ABSTRACT

First published in 2012. Why does understanding really matter? Why do some learners fail to understand? At a time when league tables can be everything, examination grades matter. Perhaps more than many would admit, the cost is a lack of understanding. The new edition of Teaching for Understanding provides practical advice about how to support understanding in both children and adults. It is for all teachers and lecturers, experienced or otherwise, who want learners to do more than simply memorize and regurgitate information. It describes what understanding means in the different subjects and offers a framework for supporting understanding. Revised and updated to reflect evolving ideas about education and the latest challenges facing teachers and learners, this new edition includes a section on the role of e-learning, as well as additional classroom contexts and extra strategies for supporting understanding. Topics explored include: what is understanding and why is it so valuable? how understanding happens: the mental processes; the relationship between understanding and creative thought; reasons for misunderstanding and how to combat them; the impact of learners’ motivation and strategies for self-help; how to evaluate understanding.

chapter |4 pages

Quality counts

chapter |12 pages

The nature of understanding

chapter |12 pages

Making connections

chapter |15 pages

Mental engagement

chapter |13 pages

Something to think with

chapter |16 pages

Surrogate teachers

chapter |12 pages

Failing to understand

chapter |7 pages

Knowing what counts

chapter |11 pages

Motivated to understand

chapter |10 pages

Evaluating understanding

chapter |7 pages

Changing minds