Conceptual understanding is all about the functional gain of the facts and concepts. Students with conceptual understanding have in-depth knowledge of a concept that is beyond the methods and simply facts written in the book. They understand what the idea is and where it will be used in real life. It also promotes retention. Ignitepad believes, methods and facts grasped with conceptual understanding are interrelated, hence they are simpler to remember and put to use. If forgotten they can be easily recollected because of the in-depth understanding of the fact/idea. Be it learning music through online music classes or learning the dance steps through online dance classes; the idea is relevant in all kinds of learning.
Conceptual learning is valid for maths, science, and every concept-based topic or subject. Learning is about grasping the concept, knowing the procedure, and remembering the facts. All these aspects are important and interrelated. Practicing procedures can help in grasping the concept and vice versa. Students can make the best use of conceptual understanding by applying them in projects and activities that will help them in retaining the idea and the knowledge forever.
Conceptual application of knowledge
Students must be provided the chance to distinguish non-examples and not-so-common applicable examples of whatever they have learned in the class. The not-so-common examples would be the ones that have not been discussed in the class or the presentation. Students must be asked to cite examples on their own after the complete understanding of the concept. Citing the same example for demonstration and application would not be in the best interest of students. They must have the ability to think differently and come up with all applicable examples of the concept. Students must transfer their learning to novel stations and imagine all sorts of relevant instances.
Teachers and parents must help students develop the ability to comprehend the concept. However, it is not easy for students to achieve a conceptual understanding. And there could be many possible reasons behind the same.
- Teachers must not cite the same example, again and again, to make the students learn the concept. They must try and give as many examples of a concept as possible. Even parents must do the same while making their kids understand a concept. For example, if the subject is Sketching. Teach them how to draw or pencil sketch an object or a scene in several ways.
- Experts also state that important concepts must not be taught thoroughly covering all steps. Some steps must be skipped for students to come up with questions. This will give the teachers an idea about how well the students are grasping the concept. Even parents must follow suit while teaching their kids. For example, if you are conducting Spoken English classes try to provide some room for the kids to think. The teacher conducting coding classes and Python classes must also check if the students are having a conceptual understanding or not.
- Sometimes students fail to make connections between various concepts they learn. They must be encouraged to do so. They must know that everything is interrelated. In coding classes, students must be motivated to apply the concept to different situations to better comprehend the theme so that they retain it for life.
- Students also lack the opportunities to observe a phenomenon or visualize an experiment applicable in different situations. Many concepts cannot be seen, for example, the flow of charges, electricity. But can be felt or tested. Students must be motivated to come up with such examples on their own through their ability to think during online classes for kids.
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