Designing an Educational Environment in Six Steps: Teaching for Understanding and the Motivation for Understanding

Abstract

The first part of this article describes in brief the Six Steps methodology for designing educational environments—be they K-12 schools, tertiary institutions, community centers, youth movements, or the like—as set forth in my book Educational Design in Six Steps: A Strategic and Practical Scaffold (Routledge 2020). The second part of the article illustrates application of the Six Steps method in designing an educational environment the aims of which are teaching for understanding and the motivation for understanding.

Keywords:

• The six steps method,
• The three educational meta-narratives,
• The six educational means,
• Teaching for understanding and motivation for understanding (U&M),
• The relational concept of understanding,
• The performance concept of understanding,
• Big ideas,
• Self-determination theory,
• Realm of understanding,
• Education for wisdom