What is conceptual understanding?
What does conceptual understanding mean?
Conceptual understanding is the deep comprehension of principles and ideas within a subject, enabling the application of knowledge to various contexts and the integration of related concepts.
In the context of Higher Education (HE) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), conceptual understanding encompasses:
- Grasping Core Principles: Understanding fundamental principles and theories that form the foundation of a subject.
- Interconnected Knowledge: Recognizing the connections between different concepts within a subject and across different subjects.
- Application of Knowledge: Being able to apply theoretical knowledge to solve real-world problems and novel situations.
- Critical Thinking: Engaging in analytical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to reason logically within the discipline.
- Metacognition: Awareness of one’s own understanding and thought processes, enabling self-regulation and adaptive learning strategies.
Why is conceptual understanding relevant?
The reason we are interested in conceptual understanding is that we aim to teach students concepts that are transferable to other courses or contexts. Conceptual understanding is essential because simply reproducing information or memorizing facts will not be sufficient.
AI has not changed this, but since AI excels at reproducing and finding patterns in already existing text, it forces us to accelerate our shift away from memorizing towards conceptual understanding.
Studies like the "Harvard study" and the "DTU study" highlight some of the challenges we face in this shift. The DTU study shows that passing a test is not necessarily the same as understanding the underlying concepts. The Harvard study demonstrates that students who actively engage with course material learn more and perform better on exams compared to those who are simply lectured.
How to Teach conceptual understanding?
There is no single way to design learning paths that will lead to conceptual understanding. However, we know that by having students actively engage with the content, collaborate with peers, and receive scaffolded instruction and hands-on experiences, educators can create a rich, supportive learning environment that encourages students to develop a deep, conceptual understanding of STEM subjects.
References
“The Harvard study”: Deslauriers, L., McCarty, L. S., Miller, K., Callaghan, K., & Kestin, G. (2019). Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(39), 19251-19257.