What do we need to do to understand a topic?

Do you know about Harvard University's Project Zero and their Cultures of Thinking initiative? I've written about their Visible Thinking Routines before, and I really admire their work other work as well.

Their research shows that students need to learn how to think (and why it matters) in addition to learning skills and content and they provide teachers with tools to make this shift.

Here's a chart they've created for you to print out and display in their classroom to help remind students of the steps they need to take to gain understanding of any topic: Wondering, describing what's there, considering different viewpoints, reasoning with evidence, building explanations, making connections, uncovering complexity, and forming conclusions (before starting all over again). Find more tools on their website.