When to check for understanding?

Checking for understanding needs to be an integral part of every lesson you plan to introduce in class. So, it’s not something you can opt for when you have some time left at the end of your lesson and/or when you’re revising for an exam. But, it should go along with your instructions to learn about how much students are learning, stimulate their thinking, get their attention, and keep them involved.

So, whenever you plan for your lessons, think about when you need to pose to check out how your students are getting on with that content or material, how familiar it’s for them, and how far they’re from their needs and learning outcomes.

You may need to do that before introducing a new lesson, after explaining an important point, or doing any practice…

However, making such a kind of decision is not just a matter of planning. You can also decide when to pose to check for understanding based on what you’re observing: students’ attitudes and words.

When you notice they’re struggling, getting inattentive, or you hear words that express their confusion and inability to cope with understanding, you should stop to check it out even if you’re short of time.

There are times you can feel that just by looking at your students’ eyes. So, you need to observe well because this can tell you about your students more often than words.

Remember that those moments you spend checking for understanding are so valuable. Because they will help you interact with them, listen to them, and understand how they are learning. They’ll also prove that you care a lot about their learning more than the amount of information you’re imparting or completed units you’ve achieved right now.

So, never consider such a process a waste of time, a distraction for students, or an interruption of the lesson’s flow. This will support you to make more relevant decisions that can help your students be their best.

How to check for understanding?

There are various ways to check for understanding. Yet, to make this process more effective, 3 essential elements are required :

1) Teacher Interaction: You need to be more interactive with your students so that you can know about ‘their understanding’. This means keeping eye contact with them, moving in the classroom, monitoring, being patient, listening to them, and providing them with opportunities to speak up their voices.

2) Teacher Flexibility: It’s important to try out different ways to gather evidence of how much learning your students have gained. So, use these 10 ways interchangeably and never take for granted that everything is clear.

3) A positive learning environment: Students need to feel more secure and comfortable talking about their needs. Therefore, encourage them to participate in the classroom, make mistakes, learn from and support each other. Your feedback needs to be CONSTRUCTIVE.

If you want to check for understanding, here are 10 Effective Ways to do so :

1. Finding answers

Tell your students ahead about the lesson’s objective and content (one or two days before), then ask them to prepare some questions related to that lesson. While you’re presenting it, they’re supposed to look for the right answers to those questions and check out if such content is clear enough for them.

After your explanation, ask them about their expectations (was that content the one they were expecting or not), what questions they’ve found answers to, and those that are still unanswered.

If you want to make this task less challenging for your students, prepare a set of questions about the lesson. Then, before starting this lesson write these on one side of the board and ask your students to answer them later on.

2. Flashcards

Encourage students to express themselves while you’re explaining your lessons without causing any distraction using these flashcards: Time to Reflect! I haven’t understood, and I‘ve got a QUESTION. To learn more check out Classroom Procedures that Matter.

3. The checklist

Before starting your lesson, give your students a checklist that includes the criteria that can help identify what they are supposed to know and be able to do after this lesson. Those criteria depend on your subject matter and the lesson being taught. (Click here to see an example)

Explain to your students the criteria and how they should use the checklist. After providing practice, ask them to complete it and hand it to you. In case you have enough time,  give them the chance to talk about their ideas and justify them more.

4. What I know

After informing your students about the lesson’s content and objective, draw a chart on the board asking them to tell you about what they know, and what they think they know and need to know. This will help you get an idea about their prior knowledge and their needs before introducing the new content.

At the end of the lesson ask them to write about what this lesson has added to their learning (in case it has) and what they still need to know.

5. A moment of reflection

After explaining a given point or idea (not much content to think about), ask your students to close their eyes and articulate what they’ve understood in just 3 minutes.

6. Spot the mistakes

After explaining your lesson, introduce a written task or explain again the lesson’s content while including mistakes or wrong information to see if your students have understood the lesson and are paying attention.

7. Think while I’m explaining

While you’re explaining or providing instructions, raise questions to stimulate students’ thinking and help them concentrate and focus on what you’re doing. So, don’t just provide information, but also help them reflect on and discuss it further.

Use sentences such as: Do you know what this means? Think about it for a while how can we…? But, what is the difference between…? If you tell me…. I’m going to ask you to…? Do you know why? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear…..? …..

Another way to stimulate their thinking and know about their understanding is asking them to think about as many questions as possible (while you’re explaining) which they can address later on to their peers and discuss them more.

8. What I have understood

After presenting your lesson, ask students to work in pairs or groups of three to tell each other what they’ve understood. They write together such information in the form of a story that includes the kind of dialogue that went between them (revealing their attitudes, feelings, and opinions……).

They write, for instance: today’s lesson is about…..When our teacher asked us to write what we’ve understood, we found this…………… John told us……… While Jimmy reacted that this was not everything, and he added that…….For Mary understanding the difference between….. was…..So, we did not agree on……

9. Be the teacher

Encouraging students to explain to others what they’ve understood is worth doing not only to check for their understanding but also to support them to understand more this content, overcome their fear of public speaking, and feel more confident about themselves.

So, why not ask, from time to time, a volunteer to play the role of the teacher: reexplain things and answer their peer’s questions? Students will learn from each other and also have some fun.

10. Exit ticket journal 

Exit ticket journals can be a great tool to check for students’ understanding. They encourage them to reflect on their learning and become more aware of their needs and interests.

Don’t worry about creating and planning for exit ticket prompts each day. You can use 200 unique and thought-provoking prompts designed to help your students reflect on each lesson of the entire school year.

These can be used with any subject. To learn more check out: Exit Ticket Journal for All Subjects: 200 Exit Ticket Prompts for Grades 5-12 (A digital version is also available).

To learn about how your students are learning, check for their understanding. Use different ways to gain more information. You’ll learn more about YOURSELF and know how to direct your teaching to maximize your students’ learning growth.