Comprehension

Day 2, Bloom's Taxonomy

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Acts 8:30 (ESV)

              Fluency is a significant skill in reading. Beginning in kindergarten, students are given reading fluency tests. Each nine weeks in kindergarten, the students have a required list of sight words they are to memorize. Even pre-kindergarten classes have lists of sight words they are exposing students to by the end of the year.

              When I taught fourth grade, we were required to complete fluency tests at the beginning of each quarter. I enjoyed administering these tests and listening to the kids who could read fast. That year, I had one particular student who could read faster than anyone in the class and she was proud of that fact. The problem with her reading ability was that all she could do was decode the words. She read it all with zero mistakes but couldn’t tell you what she just read, even if she slowed down. Decoding words without the ability to comprehend the meaning is useless in education.

              On the other hand, I had a student who couldn’t even identify sight words, much less decode words in a text. Having him try to read a passage felt like watching a dentist pull teeth. It literally hurt my heart. But something I learned about this young man was that his comprehension and understanding of text that I read to him was off the charts. It was as if he almost had an internal compartment in his brain that stored every word he heard.

              So which student’s situation is better? In my opinion, the second student. If all a student can do is recall facts, decode words, or recite definitions, then they are like a dictionary or encyclopedia walking around on human legs. Students must learn how to think for themselves, to go deeper than the surface. They need to comprehend.

              Comprehension is the second level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. At this level of content mastery, students are able to organize, translate, compare, interpret, and state main ideas of concepts. In math, this would be performing basic word problems; in science, comparing two different elements; and in reading, expressing the main idea in a passage. Here are some ways to assess a student at the Comprehension level of Bloom’s Taxonomy:

·       Explain what the first paragraph of the story is about in your own words.

·       Predict what will happen based on your understanding of chemical changes if we mix baking soda and vinegar.

·       Draw a picture representing how Charlie felt before he found the golden ticket and after he found the golden ticket.

·       Construct a timeline of the events that took place in the Battle of Olustee using pictures.

In order for our students to comprehend, they must have knowledge to work from. If a doctor tells me I am diabetic and I don’t comprehend the lifestyle changes that must occur, the knowledge is useless. If our students aren’t taught how to comprehend the content, then our efforts are in vain. And if we don’t dig deeper into God’s word and seek to comprehend his instructions, we will never grow in our faith.

Do the Heart Work

1.      In what ways do you teach students to comprehend the material you teach?

2.      Explain what you think the difference is between Knowledge and Comprehension.

3.      What happens to Christians who don’t comprehend what they are taught?

Digging Deeper

The Comprehension level is a necessary step that leads directly to application. Check out these verses about comprehending what we are taught.

1.      My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Proverbs 4:20-24 (ESV)

2.      Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)

3.      So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 (ESV)

4.      As he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 2 Peter 3:16 (ESV)

5.      And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:13 (ESV)

If You Get Spare Time 

Look back at our opening scripture. Phillip asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading. If we do not understand, we can’t change. If we don’t comprehend what is being taught, we can’t move forward. The same goes for the classroom; our students will never be able to move forward unless they understand and comprehend the material. Take some time today to ponder this concept.