An Example of Understanding

From 2009. I wonder why I never finished this. It is a pretty good start.

I haven't done a very good job this year of explaining to teachers what real understanding is. With all kinds of distractions professional and personal I haven't done as a good a job teaching my adult students as my teenage students. So here is an example of the true meaning of understanding and what it means.

Let's begin with Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's premise of a heiracrchy starting at the bottom with acquire and moving from there to meaning making and eventually to transfer.

Acquire--B is not D, kicking a soccer ball is best done not with the toe but with the instep.

Meaning Making--putting letters together into words, many combinations are available, rules change, the instep isn't always the best way to kick the ball.

Transfer--all of those letters can make thousands of words and they can be combined in innumerable ways, knowing all the shots in soccer doesn't necessarily equal a soccer star.

But let's look at an example that might be more helpful. Consider how you learned history. Even if you were in one of those progressive schools think about "traditionally taught" American history.

When you have hit the point of acquisition you know things like:

• Washington never told a lie and cut down the cherry tree.


• Lincoln freed the slaves and was assassinated.


• Jefferson was a great man that lived at Monticello, was a great president and a great Virginian.


• Going to moon was all about going to the moon.


• Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan saved lives and ended a terrible war quickly.

Meaning making