Have you ever asked yourself these questions?

• "How do I decide what is important for my students to learn?"

• "Can I convince others - and my own students - that what we are studying is important?"

• "What are my students really getting out of this class?"

• "Why can't my students seem to remember anything from the previous unit once we move on to the next one?"

• "Am I really reaching all my students?"

• "How can I make my class mean more to students than just another grade on their report card?"

• "How can I help students see that their grades aren't arbitrary?"

• "Will my students be able to use anything they learn in this class in the future? How will I know?"

• "How can I have a conversation with my colleagues about what we're teaching and what our students are learning?"

The work represented here is due to the collaborative thought and work of the teachers and researchers of the Teaching for Understanding Project, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Over the course of five years, members of this group talked together, developed curricula, tried them out in classroom, watched and talked with students, wrote case studies, and eventually solidified a framework that identifies the central aspects of planning and teaching for understanding.

First we will take a look at what we mean by "understanding".  

• What's Understanding?
• What's Teaching for Understanding?
• What's the Teaching for Understanding Framework?

Information Contents Introduction What's Understanding?     - An Interactive Look at Understanding What's Teaching for Understanding?     - A Performance Criterion What's the TfU Framework     - Throughlines     - Generative Topics     - Understanding Goals     - Performances of Understanding     - Ongoing Assessment