In observing teachers, one common area of weakness is checking for understanding.
Not every teacher, of course. But many.
And this is a big issue.
Because if you send students off to work independently, and they don’t know exactly what to do and how to do it, then . . .
Hands will go up around the room.
You’ll have to reteach individual students.
Learning will suffer.
Boredom will take hold.
It also leads to learned helplessness, poor listening, and a growing separation of ability levels.
Often, the most I hear from teachers is “Are there any questions?”
Which just doesn’t cut it.
So what are the best ways to check for understanding? Well, there are many good ones, but today we’re going to cover three of the simplest, which are low-tech, take very little time, and can be used together.
They’re also sure to make you a more effective teacher.
1. Whiteboards
Small whiteboards, one per student, are worth their weight in gold. You can use them to ask your students to prove they understand virtually anything.
You just ask a question or provide a problem, have them jot down an answer (or a question mark if they don’t have one), and then hold them up at your signal.
It’s also fun. I allow students to add smiley faces, sketches, sayings, messages to me, or anything they like.
Whiteboards give you all the information you need to decide whether to begin independent work right away or continue teaching.
2. Thumbs up/Thumbs down
This is probably the most common checking-for-understanding strategy I see, but it still does the job. It’s so, so simple and fast. It’s also flexible in that it can be used in many different ways.
The way it works is that you ask a straight yes or no question . . .
“Is this the correct answer?”
“Is this the topic sentence?”
“Are you 100% ready to begin your work?”
. . . then, while shielding with one hand, and keeping the other close to their chest, your students show either a thumbs up or thumbs down.
As long as you explain the purpose of the strategy, and model precisely how to do it, you shouldn’t have any problems with wandering eyes.
3. Negative Questions
The third and final strategy is best used as a final check before turning your students loose. It’s an effective way to support shifting responsibility from you and your instruction to them and their task, assignment, etc.
The way it works is that you’ll ask them not if they understand, but if they don’t understand.
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know exactly what to do when I give my ‘go’ signal?”
This puts the onus on them, makes them responsible to speak up, and leaves them with no excuse not to do the work. The result is that you’ll get many more clarifying questions—which is what good students do.
I like to follow the question with “I want to know now. I don’t want to find out you’re confused or don’t know what to do once we’ve started.”
Again, this supports and encourages independence. It empowers students to advocate for themselves and take control of their own learning.
Faster Growth
The three simple ways to check for understanding allow you to release your students to attack their work without hesitation or uncertainty.
They keep you from having to interrupt by kneeling down to help one student after another. They bring silence, instill true independence, and trigger the highly pleasurable flow state, where students get lost in their work.
The result is faster growth and academic improvement.
This shift in responsibility, however, underscores the importance of providing excellent instruction so that your classroom becomes a place of clearly defined roles.
Where your students know their job and know it well.
And you know yours.
PS – To learn how to teach more compelling lessons, please check out The Happy Teacher Habits.
Also, if you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.
I loved these and plan to implement them on Monday. May I ask a question off topic? Do you have incentives for academics?
Hi Candy,
If you mean rewards in exchange for academic performance, no. This is something we strongly recommend against. When you get a chance, please see the Incentives & Praise category of the archive or The Happy Teacher Habits.
I like the idea of the thumb method, but I didn’t really understand what was meant by …”while shielding with one hand, and keeping the other close to their chest, your students show either a thumbs up or thumbs down…”
Is the point of the shielding to keep other students from seeing? If so, how would the teacher be able to see?
Also, do you feel that the thumb method is appropriate for junior and senior high students?
Thanks!
I simply love the article. The responsibility shift is the key. And so many wish to burden the teacher with theirs.
It takes two to tango!
Glad to hear it, Ljerka.
Our school , because we are near the beach, started printing out ” sand dollars” and giving a huge stack to all teachers. We can give them out for good behavior or whatever we want. I also give them out for extra good academics. I was not a fan of this originally, but after 30 years of teaching, I like this. On Fridays they can purchase little trinkets at lunch from the store. Kids show them to us because they are proud. They have not been a problem in class.They are told to put them away.
I just thought of another quick comment. This way to check for knowledge helped me Thursday. At times I print out a handout where students write 5 days of bell work responses. A question is written on the front board. Students know when the bell rings as I take attendance, they need to quietly read and answer it on their handout. I wrote in complete sentences EXPLAIN something new you learned from one of our culinary videos. Use details. Do not just say I learned how to make bread. I then reminded them of the titles of the 4 videos they had seen.
Then I called on 5 volunteers to share theirs. THEN one young man gave his incorrect answer to a procedure he said he learned. Another girl said,that’s not right and we discussed it. The boy then corrected his answer.
Sorry, not quick, but hopefully helpful. Students LOVE to share their opinions and to listen to their classmates’ opinions. They all listen and last year a quiet girl wrote me a note saying I was a good teacher because she loved how I listened to them because her other teachers did not. Yes, it takes time away from class, but I find most teachers do not have class discussions and it is so good for them to learn to express themselves and to listen to others respectfully and I always learn something too! Lol.
Thank you for your website! I have shared you with 2 others also, including 1 teacher I mentor. I really appreciate your helpful and realistic ideas!
Thanks for sharing, Carole. I’m so glad you like the website!
Love the website and this article! This site has completely changed how I approach classroom management and I appreciate it so much! A question if I may: do you have any articles or thoughts about what to do if you have a substitute covering your class for a day or two while you’re away? I’m curious to hear your thoughts about what to do if a class violates procedures while you as a teacher are absent?
Hi Lawrence,
Here is an article on the topic: https://smartclassroommanagement.com/2015/05/16/how-to-handle-misbehavior-with-your-substitute/
I am looking for more activate Ideas for online study
These three methods have been proven to be good.