Teaching: The Importance of Checking For Understanding (CFU)
Checking For Understanding (CFU) is part of teaching effectively as it ensures students grasp the material that is being taught.
Every student has their own unique learning style and this means the teacher or tutor must adapt to suit the needs of the student. Some students have special learning needs, such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or anxiety and depression. These learning needs may affect their understanding of the concept and the tutor may need to go over the basics several times to help them, or perhaps explain the concept a different way.
Some strategies you can use to Check For Understanding (CFU) include:
Questioning techniques
Ask open-ended questions to check for understanding. These are questions that require more than a yes or no answer (otherwise, students may simply say “yes” when you ask if they understand, even when they don’t). An example of an open-ended question is, “Can you explain this concept in your own words?”
Socratic questioning uses a series of questions to lead students to a deeper understanding of a concept. A teacher might ask, “What do you think caused World War I?” followed by questions such as “Which nations were involved?” and “What could have prevented it?” These questions get students involved in a discussion so they’re engaging with the subject matter.
Quizzes
Short quizzes or tests can be used to assess comprehension. Ideally, these quizzes should be fun to keep students engaged.
Conduct pre-assessments to understand students’ existing knowledge in the first tutoring session and tailor your teaching accordingly. Often, students haven’t learnt the basic concepts which is why they are still struggling to learn a particular concept. A pre-test can identify the knowledge gaps so tutors can correct these before moving on to the trickier questions.
Wrap-up questions
At the end of the lesson, ask students to write down one thing they learnt and one question they still have. You can also ask how confident they feel with the material they learnt today, and ask if they could solve the maths problems by themselves if they were tested on these.
Interactive activities
Working in pairs: have students think about a question, discuss it with a partner, and then together share their thoughts with the class.
Group work: assign group tasks and activities where students have to apply what they’ve learned and then present their findings.
Peer teaching: let students teach a concept to their classmates to reinforce their own understanding. This could be a 1-minute presentation on a topic such as the effects of climate change on polar bears.
Discussions
Class discussions allow students to ask questions and express their understanding. This could be part of a class debate or teachers can allow 5 minutes where students can ask questions and discuss their thoughts.
Alternatively, these discussions can be one-on-one conversations between a teacher and a student. Speaking with shy students individually may be required to gauge their understanding, as shy students might not speak up in class discussions.
Visual representations
Students can create mind maps or concept maps to visualise their understanding of a topic. This may help them to remember the concepts later in a test.
Use diagrams and charts, and ask students to complete the chart by labelling the x-axis and y-axis and plotting the points. Ask the student to explain the chart and what it means.
Written reflections
Students can keep a journal where they reflect on what they’ve learnt each day. Ask students to write summaries of the lesson in their own words. A summary can be two sentences or a paragraph.
Alternatively, tutors can ask the student what they have learnt and type these reflections to add to the student’s file. The tutor, parents and student can access this file to check the student’s progress over time.
Feedback
Provide immediate feedback during activities and correct misunderstandings on the spot. Also provide overall feedback at the end of the lesson.
Reteach concepts they didn’t understand in the next class, or use different methods if you notice misunderstanding occurs again the second time the concept is explained.
Practical applications
As always, real-world applications help students to understand problems better. Provide problems that require students to apply what they’ve learned to a real-world scenario they are familiar with, such as soccer or netball statistics.
Use simulations or role-playing to help students understand complex concepts.
Implementation
Use a mix of strategies to add variety and cater to different learning styles.
Be consistent by regularly checking for understanding throughout your lessons.
Be adaptable and flexible, and ready to adjust teaching methods based on feedback from the student and your observations of their progress.
About Me
I’m a maths tutor for intermediate and junior high school students. I live in Canterbury, New Zealand, and I tutor students online who live in NZ and Australia, so I’m familiar with the topics in the NZ/AU maths curriculum.
YouTube videos and contact details can be found here:
