This article emphasizes the importance of creating powerful learning opportunities for students. It outlines four key criteria—novel application, significant inquiry, efficient communication, and perceived word—that can shape the design of understanding performances among learners. The article highlights the active process of understanding and creating representations of individual experiences, stressing the need for students to adapt their knowledge and skills to real-life contexts. It concludes with the importance of a strong learning environment that promotes constructive, integrated, self-regulating, goal-oriented, and collaborative learning.