Week+2

Assignment Discussion 4/25/2010 8:08 P //Some Teachers believe their students should “really understand, “ others want their students to “internalize knowledge”and yet others want their students to “grasp the core or essence.”// I feel these three statements are related but do not mean exactly the same thing. When there is true understanding a student will be able to show evidence that they understand. If they just know information and don’t really understand the information then all they have are the facts. When they understand the information then they can form new knowledge. (Wiggins & McTighe, 2000). **What is your definition of understanding and how do you assess understanding?** I read this book four or five years ago (the previous edition), with a group of colleagues and it challenged my paradigms at that time greatly. We found it one of the most difficult professional books we had read. We have often joked about our lack of understanding about understanding. At one level the concepts seemed so practical, and natural. We shared that they make so much sense, why had we not thought of things in that way before but yet they challenged us so deeply. As a district we have worked to integrate these teachings into our work with our teachers. I felt with my background in this topic I would be able to possibly breeze through this material and was confident I would be confirmed in my developed understanding of understanding. Well, I am once again challenged by this material and question if we as a district “got it”. I struggle with answering this basic question – What is understanding? I have come to realize it is more than just facts, more than just knowledge. The facts and knowledge need to be turned into meaning as John Dewey said, “Understanding is the result of facts acquiring meaning for the learner.” Understanding also needs to include evidence that there is understanding. (Wiggins & McTighe, 2000). By students showing evidence that they understand we can be better assured that they truly do understand. Dewey, John (1933) //How We Think,// Dover Publications Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2000). Understanding by Design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
 * Susan Mannas**
 * Do these mean the same thing? When a student really understands, what will he do that he will not do when he does not understand?**

**Lydia Sanchez** **(New)** 4/25/2010 10:33 PM Susan, after reading Wiggins and McTighe's chapters 1 and 2, I agree that the three statements are not the same but related. If you read my original post it elaborates on this a bit more. However, prior to reading these chapters, my answer would have been completely different. I would have probably said that they were all the same. I hadn't stopped to think about the difference between knowledge and understanding. And if I was forced to explain, I would have probably indicated that knowledge was a greater asset that understanding. I would have made the relationship to a person that is knowledgeable. Someone who is knowledgeable knows a lot. I know this is a trait many would like to have. However, my new understanding changes my idea of a knowledgeable person. Many of us are knowledgeable, but not many of us have a great understaning of many things. So what is the correct term for someone like this? I hope this makes sense.

**Angela Susan, **

The word understanding is now getting a bit confusing to me. I thought I knew what it meant, but now I'm second guessing myself each time I think of the word. I am a math teacher, and I will tell you that the way I check for understanding sometimes is I give them the same question but flipped. For example the x and y axis. If I explain a problem that pertains to the x-axis, I then take the same question, change the numbers and make it the y-axis. I then only have a few who actually understand. The rest just learned how to do my example. According to Wiggins and McTighe (2000), it states, "Teachers knowingly aim for understanding everyday, don't they? How can we not know what we're aiming for? Yet plenty of evidence suggest that to 'understand' and 'to teach for understanding' are ambiuous and slippery terms." Now that I have done my readings and heard your story of staff development, I now know that I do not always fully understand. Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2000). Understanding by Design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall