Teacher Plus would like to thank its readers who have been writing in to share their views on the article Deepening conceptual understanding, which was published in its April 2017 edition. We give here in detail some of the responses we received. Asiya Arshi, Oakridge International School Can you recall instances of teaching a concept and feeling satisfied that the students seem to have grasped it well – then, after a worksheet or test, being puzzled at their obvious gaps in understanding? Yes If yes, can you recall stopping at the point where the concept has become clear to the student – but not going beyond to have the student think it through in an unfamiliar context? When I was teaching potential and kinetic energy, the concept was understood by the students as was evident by their answers in class. But when they wrote their assessment there seemed gaps in their understanding. In the assessment we had given an unfamiliar situation which some students could not comprehend. If you can recall such instances, can you now think of ways of extending the lesson so as to carry out the omitted step above? Yes, I could have taught the lesson differently where more examples on real life application would have made the concept clearer. What are the ways in which you can hook your students into the next lesson that you are planning to take Will plan a good tuning in activity which will kindle the student’s inquisitiveness. How can you ‘chunk’ information so as to render the chunks easy for students to inter-connect? Will take them for a field trip and have guest lectures to be able make connections with the topic. What can you do to allow students’ existing ideas [about the concept that you are going to teach] to (a) surface and then (b) be examined in a non-threatening ambiance? Will have a pre-assessment on the topic and then take it from there. Or will allow the student to express his views on the topic and provide resources for him to take it further. How can you help them see the inconsistency (if any) between their currently held beliefs and the actuality? Will let them explore the topic more so that they can reflect on their own inconsistency. Can you provide your students with a new context or situation in which they can apply this learning so that they now have to think through the problem on their own? Yes there are many