Creative strategies for checking for understanding

Facilitator: Diana Benner

SessioN Description

Join us as we explore creative ways to gauge student comprehension in the classroom. Discover interactive techniques that provide valuable insights into student learning in real-time, empowering teachers to make timely instructional decisions and address misconceptions effectively.

checking for understanding

Definition:

- A check for understanding is a quick method used by educators to gauge whether their students grasped the materials being taught.

Importance & Benefits:

Provides real-time snapshot of learning.
Allows immediate instructional pivots (reteaching, clarifying, extending).
Identifies and addresses misconceptions before they solidify.
Informs lesson planning.

Strategies

Emoji Check In

Students respond with an emoji that represents their understanding. This is great for quick checks.

Canva Template

Emoji Cut Outs

Emoji Mentimeter

Fist-to-Five

Establish a scale (1 = not clear, 5 = crystal clear) and ask students to hold up their fingers to indicate their understanding level. This provides quick feedback and allows you to address common concerns.

Fist to Five Canva Template

Human Bingo

Create bingo cards with learning objectives, questions, or tasks written in the squares. Have students rotate around the room and find peers to complete the tasks on the bingo cards. Once a peer has completed a task on the card, they can mark it off. For example, tasks might include finding someone who can name four colors, list the planets in the solar system, etc. This activity not only promotes active listening but is also a great way to check for understanding. Check out this sample ESL Human Bingo lesson by Teach This. In addition, if you are looking for an editable template, Canva has a lot of Bingo Card templates.

TCEA Human Bingo Blog

Fishbowl Discussions

A small group of students discusses a topic while the rest observe, promoting active listening and focused dialogue.

In this classroom video, social studies teacher Jenna Forton uses the Fishbowl teaching strategy to structure a class discussion about primary documents related to the Plessy vs. Ferguson case.

Watch how Forton encourages each student to engage with speaking and listening roles, resulting in active participation, careful listening, and meaningful reflection.

Source: Fishbowl Discussion Example

Sketch to Check

Sketches are a quick and engaging way to assess student understanding of concepts, processes, or relationships. They provide a visual representation of student thinking, allowing teachers to see what students understand and where they might be struggling.

Examples:

Have students draw a concept map to show how different ideas are connected.
Ask students to sketch a diagram of a process they've learned about.
Have students draw a comic strip to illustrate a story or event.
Encourage students to draw a picture that illustrates a relationship between terms in the text.
Use sticky notes to describe key passages that are notable or that they have questions about.

Short Video Recordings

Students create brief videos summarizing or explaining a concept, allowing them to articulate understanding creatively.

🎥 Video Recording Tools

1. Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

💻 Web-based & app
🎙️ Students record short videos in response to a prompt

2. Loom

💻 Chrome extension or desktop app
📸 Students can record screen, webcam, or both

3. Canva Video Recorder

🧰 Found in Canva for Education (free)
🎞️ Students can record directly into slides or video projects

4. Padlet

🎬 Web-based recording
🎙️ Students record short videos in response to a prompt on the Padlet board.

Word Clouds

Students contribute words or phrases related to a topic, generating a visual representation of their collective understanding. Mentimeter is a great tool for creating word clouds.

Digital CFU Spinner

Use a digital spinner with prompts (e.g., “Summarize in 6 words,” “Draw it,” “Teach it back”) to randomize response modes and give students a choice. Let's try this one.

An Online Wheel Spinner for Every Occasion – TCEA TechNotes Blog

TIPS FOR implementation

Start small – try one new strategy.
Explain the purpose to students.
Keep it low-stakes.
Vary your methods.
Plan how you'll respond to the data before you collect it.

additional resources

23 Ways to Check for Understanding – TCEA TechNotes BlogChecking for understanding in the classroom is crucial. Check out these 23 strategies to gauge student understanding in your classroom. Explore this and more at TCEA TechNotes Blog, your go-to source for educational technology and teaching innovation.

28 Ways to Quickly Check for UnderstandingFrom sketching comics to drafting tweets, these fun—and fast—ways to check for understanding are creative and flexible.

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