Practice 6: Check for Student Understanding

Strand 2, Questioning, also includes the practice, Checks for Student Understanding, according to Sherrington (2019). These, as Sherrington notes, are probably the single biggest common area for improvement that is visible. Checking for student understanding is part of a formative assessment system that helps to improve instruction and provide student feedback. Students can use these checks for understanding to monitor their own learning while teachers use the results to plan their next instructional moves.  These checks are like checking the oil in your car—hence the nickname “dipsticks.”

Read the excerpt from Fisher and Frey’s book Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques for Your Classroom.

After learning a little more about checking for student understanding, let’s look at some possible techniques you can use in your classroom.

Explore the following resource from EduTopia: