Teaching for Understanding

1
Teaching for Understanding

• Understanding is one of the most cherished goals
  of education. Teaching for understanding can
  bring knowledge to life by requiring students to
  manipulate knowledge in various ways. For
  instance, understanding a historical event means
  going beyond the facts to explain them, explore
  the remote causes, discuss the incident as
  different people might see it from their own
  perspectives, and skeptically critique what
  various sources say.

2
PEBC/GRREC LITERACY INSTITUTE THINKING
STRATEGIES OF PROFICIENT THINKERS
3

• Outcomes
• Participants will become familiar with
• Thinking strategies for proficient learners
• The importance of talk and collaboration to
  deepen comprehension
• The role of gradual release of responsibility in
  planning for understanding
• The importance of reflection writing to
  synthesize new learning
• The role of motivation and engagement in
  understanding

4
Essential Questions

• What does it mean to understand?
• What relationship do we see between thinking
  strategies and understanding?
• What relationships do we see between planning and
  understanding?
• What role does assessment play in teaching for
  understanding?
• What role does motivation and engagement play in
  understanding?

5
The Marlup A marlup was poving his kump.
Parmily a narg horped some whev in his kump.
Why did vump horp whev in my finkle kump? the
marlup jufed the narg. Erm muvvily trungy,
the narg grupped. Er heshed vump horpled whev in
your kump. Do vump pove your kump frinkle?
6
A Comprehension Quiz

• A marlup was poving his kump. Parmily a narg
  horped some whev in his kump. Why did vump horp
  whev in my finkle kump? the marlup jufed the
  narg. Erm muvvily trungy, the narg grupped.
  Er heshed vump horpled whev in your kump. Do
  vump pove your kump frinkle?

• What did the narg horp in the marlups kump?
• What did the marlup juf the narg?
• Was the narg trungy?

7
Answers

• The narg horped some whev in his kump.
• The marlup juffed the narg Why did vump horp
  whev in my finkle kump?
• Yes, the narg was muvvily trungy.

8

• SO?
• Can you apply this knowledgeeven if you earned
  an A?
• Could you figure out a new use of this
  knowledgeeven if you earned an A?
• Can you build an argument about marlups if you
  earned an A?

9
You Can Teach for Understanding

• Teaching is more than covering content, learning
  is more than merely taking in, and assessment is
  more than accurate recall. Meaning must be made,
  and understanding must be earned. Students are
  more likely to make meaning and gain
  understanding when they link new information to
  prior knowlege, relate facts to big ideas,
  explore essential questions, and apply their
  learning in new contexts. -- McTighe, Seif,
  Wiggins

10
What is it that proficient readers and thinkers
do?
11
The questions that p face as they raise
c from i to adult life
are not easy to a . Both f and m
can become concerned when health
problems such as c arise any time
after the e state to later life.
Experts recommend that young c should
have plenty of s and nutritious food for
healthy growth. B and g should
not share the same b or even sleep in the
same r . They may be afraid of the d
.
12
The questions that poultry men face as they raise
chickens from incubation to adult life are not
easy to answer. Both farmers and merchants can
become concerned when health problems such as
coccidiosis arise any time after the egg state to
later life. Experts recommend that young chicks
should have plenty of sunshine and nutritious
food for healthy growth. Banties and geese should
not share the same barnyard or even sleep in the
same roost. They may be afraid of the dark.
13
Proficient Thinkers/Readers Draw on Schema

• They use their unique background knowledge to
  understand the text as they read.

14
(No Transcript)
15
Proficient Thinkers/Readers draw inferences

• Inferring is the process of creating meaning by
  connecting what is in the readers head with what
  is in the text.

Aha!!!
16
Why is this funny?
17
Proficient Thinkers/Readers Ask Questions

• They generate questions BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER
  reading.

18
JACQUELINE GRENNON BROOKS

• Teachers who teach for understanding also make
  time for wonder.

19
Proficient Thinkers/Readers Determine Importance
in Text
I found it!

• And can support their ideas with evidence from
  the text.

20
Proficient Thinkers/Readers

• Create sensory images as they read

21
Proficient Thinkers/Readers Also

• Synthesize parts to create a whole

22
(No Transcript)
23
David Perkins

• Students can only find and make meaning when they
  are asked to inquire, think at high levels and
  solve problems. McTighe, Seif, Wiggins

24
Proficient Thinkers/Readers

• Monitor for understanding

25
(No Transcript)
26
Understanding and Flexibility

• In a phrase understanding is the ability to think
  and act flexibly with what one knows. To put it
  another way, an understanding of a topic is a
  flexible performance capability with an emphasis
  on flexibility. In other words, when we truly
  understand something, we can demonstrate that
  understanding in a variety of ways and under a
  range of conditions. David Perkins

27
Ellin Keene

• When we work hard to understand any concept or
  idea whether a theme in a novel or a scientific
  or mathematical concept we are building
  intellectual muscle.