Instead of Right / Wrong Questions

We need to teach our students how to improve their ways to check for understanding. 

Instead of right / wrong questions, they can try:

1. Open-ended questions; it requires students to reason beyond figuring out the answer by forming an opinion or taking a stance
2. Probe student responses; always ask 'why' even when the answer is right. Students will assume they are wrong when you do this, reassure them they are right but require an explanation
3. Rebuttal; students respond to statements, both valid and invalid, with evidence
4. Devil's advocate; push your students' thinking by forcing them to consider the other side

Why check for understanding?

Checking for understanding is the backbone of effective instruction. 

Teachers can ask students to:

• explain how they solved a problem
• describe the strategies they used to complete a task
• summarize the main ideas from a chapter in a textbook
• make predictions about what they expect to happen in a novel
• identify a new vocabulary word and explain it to their peers
• reflect on what they understand as well as what is confusing about a topic, text, or task

It is important to check for understanding. Teachers can deliver all the content they want, in any format, but if the students don't understand it and they can't recall it, then, teachers are wasting their students' time. 

Teachers need to constantly check for understanding: explain, show, reteach, ask them to explain, show again, ask a student to teach someone else that is struggling to learn the concept...

As frequently as a Chef needs to check a sauce for a taste, teachers should check for understanding.

Teachers need to use non-threatening formative assessment techniques:

• Index card Summaries/Questions: periodically, distribute index cards and ask students to write on both sides, with these instructions: Side 1, based on our study of unit topic, list a big idea that you understand and word it as a summary statement. Side 2, identify something about unit topic that you do not yet fully understand and word it as a statement or question.
• Hand Signals: ask students to display a designated hand signal to indicate their understanding of a specific concept, principal, or process; I understand= thumbs up, I do not understand=thumbs down, I am not completely sure about=wave hand
• One Minute essay: a one-minute essay question is a focused question with a specific goal that can, in fact, be answered within a minute or two
• Analogy prompt: present students with an analogy prompt: a designated concept, principle, or process is like.... because......
• Web or concept Map: any of several forms of graphical organizers which allow learners to perceive relationships between concepts through diagramming key words representing those concepts http://www.graphic.org/concept.html
• Misconception check: present students with common or predictable misconceptions about a designated concept, principle, or process. Ask them whether they agree or disagree and explain why. The misconception check can also be presented in the form of a multiple-choice or true-false quiz
• Student Conference: one on one conversation with students to check their level of understanding 

The hand signals is a great idea. Checking in non-verbally to gauge students' comfort levels allows all students to participate without being singled out or put on the spot. 

The checks for understanding are an essential part of the lesson to help the teachers and students adjust what is necessary to make the lesson and learning successful.

Clear learning objectives, step-by-step teaching, focused practice, checking for understanding, and adjusting instruction are the most important elements of effective lesson delivery. 

Checks for understanding allow teachers, and the students themselves, to better understand where their students are in the learning process.