Extended Blog Series: Leveraging Deep Learning
Blog 1: Why Knowing Isn’t Enough
Written by: Tania Lattanzio
“Educators should move away from trying to cover excessive f actual material and instead orient their curriculum around a smaller number of conceptually larger, transferable ideas.”
About this series:
This blog series is based on ideas from Andrea Muller and my latest book, Leveraging Deep Learning: Strategies and Tools for Continuous Assessment of Conceptual Understanding. Each post shares practical insights and tools designed to support educators in planning for deeper learning, involving students in the assessment process, and making understanding visible in everyday teaching. I hope these reflections help spark thinking and support you in your practice.
We've all had students who can recite facts or ace a quiz only to struggle when asked to use that knowledge in new ways. They know, but they don’t always understand. The difference between knowing and understanding is fundamental and it's time we paid closer attention to it.
Knowing is about recall. It’s the facts, formulas, dates, and definitions. Understanding, on the other hand, is about seeing how ideas connect. It’s about relevance, application, and transfer. When students understand something, they can explain it in their own words, make connections, apply it in unfamiliar contexts, and most importantly see its value.
As McTighe and Silver (2020) state; “Educators should move away from trying to cover excessive factual material and instead orient their curriculum around a smaller number of conceptually larger, transferable ideas”.
As educators, we have to ask ourselves: Are we planning for understanding, or are we just delivering knowledge? In a world that demands creative thinking, adaptability, and problem-solving, understanding is what will prepare learners for complexity not just correctness.
In my own work with schools, I often see the shift happen when teachers begin with the concepts rather than the content. Concepts give students a lens through which to view their learning. Instead of just studying ‘rainforests,’ students might explore the concepts of interdependence and systems, leading them to understand ecosystems, not just memorize parts of one.
This conceptual lens gives learning longevity. Students begin to build a schema a mental framework where learning is stored in connected, reusable ways. In their research on transfer Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) found “organizing information into a conceptual framework allows for greater “transfer”; that is, it allows the learner to apply what was learned in new situations and to learn related information more quickly.” This means they are more likely to transfer and apply what they’ve learned to new contexts. That's where deep learning lives.
It’s not just about remembering. It’s about making meaning.
Helpful Hints:
When planning a unit, ask yourself: “What do I want students to understand and be able to apply beyond this classroom?”
Reframe learning outcomes around big ideas and concepts, not just skills and facts, what concept do the facts and/or content connect to?
Use conceptual questions that provoke thinking and connection-making.
Encourage students to explain their thinking and ask, “Why does this matter? Why do students need to learn this?”
Start with the end in mind: What will understanding look like in action?
References
McTighe, Jay, and Harvey F. Silver. “Instructional Shifts to Support Deep Learning” September 2020. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept20/vol78/num01/Instructional-Shifts-to-Support-Deep-Learning.aspx.
Bransford, John D., Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking (eds). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, revised edition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000, p. 17.
Found this article helpful? Get more of such strategies and tools for making learning visible in my book, Leveraging Deep Learning: Strategies and Tools for Continuous Assessment of Conceptual Understanding. Get the paperback in the link below: