week 11 blog: what is learning and how can it be best effectuated by a teacher?

I still see learning as the process through which understanding replaces ignorance. Looking back on past postings, I see that I haven't really defined understanding or ignorance. Though both might seem fairly obvious, I'm going to use this week's blog to define them anyways. First up is ignorance: ignorance has nothing to do with lack of intelligence. Instead, ignorance deals with a person being unaware. Intelligence personnel in the military are often unaware of the enemies whereabouts and intentions. It doesn't mean they aren't smart, it just means they haven't received the necessary information to abolish their ignorance. However, understanding is not necessarily the opposite of ignorance.
Understanding is what someone has who is not only educated about a topic or concept, but also knows how to accurately apply the it. for example, knowing that fire burns is not understanding as I define it. Understanding takes the knowledge that fire burns and applies it. For example, "because I know fire burns, I won't put my hand in fire".
I believe teachers do a disservice to their student by simply replacing ignorance with inert knowledge. Teachers have the best results with their students when understanding replacing ignorance. understanding is at the heart of real learning.