Understanding Checks
Check for understanding, or "understanding checks," can be quite helpful. Let's explore this essential tool and some digital tools you can use to aid you.
Remember to take notes with your jigsaw organizer.
Your Task
Read the supporting information below in the Introducing section, then explore the various digital tools shown. Be sure to take notes on each.
Use this quick checklist to guide your analysis:
Does this allow you, the teacher, to create polls?
Can students use it to create polls without violating the rule prohibiting students 13 or younger from using it?
Does it require creation of an account? Is it free or not?
Ask yourself, "How might I use this in my classroom? Why or why not?"
Introducing Checks for Understanding
Checks for understanding are one aspect of formative assessment. ASCD published a book on the topic. It can be defined as:
The frequent, interactive checking of student progress and understanding. These checks for understanding identify learning needs. They also allow the teacher to track and adjust teaching.
Take a moment to explore the digital tools appearing below.
Pre-Assessment
An example of a type of an understanding check is the pre-assessment.
The goal of pre-assessment is to discover what students know and to identify what they need to learn.
Students can use these to set learning goals and also predict how well they will do.
In the Spotlight: Quizizz
Quizizz allows you to create multi-player quizzes that work on almost any device. What’s more, you can access others’ assessments that can be completed in class or assigned as homework. With your free account, you can export the results as well. Teachers create their account and publish the link to the Quizizz. Then students, working at their own pace on their mobile device.
Digital Tools Roundup
A versatile tool that students can use to create or participate in a wide variety of games.
Perform “on the fly” assessments with social- emotional health check-ins. Works well with Google and Microsoft Office products.
Print coded cards that students can use. The teacher relies on a free app to scan student cards. The direction of the card shows students’ response.
Set up multiple choice, true/false, or short answer assessments. View results in real time via a teacher dashboard.
DuckSoup allows you to take any digital document (e.g. PDF, Google Drive doc) and turn it into an easy-to-grade activity. Your students can “write on it like it’s paper.”
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Additional Resource(s)
