The document outlines six facets of understanding essential for student assessment: explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and self-knowledge. It emphasizes the need for assessments that go beyond mere facts, focusing on students' ability to articulate their understanding, interpret data meaningfully, and apply knowledge in real-world contexts. The document also discusses the importance of perspective-taking and self-reflection, introducing assessment methods like oral exams, contextualized performance tasks, and rubrics to evaluate students' depth of understanding.

1. 1. Explain
2. Interpret
3. Apply
4. Have Perspective
5. Empathize
6. Have Self-knowledge
6 Facets of Understanding

2. 1. Explain
Can students explain what they are doing?
Not just facts, but “Why?” and “How?”
Know why they are right.
See how it relates to other things.
Assessment:
Oral exams
Reiterative exams for increased sophistication
Use of assessment that will evoke
misunderstanding
Assess novice-expert continuum
Build tests on essential questions
Assess breadth and depth independently

3. 2. Interpret
Provide stories that give meaning.
Especially answer “Why?”
Interpret a conclusion from data.
Assessment:
Can students put together a sophisticated story?
Assess story underlying a concept

4. 3. Application
Apply to NEW situations.
Students will mimic professional problem solving
through real world problems.
Assessment:
Contextualized Performance Tasks
Assess whether students can respond to their
errors or feedback
Do not just assess the performance (luck?), but
understanding

5. 4. Perspective
Whose point of view?
Especially looking at it from another’s point of
view.
Assessment:
Demonstrate knowledge of importance or
unimportance.
Assess knowledge of opposing or alternate views.
Find author’s intent.

6. 5. Empathy
Feel what someone else feels
Change of heart
Respect for others
Assessment:
Demonstrate being in “someone else’s shoes.”
Empathize with an undesirable.
Teach others (empathize with their ability)

7. 6. Self-knowledge
Self-consciously question our understandings to
advance them.
Find blind-spots, prejudices, and oversights in our
thinking
Assessment:
Self-assess past and present work.
Do an assessment twice.
Check student’s understanding of how much they
know.

8. Backward Design, continued
Thinking like an assessor

9. Figure 5.3 Two Different Approaches
Thinking Like an Assessor Thinking Like an Activity
Designer
What would be sufficient and
revealing evidence of
understanding?
What would be interesting and
engaging activities on this topic?
What performance tasks must
anchor the unit and focus the
instructional work?
What resources and materials are
available on this topic?
How will I be able to distinguish
between those who really
understand and those who don’t
(though they may seem to)?
What will students be doing in and
out of class? What assignments will
be given?
Against what criteria will I distinguish
work?
How will I give students a grade
(and justify it to their parents)?
What misunderstandings are likely?
How will I check for those?
Did the activities work? Why or why
not?

10. Novices vs. Experts
Judging students on the continuum of
understanding.
Rubrics are helpful.
Recurring tasks with longitudinal rubrics.

11. Figure 5.6 Rubric for the Six Facets
of Understanding, Part 1
Explanation Interpretation Application
Sophisticated Profound Masterful
In-depth Revealing Skilled
Developed Perceptive Able
Intuitive Interpreted Apprentice
Naïve Literal Novice

12. Figure 5.6 Rubric for the Six Facets
of Understanding, Part 2
Perspective Empathy Self-Knowledge
Insightful Mature Wise
Thorough Sensitive Circumspect
Considered Aware Thoughtful
Aware Developing Unreflective
Uncritical Egocentric Innocent