Understanding is a complex and wide area in which human beings are immerse all the time. The idea of understanding is part of our evolution and its implicancies has been analysed to understand its problematic. The main problem of understanding is to get its real meaning. When we talk about this concept we have to direct our thoughts inside the word to appreciate that human brains are multiple organisms that control every piece of information that travels in it. The idea of understanding as a common process is not realistic. In the real context, at schools, we are always evaluating students´performances to measure if they understood or not. So that, understanding is more than a way of assessing someone´s learning process, in fact it is the most higher level to comprehend and to use that information to solve real and difficult situations in their lives.
There is another concept which is absolutely misunderstood. Knowledge has been conceptualized as a general concept where supposedly someone has achieved a level or a new stage of understanding. This idea has limited the dimension of learning giving knowledge a similar condition than understading. As part of a process, knwoledge is a fact, a data or an especific element that helps to acquire more information in order to achieve the prime objective which is understanding.
Understanding is a scenario where connections are happening, where mental structures congregate a big amount of information that is activated through a correct and dynamic construction. When we talk about Understanding it implies a subordinate element that helps to make those connections. Transfer is the road where info is advancing to make the click. The idea of transfering is more than a step or a stage. It means a sophisticated mechanism to put those ideas or concepts into practice, in other words it has the mision of supporting new connections or a new way of thinking that is replacing those first constructions, to assume a new perspective. The complex and successful stage of understanding.
I think you go straight to the point when you explain in your last paragraph the connection between understanding and transfer. Your explanation makes the idea easier to understand, although I would have simplyfied the information a bit.
ReplyDeleteyou explained the difference between understanding and knowledge very well. It is important for teacher to have this difference in mind when they assess their students, because childern need to be assess in terms of how they can apply what they learned. Excellent!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that understanding is the higher level to comprehend but do you think that teachers really evaluate understanding, I think that most of them do not.
ReplyDeleteI also agree on the statement related with the level of understanding that we need. Unfortunately, teachers are not interested in these levels, they just want to give a grade to srudents to fulfill the requirements of the communitive standards. It a sorrow because they focus on useless part of teaching, instead to go straight to the point.
ReplyDeleteTransferring as sophisticated mechanism. Well, in fact by transferring humans can go from one area of study to their normal life "clicking" on meaningful connections. but in order to transfer what we learn from on side to the other we should be good at understand understanding and what this implies for our goals.
ReplyDeleteI think understanding is the way learners can take to manage their own learning process and why not; their own lives. The idea is to realize and make a click in our minds about what we're facing and know how to put it in practice.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with you, because as you say that understanding is a scenario where connections are happening, we have to focus on taking advantage on that aspect, to get better in education aspects.
ReplyDeleteMientras los conocimientos que aprenden los estudiantes son importantes, su aplicación de los conocimientos es una clara demostración de sus habilidades de transferir la información a otros aspectos de su aprendizaje. Facilitar esta transferencia de entendimiento debe ser una meta principal para todos los profesores, no importa qué es su área específica de contenidos.
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