Understanding by Design Some Key Ideas NIESHL, 6 May 2009 By Linda Paulus.

Understanding by DesignSome Key Ideas

NIESHL, 6 May 2009By Linda Paulus

Big Ideas

What do we understand so far?

What evidence can we count on to know when students understand?

Big Ideas

Students know they understand when they successfully address novel challenges by drawing on knowledge and skills they’ve learned in your class.

Big Challenge: Why establish concrete, measurable performance objectives?

Imagine you are a high school student; look at this textbook TOC.

They are cast in terms of concrete, measurable performances.

Big Challenge:Why establish concrete, measurable performance objectives?

Contrast the tired cliches in our field (Culture/Read/Vocabulary/Write/ Speak/Listen/Grammar)with how we state concrete, measurable performance outcomes in the real world ….

Sample Desirable Outcomes and Evidence that leads to Such

Outcomes

I want to get my driver’s license.I use knowledge of the law

and road signs to resolve simple dilemmas in a written test./I demonstrate I know how to drive in a variety of circumstances in a road test.


Outcomes

I want to compete in dressage. I ride a pattern in an arena as perfectly as possible.


Outcomes

I want to lose weight and get in shape. I adjust my diet to lose 2.5 pounds per week, and increase my physical activity to burn an extra 500 calories per week.


Outcomes

I want a perfect garden. I weed and water ¼ of the garden a day, every day.

What do all these outcomes have in common?

They are cast in terms of concrete, measurable performances.

So, how do we/they get started?

We ask students …

Can you:

Teach it?Use it?Prove it?Connect it? Explain it? Defend it?Read between the

lines?

Six Facets of Understanding

To go deeper, let’s deconstruct

Understanding


Understanding is revealed only through different

kinds of evidence you gather.


What does language reveal about

Understanding?


French, Spanish, German provide some insights:

“To know”

Savoir/Connaître

Saber/Conocer

Wi§en/Kennen


English, too, provides insights. Consider just a few of the metaphors we use.

We …

Reach an understanding Grasp itCome to understand Grow into it Develop the wisdom Get it Gain perspective Change our mind

Have the know-how Become familiar

with


We benefit from a systematic approachto understanding

Understanding


Explanation is centralto

Understanding


Explanation is central to understanding

A student explains when he…Justifies facts or data.Makes connections.

Provides meaningful examples or illustrations.


Explanation’s implication?

Require students to explain what they know

and support their explanations with

evidence or personal experience.

Training for Explanation:

Key questions you AND students consistently

ask in class:Why is that so?

How do you explain it?What accounts for such action?

How can we prove it?To what is this connected?

What examples can illustrate your position?How does this work?

What does this imply?


Interpretation is centralto

Understanding


Students interpret when they …

Reveal the data’s importance.Show an event’s significance.

Identify varying interpretations.Make sense of the meaning of the task or

eventand show how it speaks to current concerns.Work through issues involved in a subject.


Interpretation’s implication?

Telling students the significance of a topic isn’t

enough. They will only understand the protean

nature of interpretation by working through the issues themselves.

Training for Interpretation:


ask in class:

What does it mean?Why is it important?

What does it reveal about the human experience?What makes sense about it?


Application is centralto

Understanding


We know students can apply knowledge in Spanish

when they …

express, interpret and negotiate meaning in

Spanish with respect to listening, reading,

speaking and writing.


Evidence students can express, interpret and negotiate

meaning:

Students take responsibility for making meaning in Spanish.

Students indicate their interpretation of a communicative task.

Students work through linguistic obstacles/misunderstandings that can occur

in conversations.Students use Spanish to solve a novel problem.

Students explain an event’s significance.


Application Mini-ChallengeCan your students speak to the following questions when asked?

Why is struggling to understand and speak a new language

worth the effort in class when speaking English is so much easier?

What does such a struggle help students illustrate about the human experience?


Application’s implication?

Students need to have clear performance goals in constant view as they

work.

Training for Application:

Key questions you AND your students

consistently ask in class:How can you use this knowledge, skill or

process?Where can you use this knowledge, skill or

process?What do the demands of this particular

challenge require you to do in order to tackle it successfully?


Perspective is central to

Understanding


We know our students develop perspective when they …

Recognize that there are multiple perspectives of a topic.

Question underlying assumptions.Can make tacit assumptions explicit.

Know how to confront alternative theories and diverse points of view dispassionately for analysis.

Identify points of distortion in common interpretations.


Perspective Mini-Challenge

Gaining perspective is an important outcome in any course that explores cross-cultural communication and understanding.

What do your students learn about their own culture(s) as they explore the cultures of The Other? Do they

know how their own culture(s) shape them as members of given cultures?


Perspective’s implication?

Every discussion of “content” requires consideration of the

meaning and value of content from different

points of view.

Training for Perspective:

Key questions you AND your students consistently ask

in class:From whose point of view is this stance?

How plausible is the point of view? Under what conditions might one’s point of view

change on this topic?What are the underlying assumptions about

the topic that need to be uncovered?Where are the holes in the argument? What are its

strengths and weaknesses?


Empathy is central to

Understanding


Empathy occurs when …

students are able to get inside another person’s

feelings and worldview for the purpose of grasping their responses and reactions.


Empathy Mini-Challenge

How do your students “get inside the heads” of family or peers with whom

they disagree, and for what purposes?

Do they access a variety of sources to doso, especially authentic sources (notfiltered through textbooks or non-nativespeakers)?


Empathy’s implication?

Students need direct experience whenever

possible, and simulated experience whenever

direct experience is not possible, to understand

effect and affect related to topics.

Training for Empathy:


ask:

How does X seem to you? How might it seem to someone else?

What do others see that I don’t?What kinds of experiences could I undertake to understand better?

What was the writer, artist, or performer trying to get me to see, think, or feel?


Self-knowledge is central to

Understanding


Students demonstrate knowledge of self when …

they know what they don’t know.They are sensitive to their own patterns of

thought and actions, and how their perceptions are filtered through those

thoughts and actions.


Self-Knowledge Mini-Challenge

Do you ask students to articulate their own roles and responsibilities in the L2

acquisition process? Do you ask them to identify and reflect on

their own cultural biases?Do you ask them to reflect on their

progress?How do you hold them accountable for

doingall of the above?


Implications of Self-Knowledge for learning:

Students must recognize and reflect on their own “blind

spots” and express willingness to change their minds when confronted with data that

conflicts with their prevailing viewpoints.

Training for Self knowledge:


ask:

How does your background shape your understanding of this topic?

What “blind spots” need to be addressed before you answer?

What might you misunderstand because of prejudice, habit, or style?

What aspects of your argument are verifiable facts, and what aspects are beliefs and opinions?

Chapter Four’s Biggest Idea:

To engineer understanding … we must be constantly looking for opportunities to polish all six facets …

Chapter Four’s Biggest Idea:

To engineer understanding … we must be constantly looking for opportunities to polish all six facets …

so our students really shine!

Understanding by Design Some Key Ideas NIESHL, 6 May 2009 By Linda Paulus.

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