E-Learning around the Worldelearning-seminar .uoc.edu

7 June 2013

Teaching for Understanding: the role of ICT and E-learning

Educating for theUnknownData

Information

Knowledge

Understanding

Wisdom

Reconsider Understanding

• How do you know you understand it?Understanding is a capability to apply your knowledge

flexibly and effectively in various situations

Understanding is demonstrated and developed through performances of understanding

Think of something you understand well:

• How did you develop this understanding?

Teaching for Understanding Framework: based on collaborative research conducted at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Generative Topics

Build the curriculum around important and accessible topics that interest learners and teachers

Understanding Goals

Define explicit goals for learners’ understanding and make goals public early and often

Performances of Understanding

On-going Assessment

Provide multiple, varied opportunities for learners to perform in ways that develop and demonstrate their understanding

Assess learners’ work frequently using public criteria that align with learning goals and suggest ways to improve

Support reflective, collaborative learning communities

of teachers and learners

Generative Topics

Performances of

Understanding

Ongoing Assessment

UnderstandingGoals

ReflectiveCollaborativeCommunity

Too often assessment does not support understanding

Not helpful feedback

How is teaching for understanding different from traditional instruction?

• Knowledge is a product• Teaching is transmission• Learning is reception• Students absorb and repeat• Exams test knowledge acquisition• Schools are organized to support

instruction, not learning for understanding

Traditional instruction:

How is teaching for understanding different from traditional instruction?

• Understanding is a process• Teaching is cultivation• Learning is constructing• Students think, apply, create, critique• Exams assess/promote expertise• Learning communities share authority and

responsibility among members • Schools are communities of inquiry

Treaching for Understanding:

Teaching for Understanding:Engage Multiple Intelligences

Teaching for Understanding:Offer Students some Choices

Teaching for Understanding:Support Practical Inquiry Cycles

http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03d_UnderstandingRoutines/ConnectExtendChallenge/ConnectExtend_Routine.html

Teaching for Understanding:

Make Thinking Visible andHelp Students Learn from One

Another

Leaving the door unlocked is like giving away the key

Teaching for Understanding:Reflective, collaborative communities of learners

Share educational authority and responsibility

How can ICTs and E-Learning help?

• Connect learning to life• Promote interactive learning• Support multiple intelligences • Enable students to pursue multiple pathways• Make learners’ thinking visible• Sustain Practical Inquiry Cycles…over time and

across distance• Foster ongoing assessment and revision• Connect communities of learners• Facilitate balance between teacher guidance and

learners’ intrinsically motivated inquiry

Teaching For

Understanding