New Teacher Support & Development
Empowering and Motivating Every Student, Every Day!
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING
In Teach Like a Champion 2.0, author-educator Doug Lemov posits Checking for Understanding as of utmost importance for knowing if students are learning the content. Because of his research on how students learn, he has emphasized checking for understanding. Just a few . . . .
Reject Self-Report - These, he says, garner a passive yes response, generally.
Teacher: "Does everyone understand?" (Silence) "Great, let's move on."
Teacher: "Are you with me?" (Silence) "Good. Ok, here's the next problem."
Instead, ask questions that have the student to respond about the content; he calls this Targeted Questioning.
Teacher: Now, that we have discussed the use of figurative language, let's begin with analyzing similes in the text. Read the paragraph; identify the simile, and explain its use. Collaborate with a partner, and write your response. Afterward, I will call on you to respond.
Another he calls, Reliability and Validity. When a student answers a question with a brief correct answer, follow-up with a why question or explain more or how did you determine that answer. Doing so not only ensures the student knows the content but also raises the rigor of the thinking.
This next scenario is not from Teach Like a Champion 2.0 but from my classroom visits. The teacher asks a question; the student answers correctly. Then, the teacher responds, "That is exactly right because . . . ." The teacher proceeds to explain the student's answer. In essence, the student says ten words, and the teacher continues with thirty words. How much better to probe the student to delve more, to explain, to justify, to say the thirty words or more.
In short, CFUs engage students with content. Students do the talking!
(For the past several years, the district has provided each new teacher either Teach Like a Champion [the first edition] or Teach Like a Champion 2.0.)
Lemov, Doug. Teach Like a Champion 2.0. Jossey-Bass, 2015.
Unlocking the Future, Today!
John Ekelund
Unlocking the Future Today!