • What of it? • What does it mean? • What follows? • Give an example of building perspectives in Spanish.

11. Empathy • Definition: the ability to get inside another person’s feelings and worldview. • Or to walk in another’s shoes, to escape their own emotional reaction to see another’s. • Example: • An Israeli adolescent empathizes with the restrictive and constrained life of his Palestinian contemporaries. • From a recent British national exam: “Romeo and Juliet, act 4. Imagine you are Juliet. Write your thoughts and feelings explaining why you have to take this desperate action.” • An accomplished basketball player-turned-coach often berates his young players because he cannot relate to their struggles in learning the game(22). • Write down three examples, one that isn’t a good example and two good examples for Spanish.

12. Self-Knowledge • Definition: The wisdom to know one’s ignorance and how one’s patterns of thought and action inform as well as prejudice understanding. • Or in other words, in understanding ourselves better we will understand others. • Examples: • A mother realizes that her frustration with her daughter’s shyness is rooted in issues from her own childhood. • Mindful of the fact that many students are visual learners, a middle school teacher includes visual organizers and images. • When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. • Write down three examples, one that isn’t a good example and two good examples for Spanish.

13. Assignment