How to Check for Classroom Understanding
- 1). Stop your teaching and ask the students a question that will assess their understanding. Lesson Plans, Inc. suggests the method of asking a question and waiting at least five seconds before calling upon anyone who raises his or her hand. Instead of calling on the same student who always raises their hand, pick a student at random after you pause, allowing them to provide the most complete answer they can provide. Pause again after the student finishes allowing them to clarify or so that you can formulate a follow up question. The purpose of slowing down the class is to keep students paying attention and get more students involved.
- 2). Assign a writing assignment that gauges the understanding of your students. Essay examinations tell you more about what a student knows than multiple-choice exams, which indicate whether the student is good test-taker. Instead of waiting for an exam, however, assign students various types of writing assignments like journal entries, a one-page summary of a lesson, an outline of the material, a letter or any other type of creative writing assignment that will give them an opportunity to display what they know.
- 3). Require students to complete creative projects. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development suggests that creative projects be used to assess understanding through demonstration. Creative projects can include putting on skits or plays and creating audio and visual presentations like PowerPoint. Art work, songs and any other type of creative endeavor can provide a way of assessing student understanding.
- 4). Pair your students up and allow them to discuss the day's lesson. Using different types of group discussion methods can also let you assess your students' understanding. Give the students a list of questions that they should answer and discuss while you walk around the classroom and listen to their conversations. This should give you an idea if the class is on track or not.
