Teaching for Understanding
As a GK-12 fellow, when you walk into your classroom you will be a teacher. This means that the students’ understanding of the concepts you present is your responsibility. Fortunately, major advances in the science of learning have resulted in the theory of teaching for understanding. This theory provides ways to make sure your students get the most out of their lessons. Below are some tips that should help you stay in line with teaching for understanding concepts:
Understanding versus memorization
The old style of teaching used to stress memorization. Today we know that while memorization still has its place in some subjects, a student’s understanding of the underlying concepts is often more important. Transfer, which is transferring learning from one situation to another, is facilitated by understanding. This means that for something taught in school to be useful outside of the classroom, the student must truly understand it. Children remember more of what they are taught when they understand the concepts and principles behind it. They also tend to use their knowledge for problem solving more effectively. These are just some of the reasons why teaching for understanding is stressed in modern schools. More information on learning transfer can be found on the Vocabulary page.
Time for learning
One of the major criticisms of teaching for understanding is that it takes a long time. It is often quicker to have students memorize facts than to teach for understanding. However, learning takes time. It has been shown that giving students time to process information allows them to learn and remember it better. The most important thing to remember is to be realistic about the amount of time it will take to teach a concept. Nothing goes quickly in K-12!
Learning motivation
In general, people are motivated to develop competence. This is what makes humans good learners. As a teacher, there are ways to capitalize on this tendency. Remember to keep challenges at the proper difficulty level. Too much difficulty will discourage students, while too little will quickly lose their interest. Rewards and punishments can also enhance motivation. One example of an interesting reward is social opportunity. It has been shown that students are more motivated when they can see the usefulness of what they are learning and how that knowledge can be used to impact others. Keeping students motivated will make every other part of teaching much easier.