Strategies For Checking Comprehension In The Classroom
One of the fundamental goals of classroom education is to teach. As teachers, in order to know if the teaching task is working well and if the students are keeping up, there are what are known as strategies to check comprehension in the classroom.
With these strategies, teachers will no longer have their fingers crossed waiting for their students’ test results. They will be able to know in advance whether their work is being done well or not and whether they have managed to make everything understood.
The problem, often, is that teachers rely on these tests to measure comprehension once classes are over, but regardless of the outcome, they move on.
Generally, few teachers usually take the time to focus on weaknesses and misunderstandings in students’ knowledge after the tests have been graded. By then, it’s too late and students have usually lost interest.
It is clear, therefore, that it is necessary to rethink how to approach assessment during class. In this sense, it is necessary to seize the moment.
To reach students, it is not enough to explain things well. We must also closely monitor the understanding and, when doubts arise (or even a slight frown from a student), take charge of the problem in each class.
This can be done with these simple strategies for checking classroom comprehension:
It is important to avoid questions with “yes” or “no” answers
It is essential to avoid asking the class questions that can only be answered “yes” or “no” , as well as using vague phrases such as “Got it?” . Students usually always answer “yes” to these questions.
So when several students later admit they are lost, the teacher is surprised. To avoid these surprises and help students keep up with ideas in the classroom, it is necessary to ask very specific questions that require them to use the newly acquired knowledge as well as prior knowledge.
Ask students to reflect
It is about asking the students, in the last five minutes of the class, to reflect on the theme developed and write down in a few lines what they have learned.
The teacher should collect these written reflections and review them. In addition, it is also possible to make them think by asking them to tell how they would apply the topic, concept or skills learned in a practical environment.
Hand signals to check classroom comprehension
Another possibility to check comprehension is to use some pre-established hand signals to qualify or indicate the understanding of the content by the students. This strategy requires the commitment of all students and allows the teacher to check understanding within a large group.
For example, we can establish signs such as raising hands in a group showing all, some or just one finger. Students can show five fingers when they think they have reached the maximum understanding of the subject and gradually remove fingers until they leave only one to indicate that they believe they have reached only the minimum understanding.
response posters
Students will create response posters at some point to use during lessons. For this, teachers can use whatever material they have at hand: individual blackboards, cardboard, sheets or even make permanent posters to use throughout the year, with several possible answers.
Using these devices, teachers can easily check individual student responses while the entire group displays their posters.
Some possibilities are, for example, a green sign to indicate that everything has been understood, an orange to say that they understand more or less, and a red one to make it clear that there is still a long way to go.
The Socratic Method for Checking Comprehension in the Classroom
The Socratic Method is a technique that consists of exploring ideas with an open dialogue between students. It is based on the reading and analysis of a specific text. We can also, if we wish, use an image, music or video for this technique to check comprehension in the classroom.
Students ask each other about an important topic related to a chosen text, image or song. These questions open a dialog that will create additional answers and questions.
Thus, they learn to formulate questions that address specific topics to facilitate their own discussion and gain new understanding. Teachers can check the level of understanding of the subject by following these questions and answers.
In short: the most effective way to test a student’s comprehension is to do this while the class is in progress. Asking students to fill out a questionnaire when we believe the matter is understood and then trying to correct mistakes and gaps in knowledge will not work because they will have already turned the page.
