Find out who's lost before the test does
“Any questions?” tells you almost nothing. Build in ways to see every student's thinking.
Written with AI — this one isn’t Tammy. The Field Guide covers ground her videos don’t, and keeps to what’s well established. It doesn’t know your students, and nothing here overrides your school’s policy or your state’s law. · 1 min read
What to do
- Students rarely admit confusion in front of the class. Silence after “any questions?” isn't understanding.
- Use methods where everyone answers at once: mini whiteboards, hand signals for multiple choice, quick written responses you can scan.
- Write a hinge question — one multiple-choice question where each wrong answer reveals a specific misconception — for the middle of the lesson.
- Close with an exit ticket of one or two questions, and sort them into “got it,” “almost” and “not yet” before tomorrow.
- Then act on it. Re-teach the “not yet” group, even if it's only for five minutes.
Why it works
Checking understanding as you go is the difference between teaching the lesson you planned and teaching the students in front of you. Discovering halfway through Tuesday that half the class misunderstood something is recoverable. Discovering it on the unit test two weeks later mostly isn't.
Try this tomorrow
Write one hinge question for tomorrow where each wrong answer points to a different mistake. Ask it halfway through, and let the answers decide what you do next.
Watch out
Data you don't use is just paperwork. Collect only what you'll actually look at.
More from the Field Guide
Wait three seconds after you ask
Silence after a question isn't dead air. It's thinking time — and most of us cut it off.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Make them remember, not re-read
Pulling something out of memory is what makes it stick. Build that into every lesson.
Written with AI — not by Tammy
Show them first: I do, we do, you do
Explicit modeling beats hoping they'll figure it out — especially with anything new.
Written with AI — not by Tammy