Checking for understanding

Teachers check for understanding before moving between modelled, guided and independent practice.

What is checking for understanding?

Teachers regularly check student understanding using a variety of strategies including effective questioning. Teachers analyse the information they collect to make evidence-based instructional decisions. This includes when to move between modelled, guided and independent practice.

Checking understanding requires teachers to collect the responses of all students (Wiliam 2014).

Strategy learning module

The learning module breaks down the ‘Checking for understanding’ strategy, shows how it can be applied using different techniques and offers professional learning support for a whole-school approach to explicit teaching. More information about how to implement this professional learning can be found in Leading explicit teaching.

Strategy learning module – resource

Strategy learning module – checking for understanding (PPTX 9.13 MB)

What it could look like in the classroom

Explicit teaching strategies are implemented in the classroom through a range of techniques that are intentionally selected by the teacher. These techniques are not an exhaustive list of every approach a teacher may use to implement this strategy. The technique guides provided support teachers to understand and apply the technique as part of their explicit teaching practice.

Resources

What it isn’t

  • Asking for volunteer responses from a limited number of students
  • Expecting students will ask a question if they don’t understand
  • Used only at the end of a lesson or unit of learning
  • Questions like, ‘Does everyone understand?’ and ‘Does anyone need any help?’

Further resources

Wiliam D (2014) ‘The right questions, the right way’, Education Leadership, 71(6).

Wiliam D (2015) ‘Hinge Questions’ [video], North West Evaluation Association, Vimeo, accessed 18 April 2024.

Sherrington T (2022) 'Kitchen Pedagogy: Five Ways to Check for Understanding’ [video], Tom Sherrington, YouTube, accessed 16 April 2024.

Category:

  • Teaching and learning

Topics:

  • Explicit teaching

Business Unit:

  • Curriculum and Reform
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