Knowledge, Understanding, and Pedagogy

One can have a justified, true belief without much understanding of the proposition believed. This would be a low-value form of knowledge; for example, knowing that it is true that E = mc2 without understanding what it would mean for these things to be equal. Pedagogically, we seek to instill not bare knowledge of the JTB variety, but a form of knowledge that includes the ability to rephrase a claim, relate it to other claims, draw conclusions from it, and make practical use of it. This would be knowledge with understanding, a high-value form of knowledge. Such knowledge comes in degrees as understanding deepens. Marks of understanding are presented, and some pedagogical strategies for using this schema in order to add to a student’s partially present knowledge and deepen it with greater understanding are given.