Workshop: Learning for Understanding
Facilitator: Maya Menon, The Teacher Foundation
The Teacher Foundation seeks to make schools enabling environments for all students by empowering educators to become energetic, effective, reflective practitioners and life-long learners.
When we are teaching in class, we should frame our questions in a way that allows us to get information on what the child has understood.
For example, when students are given a problem in Math, don’t just ask them their answer, or give the right answer. Instead, ask them how they solved the problem. This will help you understand how much of the concept the student has understood.
The student could get the answers in multiple ways. If we find out how, we can know whether the child has memorized a solution or understood its process.
Common reasons why learning with understanding does not happen :
1. Teachers’ usage of inappropriate language or tone
- This could be due to teacher’s lack of knowledge of the language of instruction (Eg: How many books are the heaviest?).
- It could also be due to an inappropriate tone (Eg: reading a poem or funny story in a monotonous tone).
2. Teachers’ inability to make concepts/ideas accessible
- This could be due to a lack of comfort level and knowledge of the concept.
3. Students’ own misconceptions while learning
- Students may get a division problem wrong because of place value concepts or tables.
- The only way to find out the reasons for misconceptions is to ask questions which will tell you if the child has understood (Eg: Don’t just ask what and who, also ask why and how).
Engaging and involving the students while teaching leads to understanding. Understanding cannot be transmitted, it has to be constructed by every learner himself and herself.
Techniques to check for understanding
- Index card summaries/questions
- Hand signals : thumbs up if understood, thumbs down if not understood
- Question box
- Analogy Prompt : ask students to make analogies (Eg: An arm is to a body as a _______ is to a tree)
- Visual representation: concept map/web
- Oral questions : not limiting to just the answer, but the process of finding the answer
- Follow up probes: if the child gives the wrong answer, ask another question like “How did you get this answer?”
- Misconception check
Six facets of understanding
- Explanation: give theories
- Interpretation: make insightful translations
- Application: adapt for new contexts
- Perspective: see critical view points
- Empathy: find value in others ideas
- Self knowledge: realize one’s own ignorance and bias.
All 6 cannot happen every time in every class, but try and include as many as you can in a class, or keep this in mind while planning a class.
Further Reading : “Understanding by Design” by Jay Mc Tighe and Grant Wiggins
