How do you know when they "understand"?

How many times do we ask our students: Do you get it? Do you understand? And how many times do we think they get it because they eagerly nod their heads as though they're ready to teach it themselves. And when it's time to apply the what they understand, they demonstrate that they really don't. Little did we know that they were eagerly nodding to get it the "xxxx" over wtih. Well, I think true understanding, "comprehension", or however we refer to the elusive "light going on" about any subject is when a student, or for that matter anyone, can do 3 things:

1. Articulate it in their own words,


2. Visualize it, and


3. Apply it to various contexts.

Think about it: how else can you really understand something unless you say it in the words that make most sense to you and the context of the world as you see it and live in it. Once you're able to visualize this, you are then able to apply that knowledge to endless number of situations.

The challenge that educators have is: how do we construct this for our students at any developmental stage. How do we provide the platter of appetizing strategies for them to be able to express or demonstrate their understanding on any given subject? (Food metaphors work well for me.)

I propose that we first limit this need we have to satisfy our sense of self worth by asking them what they understand and instead find the means for them to show us how they understand. What do you think?

In a quandry about the G.L.A.D. Project

My 3rd grade teammate is a G.L.A.D. trainer and has an 3/4 ELD classoom. GLAD is an amazing approach to teaching non-fiction subjects, it's a great integration of pictorials, graphic organizers, and songs to make meaning of history and expository non-fiction. I teach in a Dual Language classroom and always need new ideas. I was trained last summer in the G.L.A.D. Project and have been using small portions of it in my teaching, but to be fair I have not implemented a complete GLAD unit. Here are my thoughts on what I observe about GLAD (most observing my teammate): It seems to be teacher centered; all information is relayed through the teacher, through teacher made songs, teacher made books, and teacher made pictorials.

I believe in contructivist approach to teaching through questioning and building understanding through modeling, inquiry, and guidance. Tell me your thoughts or experience with GLAD Project. I'd like to be convinced otherwise. Thanks