CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING

Prioritizing Priorities

Worth being familiar with

Important to know and doEnduring Understanding

Using Oral Language to Check for Understanding

Did you know?

The amount of teacher versus student talk in the classroom varies by the demographics of the students.

Gender Differences

Did you know? The amount of time girls spend participating

orally in class decreases as they get older Teachers call on boys more often than girls Teachers ask boys more higher order

questions Teachers use longer wait time with boys than

with girls

The Most Common Practice

Teachers ask students questions and students respond.

The initiate – respond – evaluate model

Oral Language Strategies for Checking for Understanding

Accountable Talk Enriching Discourse in whole group discussions,

partner talks, small group discussions, guided reading groups, literature circles, etc

Guidelines: Stay on topic Use information that is accurate and appropriate for the

topic Think deeply about what the other person is saying

Noticing Non-verbal Clues

Do students look puzzled, harried or bored?

Are students with you?Are they on task? Other clues?

Value Line-Ups

Some students learn to talk and state their own position but never learn to really listen to what the other person is saying, especially if their opinion is different from theirs.

Form an opinion line according to their degree of agreement and disagreement with an idea or statement

Fold line in half so those with opposing opinions talk and listen to each other

Retellings

Inviting students to retell what they just heard or read is a valuable way to check for understanding

Variations on Retellings

Oral to oral Oral to Written Oral to Video Reading to Oral Reading to Written Reading to Video Viewing to Oral Viewing to Written Viewing to Video

Think-Pair-Share

Think – Teacher engages students’ thinking with a question, prompt, reading, visual, or observation

Pair- Using designated partners, students pair up to discuss their responses –identify…

Share- Teacher asks pairs to share their thinking

Misconception Analysis

Misconceptions often identified by teacher first but with practice students will begin to pick them out

Provides an opportunity to discuss, often in small groups, misunderstandings that they have

Teacher can provide ideas/material to help students clarify their thinking and understanding

Whip Around

Teacher poses a question or a task –usually students asked to make a list of three or more-

Everyone stands, teacher calls on students for responses

As each answer is called out, each student checks off each item called, until all answers have been called

Using Questions to Check for Understanding

The Misuse of Questioning The initiate – respond – evaluate model AKA –Guess what’s in my head!

Common Practice

Evidence that a vocal minority of students dominate classroom conversations and questioning, while less assertive students rarely participate

Knowing that 6 or 7 students understand is not the same as knowing 30 understand

Using effective questioning techniques gives better evidence of understanding

Couple them with approaches that increase participation in classroom discourse

Questioning Techniques

Construct Effective questions –identify effective steps in using questions Prepare questions as part of your planning Consider respondents Use wait time Help students who respond incorrectly Process student responses – feedback, expand

and use answers, get more student reactions and questions

Reflect on your questioning practices

Questioning Techniques

Provide non-verbal support when you question a student: Eye contact Facial Expressions Body Posture Physical Distance Silence Verbal Acknowledgements Subsummaries

Questioning Techniques

Develop Authentic Questions Questions should engage students in

deeper thinking and not just ask for recall information

Use an organizational structure like Bloom’s taxonomy when planning questions

Promoting Participation & Increasing Engagement

These techniques can be used with questioning and other methods of checking for understanding Response Cards

Pre-printed (like flashcards) –potential energy, kinetic energy

Write – on cards Index cards, signs, dry-erase boards,

magnetic boards, other…

Promoting Participation & Increasing Engagement

Hand Signals Thumbs up – I understand & can explain it Thumbs sideways – I’m not completely sure… Thumbs down – I don’t understand, I need more

help

Audience Response Systems Technology provides new ways to check for

understanding www.turningtechnologies.com

Using Writing to Check for Understanding

Writing helps us clarify our thinkingWriting is thinking Writing can be used across the

curriculum as a formative assessment tool

Analyzing student writing can help teachers determine what students know

Writing Techniques for Checking for Understanding

Entry Cards Students are asked to have a card ready for the

start of class Exit Cards

Students are asked to write a response to material taught in class –quick way for teacher to check understanding

Interactive Writing Shared writing activity Small group With older students you need firm routines and trust

Writing Techniques

Read-Write –Pair –ShareSimilar to Think - Pair- Share

Students read (or view) material Write in response to itEngage in conversation with a partner about

what they read and wrote Share ideas with whole class

Writing Techniques

Summary Writing Similar to Retelling Summarizing leads to higher levels of

understanding

RAFT Role: What is the role of the writer? Audience: To whom is the writer writing? Format: What is the format for the writing? Topic: What is the focus/purpose of the writing?

Using Projects & Performances to Check for Understanding

Projects and Performances allow teachers the opportunity to see how well students choose and use information.

They allow us the opportunity to see how well students have transferred their learning to new situations.

In order to use these as a tool to determine the extent of students’ understanding, they must be seen as more than just a culminating project.

Using Projects & Performances to Check for Understanding

The doing part must not take more precedence than the understanding part

In the case of projects, we must be assured that we are checking the students’ understanding and not that of their parents.

Using Projects & Performances to Check for Understanding

Build into the project or performance time-line, frequent opportunities for formative assessment

These are incremental assessments that help teachers check each student’s understanding

At each stage, discussions can be held,

checklists and rubrics can be used

Techniques

Performances Readers’ Theatre Multimedia Presentations Electronic & Paper Portfolios Visual DisplaysGraphic Organizers Dioramas