Tip: It only takes a minute...
One strategy to check student understanding when remote teaching.
A few years ago, I wrote about how I missed those precious few minutes before and after in-person classes when students would linger to ask questions. While some students still stay on Zoom for a bit after class, it doesn't happen as often, so I’ve found that I need to be more deliberate about taking the temperature of the room. One simple but effective strategy I use in remote teaching (that works just as well as when teaching face-to-face!) to check student understanding is the minute paper. The minute paper, as its name suggests, is a short way to collect information from students, but it punches well above its weight in terms of impact.
How it Works
At the end of a class session, I leave a few minutes free for students to respond to a short 2-3 question prompt:
What was the most important point from today's lecture?
What are you still confused about?
How might you apply/connect/extend what we learned today?
In a remote synchronous class, I might use an anonymous form (Google or MS Forms both work well for this purpose) or add a short assignment to the LMS that is graded for completion. For asynchronous courses, you could add a quick survey or other assignment to collect student responses at the end of a module. The key is asking students to independently reflect on their learning and to discuss the concept they're most unclear on. I've found students more willing to admit confusion through individual written responses than by raising their hands in class, and this seems particularly true for remote synchronous classes.
Prepare students…
To make this work, I always explain at the start of the activity why I am asking them to do it - this articulation of the purpose of a task is always important, especially when you want students to engage in metacognition, or thinking about their own thinking and learning processes. The more we do this activity, the easier it is for students to be concise when explaining what they know and what they need to know more about.
…and follow up with what you learned
When I do this activity, I am careful to follow up with students, frequently by summarizing responses and highlighting key questions either in an LMS announcement or in the next live class meeting. This shows students that I value their perspectives and that the feedback shapes future learning activities. It also provides students with a sense of where they are compared to their peers, which I hope is reassuring (“We all were confused about the same thing!”) rather than stressful.
In the end, this simple technique provides useful insights in both remote and in-person classes. I continue to appreciate the wisdom students share when I make space to listen.
I hope you find this useful - please let me know if you have any questions!
For more about minute papers, here’s a video from the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching