The Teaching for Understanding Guide

by Blythe, Tina

• ISBN13: 9780787909932
• ISBN10: 0787909939
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-11-02
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

"This handbook will both encourage and assist those teachers who take on the important challenge of helping their students to think deeply and resourcefully and to use that intellectual power constructively." --Theodore R. Sizer, chairman, Coalition of Essential Schools Walks teachers through the "teaching for understanding" process. The authors offer classroom examples, practical tips, and worksheets to help clarify the process. They also show how to select engaging and appropriate topics, set coherent unit and course goals, create dynamic learning activities, improve student performance through continual feedback, and more.

Author Biography

TINA BLYTHE is a project coordinator for Project Zero at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. Contributions were also made by the teachers and researchers of Harvard's Teaching for Understanding Project. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix	(2)
Preface	xi	(6)
Purpose and Audience	xii	(1)
Overview of the Contents	xiii	(4)
The Authors	xvii	(2)
Acknowledgments	xix
1. What This Guide Is (and Isn't)	1	(8)
What This Guide Is	2	(1)
What This Guide Is Not	3	(1)
About the Format	3	(1)
About the Case Studies	4	(1)
Suggestions for Enhancing the Book's Usefulness	4	(2)
Reflection	6	(3)
2. Understanding Understanding	9	(8)
The Difficulty of Teaching for Understanding	11	(1)
What Is Understanding?	12	(2)
How Do Students Learn for Understanding?	14	(1)
Reflection	15	(2)
3. The Teaching for Understanding Framework	17	(8)
The Four Parts of the Framework	17	(5)
What's New Here?	22	(1)
Reflection	23	(2)
4. Generative Topics	25	(10)
Case Study: Finding Generativity in a History Unit	25	(4)
Key Features of Generative Topics	29	(2)
Planning Generative Topics	31	(1)
Teaching with Generative Topics	31	(1)
Common Questions About Generative Topics	32	(1)
Reflection	33	(2)
5. Understanding Goals	35	(20)
Case Study: Creating Unit and Course Understanding Goals in an English Class	36	(8)
Key Features of Understanding Goals	44	(2)
Goals That Do Not Emphasize Understanding	46	(1)
Planning Unit-Long Understanding Goals	46	(2)
Planning Overarching Understanding Goals	48	(1)
Teaching with Understanding Goals	49	(1)
Common Questions About Understanding Goals	50	(1)
Reflection	51	(4)
6. Performances of Understanding	55	(16)
Case Study: Developing Performances of Understanding for a Science Unit	56	(6)
Key Features of Performances of Understanding	62	(3)
Performances That Do Not Necessarily Show Understanding	65	(1)
Planning Performances of Understanding	65	(2)
Teaching with Performances of Understanding	67	(1)
Common Questions About Performances of Understanding	68	(2)
Reflection	70	(1)
7. Ongoing Assessment	71	(18)
Case Study: Embedding Ongoing Assessment in a Geometry Unit	72	(7)
Key Features of Ongoing Assessment	79	(4)
Assessment That Does Not Support Understanding	83	(1)
Planning Ongoing Assessment	84	(1)
Teaching with Ongoing Assessment	85	(1)
Common Questions About Ongoing Assessment	86	(1)
Reflection	87	(2)
8. Tips and Tools for Planning and Teaching	89	(20)
Getting Started	89	(3)
A Planning Process	92	(10)
Teaching with the Framework	102	(2)
Reflection	104	(5)
9. Teaching for Understanding and Other Educational Practices	109	(10)
Comparing the Framework to Other Teaching Strategies	110	(6)
Reflection	116	(3)
Glossary of Terms	119