Does Learning Equal Understanding?

Stefanie Mc-E
Jul 12, 2023
6 min read

Updated: Nov 10, 2023

For the past few years, my district has placed a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in our schools and classrooms. Each summer and throughout the year we have been required to attend professional developments provided on the digital platform, Zoom,

by a company who focuses on this subject matter. Throughout these workshops a variety of topics have been covered around DEI but at no point did the presenter attempt to tap into our pre-existing knowledge about DEI. What preconceptions, beliefs or misconceptions did we as participants already have coming into these workshops about DEI that would have been helpful to know when delivering instruction. As Bransford et al. mentions in the book How People Learn: Brain, mind, experience and school, the presenters didn’t “pay attention to the students’ interpretations and provide guidance when necessary” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 11) but instead taught the concepts and every once in a while would stop to allow us to have an unstructured table group discussion. Discussion time is important to allow us the opportunity to cement our learning and find the practicality but it wasn’t done in a way that required equal participation from all nor did it offer the presenter a way to assess our understanding. Bransford et al. makes me ask if we we’re able to find and use the information taught or were we only remembering and repeating the information (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 5)? I learned definitions of the terms diversity, equity and inclusion and could demonstrate this memorization by stating them in my own words as I came to understand them to be:

Diversity is what makes people unique such as their ethnicities and lifestyles.
Equity is making adjustments with the purpose of balancing the inequities or privileges of some and not others.
Inclusion is providing a safe environment that welcomes the differences and similarities of all involved.

Knowing the definitions of these terms doesn’t guarantee I fully understand how to put them into practice in my classroom with my students as I have not had the time or opportunity to learn or gain a deeper understanding of DEI in order for me to transfer the informational facts into knowledge that is practical and usable (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 16). In order for me to accomplish understanding, I need to know the why or the relationships between diversity, equity and inclusion and be able to use that knowledge to problem solve or make in the moment instructional changes that would benefit my teaching. I agree that “organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the student to apply what was learned in new situations” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 17) and this is something I have not yet accomplished with DEI.

Since, I don’t have the full understanding of how these terms should be incorporated into my instruction or how to apply them in new situations, I have not fully embraced conceptual change. I wasn’t given the opportunity to have my thinking around how this new information could be applied to my classroom be made visible. The presenters had no idea of what I was thinking. Had I been given the opportunity to express how I apply or see myself applying these DEI concepts in my classroom to the presenter, they could have helped recognize my misconceptions to further aid in my understanding (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 71).

It seems to me that learning, understanding and conceptual change build upon each other. Learning will transition to understanding when it is relevant and connections can be made for the student. In addition, students need to be provided with the opportunity to demonstrate their new learning and gain feedback of their understanding. Conceptual change requires learning and understanding in order to change or adapt one’s preconceptions or misconceptions.

Expert vs Novice

I wonder if I am an expert or a novice in card making? Even though I spend hours on my hobby of making cards, I’ve been told my cards are beautiful and people purchase my cards, I wouldn’t consider myself to be an expert. Unlike many of the experts in the field, I do not “notice features and meaningful patterns of information”, I have not “acquired a great deal of content knowledge that is organized in ways that reflect a deep understanding” nor am I “able to flexibly retrieve important aspects of their knowledge with little attention to effort” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 31). While I do not possess some of the key principles Bransford et al. describes, there are many crafters I follow and learn from who do, such as Jennifer McGuire and the Creative Chick herself, Jenn Shurkus.

Jennifer McGuire explains in several of her videos on her YouTube Channel that when she receives a new product for the first time, she can look at it and think of five or more ways it could be used. She can easily rattle off these ideas with little effort. I, on the other hand, can receive the same product and at first use it to copy the sample on the packaging or an idea I’ve seen from another crafter. If I needed to come up with the amount of ideas Jennifer came up with, it would take me a great deal of time to do so and they probably wouldn’t be as unique. The difference between myself and Jennifer McGuire is that she, as an expert card marker, has “acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 31). In her twenty plus years of card making, she has a greater knowledge base and understanding of the craft, how to use and manipulate the tools in different ways as well as how to incorporate them into new ideas, problem solve and develop new techniques.

It is important to understand that the learning process between novices and experts is different in order to deliver the best instruction for my students. A great example of this understanding is demonstrated during some of the card making classes I have taken online. During the pandemic, I discovered Jenn Shurkus. She was the first card maker I followed and I’m constantly learning new tips and tricks from her in each class I take. She hosts her classes live on Facebook and Youtube which are attended by participants from all over the world and of different skill levels. Jenn teaches card making techniques as if each participant is doing it for the first time but also provides opportunities for extensions to challenge those who already have a knowledge base. It is clear that Jenn understands “short-term memory is enhanced when people are able to chunk information into familiar patterns” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 33). The majority of her classes include completing three cards. Instead of completing each card from start to finish, Jenn chunks the instruction by technique or skill. For example, we might create all of the inky backgrounds first and let them dry. Then we will color all of the images, as Jenn says, “glitter all the things” and finish by assembling each card.

As the expert in my classroom who is delivering the instruction to my novice students, it is crucial that I “recognize features and patterns that are not noticed by novices” (Bransford et al., 2000, p. 36) in order to improve my instruction just as the expert crafters do in their classes. When planning instruction, I also need to take into consideration that not all students gain understanding at the same rate, just as all crafters won’t be able to apply the concepts learned from one demonstration. Having access to videos of the live crafting lessons provides the opportunity to go back and revisit the content as needed. This concept is no different in the classroom for my students. Providing them with the ability to access the content in many ways and multiple times will help them transition from learning to understanding.