Understanding in Action: Making Learning Responsive with Checks for Understanding
Knowledge Checks for Understanding (CFUs) are an evidence-based way to assess skill development in a quick, efficient manner. These checks are created for educators to assess students’ ability to apply newly learned skills and provide a snapshot of their learning.
Effective education involves more than lectures or direct instruction when new skills or information are introduced. Incorporating CFUs throughout lessons allows educators and students to understand where students are on the continuum of learning and which concepts need to be assessed more deeply or differently to enhance their learning experience (McTighe, 2021; Bogdanovich, 2014). CFUs should be conducted at least three times per lesson and include a variety of assessment types (Briggs, 2014). This includes verbal, written, or demonstrative checks and/or informal or formal checks. Incorporating a variety of checks can be fun, but they can also diversify the ways a student can be assessed. Not all students learn in the same way, and consistently incorporating CFUs in every lesson will empower everyone to shine in their own way.
While pop quizzes can sometimes get a bad rap, they are a great, formal way to assess knowledge and understanding. A five-question quiz, either before class or right after the lesson, will give you a snapshot of what students retained. But, pop quizzes aren’t the only option; below are seven additional ways to check for understanding.
Students engaging in a check for understanding. Source: pixaday
Kahoot and Blooket Quizzes: Kahoot and Blooket are websites and apps that allow for interactive quizzes and knowledge checks. Many of the quizzes are premade, but both allow customization of the content. This platform would be best for students who have access to devices like iPads or laptops. The question can be displayed on a large screen or projector, and the students can answer from their own devices. Due to the imposed time limits, this would probably be best for reading comprehension, spelling practice, or fact-checking. While Blooket has a free plan accessible for educators, Kahoot has a nominal monthly fee ($3 per month) to use their platform, so that may be a barrier to usage.
Comic Designs: This resource is a cool way to infuse art and creativity with learning. Have students draw a five-frame comic strip after a lesson to gauge their knowledge and comprehension of the lesson's themes. This encourages retelling and visual summaries within historical time periods and can even be used for story comprehension.Allowing students to use a range of colors and drawing styles will keep them engaged and still assess where they are on the comprehension scale.
Card Matching: Similar to flashcards, this approach can quickly assess knowledge, especially when learning new concepts or definitions. This CFU can be used as a technique to establish specific study skills. You can prepare one set of cards with a term and another with its definition, and have students match the cards accordingly. This is a great activity that can become competitive and be used at multiple grade levels or across multiple class subjects, including language classes. To take it a step further, you could also create an assignment that allows the students to create the two sets of cards themselves, which would give you a peek into their level of interpretation of the material.
Analyze the Mistake: This technique is great for assessing mathematical understanding! With this CFU, the teacher would incorrectly solve a problem on the board and have students find and correct the mistake while also providing an explanation of the correction. Teachers should consider including incorrect answers that students have provided on previous tests, quizzes, or homework assignments for them to work through.
Connecting to Real Life: This CFU allows students to see themselves in the lesson. After a lesson in any subject, students would write or verbally express ways they will incorporate their newfound skill into their everyday lives. This not only helps with comprehension but also pushes students to see the validity of the skill beyond the K-12 space.
Student-Teacher Content Conferences: Dedicated time to discuss students' performance right after they demonstrate a skill is crucial. This option is easier to implement more frequently where there are co-teachers or classroom assistants. You can pull one student to a study table or a separate area in your classroom and ask them to read and analyze a story out loud. Their verbal response will showcase their capacity to translate what they’ve learned directly to you and enhance their comfort with oral language. Using this for math assessments, spelling tests, or even just to build a better understanding of the student's confidence can be conducive to the classroom and skillset development.
Last Minute Reflection: In the last few minutes of class, teachers can give students 60 seconds to write a reflection, as an exit ticket, about what they learned during the lesson. Asking open-ended questions will give them the freedom to share their feelings or ask questions they may still have after the lesson. These questions could be addressed in the next lesson or even addressed in further one-on-one or group reflections.
CFUs are effective, evidence-based approaches to understanding students’ skill mastery. Using a variety of techniques will enhance your students’ ability to demonstrate mastery. If you don’t use CFUs daily, how will you keep a consistent pulse on the teaching and learning cycle?
References
Bogdanovich, P. (2014, July 14). The importance of checking for understanding. Dataworks Educational Research. https://dataworks-ed.com/blog/2014/07/the-importance-of-checking-for-understanding/
Briggs, S. (2014, May 2). 21 ways to check for student understanding. informED. https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/21-ways-to-check-for-student-understanding/
Checking for understanding guide example activities and strategies to check. (2020, June). https://modelteaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Check-For-Understanding-Strategy-Guide.pdf
Leonard, D. (2024, April 19). 28 ways to quickly check for understanding. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/quick-ways-to-check-for-understanding/
McTighe, J. (2021, January 28). 8 quick checks for understanding. edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-quick-checks-understanding