Checking for understanding
Teachers check for understanding before moving between modelled, guided and independent practice.
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 Strategy learning module – checking for understanding (PPTX 9.13 MB):
- breaks down the strategy
- shows how the strategy can be applied using different techniques
- 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.
Technique guides
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:
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
- DataWORKS Curriculum (15 July 2014) 'TAPPLE – How to Check for Understanding'
- Sherrington T (2022) ‘Kitchen Pedagogy: Five Ways to Check for Understanding (8:26)’ [video]
- Tips for Teachers (14 December 2022) 'Check for understanding – Tips for Teachers' [video].
- Wiliam D (2015) ‘Designing Great Hinge Questions’, Educational Leadership, 73(1):40–44.
- Wiliam D (2015) ‘Hinge Questions (3:16)’ [video]
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.