I have come to recognize 5 levels of understanding in my students. I teach them what these five levels are. I think it is important for a student to be able to self-evaluate where they are at in their understanding as they are learning new material and adapting it to their preexisting knowledge. This self-awareness of ones own knowledge is one of the abilities I have listed on my Learning Skills poster. The 5 levels of understanding shows up as a talking point on my Heart and Head poster.
The first (AKA: WORST) level of understanding is I DON'T KNOW AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT I DON'T KNOW. This often includes I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT I DON'T KNOW. If this person was at a swimming pool, he would walk over to the deep end and jump in and drown because he doesn't know how to swim and he doesn't even know that he doesn't know how to swim. In math class, he could be asked what 7*8 equals and he might say, with confidence and/or a total lack of concern for actually being correct, ... 53.
The second level of understanding is I DON'T KNOW, BUT I KNOW I DON'T KNOW. This person, if he were at the swimming pool, would walk over to the shallow end and play because he knows he can't swim. He still gets wet and has fun, but he doesn't drown . In math, he could be asked what 7*8 equals and he would know that he doesn't know the answer... but he could write seven 8s and add them or he could think 7*4 = 28 and then add 28 plus 28 and get 56. The point is, if I know that I don't know, then I can start using my problem solving strategies and behavior and intelligences to figure out the answer. I don't GUESS. It is way better to know that I don't know. For example... Question... "What is the sum of all the integers from 1 to 100?" I don't know. I could simply guess... or I could start adding 1+2+3+... but that would take a long time. Or I could start asking other questions and answering them like... What is 1 + 100 ? 101. What is 2+99? 101. What is 3+98? 101. Do I see a pattern? YES How many pairs of 101 would there be? 50. What is 101*50? Isn't that just 101*5 with a zero at the end?... 5050. It is very powerful to know what you don't know. It allows you to solve a problem, rather than guess.
The third level of understanding is I CAN ONLY DO IT IF I HAVE EFFECTIVE HELP. This person, if he were at the swimming pool, would get their life jacket on and then go out in the deep end and play with their friends. This person can not swim on their own and they know it. In math, this person would take effective notes on how to solve a problem and then use them to do a similar problem. In my Lab classes, I give a quiz every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each quiz is usually 3 questions long and my students need to get at least 2 out of 3 correct to pass. My students have to pass at least 50% of the quizzes to pass my Lab class. I let my students use their notes on their quiz. We do similar problems to what will be on the quiz as practice and notes. In the beginning, most of my students still failed these quizzes, but when I told them they needed to pass at least 50% of them to pass the class, they got more serious and have learned how to take effective notes and use them. I had a student that had failed every quiz I had given her for the first several weeks. She believed she was bad at math and so she behaved in such a way as to make sure she was right... like the saying goes..."If you think you can or you think you can't... you are right!" She didn't pay attention very much. She didn't correct her mistakes very much. Her belief about herself was a self fulling prophecy. Then I convinced her, that if she took effective notes and used them, she would pass a quiz. The first day she took effective notes and then used them, SHE PASSED the quiz. I was so proud of her and happy for her. She had started down the awesome road of believing and wanting to learn... and it was impacting positively how she behaved in my class. I keep telling my students, "You are what you believe." I encourage them to aim high and then "Live like you believe what you say you believe!"
It is late. I will discuss the last two levels tomorrow. I'll end with this promise, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"
Day 11
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