Education Shortform
Understanding
In a nutshell…
U is for understanding. The second row of Bloom’s taxonomy focuses on understanding (or ‘comprehension’), and there can be no doubt that this has been and continues to be a key concept throughout education.
The ‘teaching for understanding’ movement has argued against rote memorisation of facts and in favour of a depth of understanding. This is founded on constructivist principles, in that the amount and structure of prior knowledge (based on schemas) is seen as more critical than how frequently information is repeated or practiced.
And what is wrong with learning facts? Nothing, but the concern is that learners may be unable to apply their learning in new situations. In other words, knowledge alone it is hard to transfer; learners may know things but be unable to use them.
Fortunately, some research has investigated strategies for boosting transfer, for example ‘hugging’ (learning in ways that resemble the target use) and ‘bridging’ (developing more abstract understandings that apply broadly).
Effective metacognition — a learner’s ability to monitor and control their own learning via effective strategies and reflection — may also help (find out more here).
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This is one of a series of shortform education articles. You can download a simplified summary of my ‘A–Z of Educational concepts’ here.
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