Looking at Understanding

What does it mean for this student to really understand Earth Science?

What are the different ways of understanding these images that are appropriate for your students?

Facets of Understanding Explanation Interpretation Application Perspective Empathy Self-Knowledge

Understanding vs Knowing Understanding is not… –Listing facts –Identifying –Recalling –Naming Bloom’s Levels –Knowledge –Comprehension –Application –Analysis –Synthesis –Evaluation

Explanation Sophisticated and apt understandings and theories which provide knowledgeable and justified accounts of events, actions, and ideas. –When we ask students to describe, justify, prove, show cause and effect, show the mechanism by which something works, make predictions, draw conclusions, build theories

Explaining Volcanic Eruption –Explain why Mt. St. Helens erupted. Extend this explanation to include other volcanoes in the Cascades.

Interpretation Narratives and translations that provide meaning. –Stories of discovery, setbacks, revolutions in understanding (i.e. paradigm shifts), perseverance in the face of obstacles, accidental insights, competition and collaboration, cheating, fraud, and misrepresentation in science, intolerance toward new ideas, misunderstanding, hostility, and ridicule.

Creation Stories

Geologic Stories

Earth Stories

Interpreting Volcanic Eruption –What is the geologic story of Mt. St. Helens? How has the volcano changed over time?

Application The ability to use knowledge effectively in new situations and diverse contexts. –Moving beyond inert and textbook knowledge –Knowledge in use –Solving a problem, carrying out an investigation, designing a working model

Applying Volcanic Eruption –Apply your understanding of the Mt. St. Helens eruption to make predictions of other places in the world where similar eruptions might occur.

Perspective Critical and insightful points of view. –Thinking outside the box –Seeing the interconnection among things –Considering multiple solutions to problems –Seeing the situation from alternative viewpoints (microscopic, macroscopic, geologic, cosmologic) –Seeing the forest as well as the individual trees Many scientific discoveries arise from this

Perspective & Volcanic Eruption –Examine the role volcanoes play in Earth systems. –Examine what topography tells us about volcanic eruptions. –Imagine you are the lava that is erupting.

Empathy The ability to identify with another person’s feelings and worldviews. –Having respect for the hypotheses, theories, and explanations of others, including peers and historical figures in science, such as Alfred Wegener

Empathy & Volcanic Eruption –Why do people choose to live near volcanoes? –What does this topic or phenomenon mean for humans? How does it impact us? –What does it mean for us as a civilization?

Self-Knowledge The wisdom to know one’s ignorance and how one’s patterns of thought and action inform as well as prejudice understanding. –What do I understand and not understand? –How well can I communicate my understanding? –How confident am I of my understanding?

Self-Knowledge & Volcanic Eruption –How well do you understand this volcanic eruption?

Applying the Facets Choose one of the following areas of Earth Science content. Describe questions that tap understanding in each of the facets. –Cloud formation –Erosion –Human population growth –Ocean currents –Planetary motion