This was touched upon a wee bit in 12.1 Knowledge and 12.1 should be read first. Which means 1.5 should be read before 12.1. Please do not read any of the notes in section 12 without reading 1.5 and then each note in order. They are not free-standing and self-supporting.

Comprehension is not actually using or applying knowledge per se. It is about understanding the data, information, or situation, and what it means; the looking and observing, the hearing and listening. Observing is more than seeing and listening is more than just hearing. Observing and listening involve more cognitive processes!

The knowledge needed to comprehend something. Before you should apply, analyse, synthesize, or evaluate, you should have the appropriate level of comprehension. It is about decoding the situation, making connections with existing knowledge, putting the knowledge and situation in context (i.e., thinking deeply). This can cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how. It can cover the underlying assumptions (used later in applying and analysis), and knowledge about strengths, weaknesses, caveats, etc. This requires more complex thought than mere memorization.

We like to join the themes of 12.2 and 12.1 together. We suggest that the learning and assessment of knowledge in a pure form not be done. You can have some purity of course, but a healthy dose of comprehension is required at the same time.

Comprehension is what gets you from looking to seeing, from listening to hearing.

Learning thoughts…

• At noted, there are three key aspects; the decoding, making connections, and the thinking. These are relatively distinct and each should be explicitly considered during instruction.
• Comprehension can be improved by teaching students how to read, how to listen and how to think about how something is stated in your domain; the key words, the phrases. Do not assume that the students actually know how to parse, lesson, or think about what they are reading or listening to.

• Comprehension can also be learned in part through experiential, think-pair-share, and peer instruction exercises. All of these should include a healthy discussion with the instruction and a chance to use the lessons learned.
• You cannot teach comprehension actually. At least we do not think so, not in the traditional sense of lecturing, memorizing, acquiring facts. You can present the facts and knowledge, and recipes for applying etc. but you cannot preach understanding. Thus, while you cannot teach, you can lead, coach, and give the students appropriate situations to understand.
• Understanding often has a phase of implicitly (or explicitly) setting up a hypothesis of sorts and seeing if the hypothesis holds up. If your understanding correct? This process implies that we need to give the students a chance to think about what they think they have learned and see if they can or cannot understand it, and if the understanding is appropriate.
• This understanding loop should be done in the same lecture (if possible). This way, the feedback is relatable and the students will exit the lecture knowing what they actually learned, what they understand, and what they need to work on. Waiting for a lab or tutorial is not soon enough. Waiting for an exam is certainly not soon enough.

Assessing thoughts…

• The goal of learning is not necessarily what is called near transfer, but far transfer; this is when the learning can be applied in significantly different situations, not identical to the classroom. Many assessments test for near transfer (e.g., questions at the end of a text). Or, no transfer – what is the definition of x.
• Students can be taught how to paraphrase and this skill can be used on assessments to check the level of comprehension.
• A baseline assessment at the start of term might be useful to ascertain the starting point for the class and the students. This is useful for many reasons, but is especially useful for checking assumptions and comprehension. If you are relying on previous learning, such a test can also help determine the retention.
• Assessment for comprehension should be conducted before the formal phases of applying, analysing, etc. Students should not proceed to the applying, analysing, etc. based on a faulty foundation. Bad habits will be hard to change once acquired.
• While it is possible to construct multiple-choice questions for testing comprehension, it is tricky and we suggest that if multiple-choice questions are used, there should be a ‘why’ or ‘explain’ portion of each question. It is important to have the students think deeper (beyond Kahneman’s System 1, 2011) and to be assessed at this deeper level.
• Comprehension can be tested with respect to the assumptions, where applicable, where not applicable, etc.; via small case examples of where ideas are used with the student explaining how the learning outcome fits in (or doesn’t).
• Comprehension is linked with applying and analysing of course. There are additional ways to assess comprehension when application and problem solving is focused upon.

Further reading

• Kahneman, D. (2011) Thinking, Fast and Slow, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
• Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. A. (2001). Taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Addison Wesley Longman.
• Koksal, D., and O.G. Ulum (2018). Language assessment through Bloom's Taxonomy. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14, 2, pp. 76-88.