Teaching practice
How to find out what every student knows, and what to do with the answer. Here you'll find classroom clips and reading on hinge questions, mini whiteboards, cold call and other response systems, and on what to do when the answers show students haven't got it yet.
Practices in this area:Hinge questionsMini whiteboardsCold callExit ticketsError analysisReteaching
Lesson with commentary
AERO · Years 5-6 · Australia
Evidence-based practices working together in a lesson that consolidates students' use of conjunctions in writing.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · Primary · Australia
Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain look inside the classroom of Queensland primary teacher Rebecca Sloots, unpacking how she checks for understanding and for quality, and how explicit teaching applies in the humanities.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Middle years · USA
A guest post by Joaquin Hernandez on why checks for understanding can mislead, with a clip of middle school teacher Bryan Belanger using Cold Call to get a truer picture of what students know.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · F-10 · Australia
Brendan Lee teaches a Year 3/4 maths lesson on the commutative property at Morwell Central Primary School. The hosts unpack his mini whiteboard routines, mistake analysis and explicit teaching of maths vocabulary.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Precise questions and tight mini whiteboard routines used to check understanding and adapt teaching.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
AERO · F-10 · Australia
Teachers in primary and secondary classrooms show how they monitor progress.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · F-10 · Australia
With Dr Carl Hendrick, the hosts study three Australian literacy lessons, primary and secondary, to see how skilled teachers respond in the moment when learning does not go to plan.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Secondary · USA
Sadie McCleary uses the chat function in a secondary chemistry class to check understanding, asking precise questions with a set answer format so she can assess every response in seconds.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Demonstration
AERO · F-10 · Australia
A short demonstration of circulation as a classroom management skill.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · F-10 · Australia
John Hollingsworth, co-author of Explicit Direct Instruction, joins the hosts to analyse maths, English and science footage, looking at checking for understanding, calling on non-volunteers and sentence frames.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson with commentary
NSW Department of Education · 6:35 · F-12 · Australia
Primary and secondary teachers use response systems to check what every student understands.
FreeOpens at education.nsw.gov.au
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Primary · 2024 · UK
A primary teacher in Walsall cold calls after giving students time to prepare, and Doug Lemov sets out what makes the experience positive and productive for every student.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Demonstration
AERO · F-10 · Australia
A short demonstration of scanning your class as a classroom management skill.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · Primary and secondary · UK
Peps Mccrea joins the hosts to unpack footage of a UK primary English teacher and a science teacher, looking at tight routines, responsive checks for understanding and concise teacher talk.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Uncommon Schools · F-12 · USA
A short Uncommon Schools classroom clip showing the Cold Call technique, where the teacher calls on students whether or not their hands are up.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Diagnostic questions used to find and address misconceptions.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
Sedgehill Academy · Secondary · UK
A video from Sedgehill Academy, a UK secondary school, on how its teachers use mini whiteboards to check the understanding of a whole class.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · F-10 · Australia
Adam Boxer shares clips from his own and colleagues' classrooms to show how eye contact, positioning, clear instructions and scanning head off disruption during transitions.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson with commentary
AERO · Primary · Australia
Primary teacher Melissa Garstang-Leary checks for understanding in English using pause points, true or false questions, thumbs up or down, quick quizzes and exit tickets, then gives prompt feedback.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · Primary · 2024 · UK
Classroom footage from Goldsmith Primary Academy in Walsall of a teacher checking what students have understood during reading, with notes on the details that make it work.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · F-10 · Australia
In part two with Adam Boxer, a retrieval practice clip is used to examine questioning in fine detail, including saying the name at the end, wait time and choosing who answers so every student thinks.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson with commentary
AERO · Primary · Australia
Primary teacher Sue Davis checks understanding of place value during maths lessons with quick quizzes and mini whiteboards, anticipates likely errors and reteaches when a misconception appears.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · Year 3 · USA
Year 3 teacher Laura Stam shares a knowledge-rich history lesson from Wyoming, using a knowledge organiser, shared reading, choral responses, pair shares and sentence stems to build students' knowledge.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Lesson footage
Research Schools Network · UK
Teachers use classroom talk to check understanding and adapt in the moment.
FreeOpens at researchschool.org.uk
Lesson with commentary
Teach Like a Champion (Doug Lemov) · 2024 · USA
An art teacher circulates while students draw, observing closely and giving deliberate feedback. A rare example of checking for understanding outside English and maths.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachampion.org
Lesson with commentary
AERO · 20:34 · Year 11 · Australia
A Year 11 Visual Communication Design lesson in which several evidence-based practices work together as students apply design strategies they have already learned.
FreeOpens at edresearch.edu.au
Lesson with commentary
Chalk Dust · Middle years · Australia
STEM educator Amber Haven shares a middle years lesson on neutral buoyancy, showing how retrieval practice, mini whiteboards and clear behaviour routines keep hands-on work focused on thinking.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Carl Hendrick · About 1 hour · 2025 · UK
Carl Hendrick looks at how teachers can use in-the-moment evidence of student understanding to adapt instruction. The second of his two sessions for Think Forward Educators.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Talk
Dylan Wiliam · 16:38 · F-12 · UK
Dylan Wiliam sets out what formative assessment is and what it is not. Useful for teams wanting a shared definition before reviewing their practice.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Explainer
Reading Universe · F-2 · USA
A reading coach on noticing students' errors during phonics and turning them into teaching moments.
FreeOpens at readinguniverse.org
Interview
InnerDrive · F-12 · UK
Doug Lemov talks through Cold Call and Turn and Talk in InnerDrive's Teaching Unpacked series, two techniques for getting every student thinking and taking part.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Explainer
Tips for Teachers (Craig Barton) · UK
Craig Barton's Tips for Teachers video on mini whiteboards, working through the routine in detail. For teachers who want whole-class responses to run smoothly.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Explainer
NSW Department of Education · 3:27 · F-12 · Australia
A short animation on why teachers check every student's understanding during the lesson, and how doing so helps catch errors before they settle. Useful as a staff meeting opener.
FreeOpens at education.nsw.gov.au
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Christopher Thomas, PWRD Leadership · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · Australia
Christopher Thomas gives an overview of Teach Like a Champion techniques for academic engagement, classroom culture and checking for understanding, and links them to Australian evidence.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with David Suter · 30 to 60 minutes · 2024 · Australia
Principal David Suter applies science of learning ideas to primary science, covering vocabulary, science inquiry versus inquiry learning, common misconceptions and formative assessment.
Free account neededOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Talk
Dylan Wiliam · About 40 minutes · 2025 · UK
Dylan Wiliam's talk from researchED Madrid 2025, arguing that assessment for learning is more than formative assessment. Useful for teams reviewing how they use assessment.
FreeOpens at youtube.com
Webinar
Think Forward Educators, with Carl Hendrick · About 1 hour · 2025 · UK
Carl Hendrick explains how to tell real understanding from recognition, covering retrieval practice, diagnostic questions and using misconceptions to make student thinking visible.
FreeOpens at thinkforwardeducators.org
Hinge questions
Education Research Reading Room · with Craig Barton
Craig Barton lays out his whole philosophy of maths teaching and how he enacts it, covering knowledge versus skills, explicit instruction and diagnostic questions.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Checking for understanding
Education Research Reading Room · with John Hollingsworth
John Hollingsworth, co-creator of Explicit Direct Instruction, explains the approach and how its lesson components turn research on effective teaching into daily classroom routines.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Responsive teaching and playbooks
Knowledge for Teachers · with Bron Ryrie Jones
Instructional coach Bron Ryrie Jones discusses responsive teaching, techniques for checking for understanding, and the role of instructional playbooks in building teacher expertise.
FreeOpens at knowledgeforteachers.podbean.com
Responsive teaching
Education Research Reading Room · with Harry Fletcher-Wood
Harry Fletcher-Wood discusses responsive teaching, his practical take on formative assessment, and how teachers can find out what students have understood and adjust.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Formative assessment
Education Research Reading Room · with Paul Spenceley
Paul Spenceley, a science teacher involved in Wiliam and Black's King's College formative assessment project, shares classroom techniques he has refined over three decades.
FreeOpens at ollielovell.com
Jamie Clark · One-page guide · Australia
Practical techniques for checking every student's understanding during a lesson, including choral response and the TAPPLE questioning sequence, so teachers can adjust teaching on the spot.
FreeOpens at jamieleeclark.com
Craig Barton (Tips for Teachers) · Substack · 2024 · UK
A short classroom tip for breaking the habit of asking "Does that make sense?", which rarely reveals understanding, by turning it into a game and replacing it with better checks.
FreeOpens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
Shaun Brien · Substack · 2026 · Australia
A Victorian teacher explains why checking for understanding sits at the heart of explicit instruction, and how to do it quickly and often with the whole class.
FreeOpens at mutallyassuredinstruction.substack.com
Tom Sherrington · Substack · 2026 · UK
From hundreds of lesson visits, Sherrington names three priorities for most schools, inclusive teaching, responsive teaching and teaching through talk, and links to his earlier writing on each.
FreeOpens at tomsherrington.substack.com
Rebecca Birch (On Education) · Substack · 2024 · Australia
Birch explains how the TAPPLE sequence from Explicit Direct Instruction changed her secondary English teaching, walking through each step and what it is not, including its effect on workload.
FreeOpens at rebeccabirch.substack.com
Haili Hughes · Substack · 2026 · Australia
Hughes contrasts differentiation that dumbs down tasks or multiplies planning with responsive teaching, which keeps the learning ambitious for everyone and adjusts support when evidence shows it is needed.
FreeOpens at hailihughes.substack.com
Jamie Clark (DistillED) · Newsletter article · 2025 · Australia
Explains cold calling as an invitation to join the thinking rather than a way to catch students out, with dos and don'ts drawn from Doug Lemov and Tom Sherrington.
FreeOpens at newsletter.jamieleeclark.com
Teach Like a Champion · Substack · 2025 · USA
Shows how teachers can circulate with purpose during independent work, tracking patterns in student answers and spotting misconceptions early enough to act on them in the lesson.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachamp.substack.com
Ben Cooper (WAGOLL Teaching) · Substack · 2026 · UK
A primary headteacher shows how mini whiteboards can do more than quick checks, supporting memory, drafting and working through ideas during a lesson.
FreeOpens at wagollteaching.com
Craig Barton (Tips for Teachers) · Substack · 2024 · UK
Barton shows how rephrasing a cold-call question as an invitation to begin, rather than to give the one right answer, lowers the stakes and gets more reluctant students contributing.
FreeOpens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
American Educator (Craig Barton) · Article · UK
Opens at aft.org
Research Schools Network · Blog post · UK
Opens at researchschool.org.uk
NSW Department of Education · Guide · Australia
Opens at sites.google.com
Nathaniel Swain · Substack · 2026 · Australia
Swain offers a simple matrix of preparation and deviation to show why expert teaching is neither rigid script-reading nor improvisation, and why responsive teaching depends on thorough preparation.
FreeOpens at nathanielswain.substack.com
Carl Hendrick (The Learning Dispatch) · Substack · 2025 · UK
Written while working with Australian schools, Hendrick explains why learning is recursive rather than linear, what responsive teaching involves, and which lethal mutations to avoid.
FreeOpens at carlhendrick.substack.com
Natalie Wexler (Minding the Gap) · Substack · 2024 · USA
Wexler introduces Graham Nuthall's research on what students actually learn in class, including his finding that students typically need to meet a concept several times before it sticks.
FreeOpens at nataliewexler.substack.com
Doug Lemov (Doug Lemov's Field Notes) · Substack · 2026 · USA
Using a classroom video, Lemov highlights two small details that make cold calling smoother and more positive, including polling the class after a short writing task before calling on anyone.
FreeOpens at douglemov.substack.com
Jamie Clark · One-page guide · Australia
Summarises Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy's five formative assessment strategies with practical tips for minute-by-minute teaching decisions.
FreeOpens at jamieleeclark.com
Carl Hendrick and Jamie Clark · One-page guide · Australia
A one-page version of Carl Hendrick's responsive teaching guide for UNESCO's International Bureau of Education, covering prior knowledge, high expectations and adapting to evidence of learning.
FreeOpens at jamieleeclark.com
Tom Sherrington and Valentina Devid (DistillED) · Newsletter article · 2026 · Australia
A guest piece reframing formative assessment as formative action, using short loops that turn classroom evidence into immediate teaching decisions.
FreeOpens at newsletter.jamieleeclark.com
Shaun Brien · Substack · 2026 · Australia
A short guide to hinge questions, multiple-choice checks at a key point in a lesson that show whether the class is ready to move on or needs reteaching.
FreeOpens at mutallyassuredinstruction.substack.com
Craig Barton (Tips for Teachers) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Barton summarises a meta-analysis of 29 studies finding that response cards, where every student answers at once, lift participation and quiz results and reduce off-task behaviour compared with hands up.
FreeOpens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
Tom Sherrington · Substack · 2026 · UK
A practical list of small changes from Sherrington's training, including cold calling done well, structured think-pair-share, whole answers, show-me boards and rehearsal, all aimed at involving every student in thinking.
FreeOpens at tomsherrington.substack.com
Rebecca Birch (On Education) · Substack · 2024 · Australia
Birch makes the case for cold calling in secondary classrooms as a lever for equity, citing research that it increases voluntary participation, and offers advice on making it work well.
FreeOpens at rebeccabirch.substack.com
Haili Hughes · Substack · 2026 · Australia
Hughes explains why drawing names at random is not the same as purposeful cold calling, and how teachers can choose who to ask based on what they need to find out.
FreeOpens at hailihughes.substack.com
Jamie Clark (DistillED) · Newsletter article · 2026 · Australia
Treats mini-whiteboards as a whole-class participation routine rather than just a checking tool, covering the why and how of using them well.
FreeOpens at newsletter.jamieleeclark.com
Teach Like a Champion · Substack · 2025 · USA
Explains how to use Cold Call warmly and predictably so every student expects to think and answer, and how it gives teachers a truer picture of what the class understands.
FreeOpens at teachlikeachamp.substack.com
Ben Cooper (WAGOLL Teaching) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Explains how questioning routines like turn and talk and cold call can lose their purpose, and how to make questioning draw on the knowledge pupils need.
FreeOpens at wagollteaching.com
Jamie Clark · One-page guide · Australia
Based on a Tom Sherrington blog post, this one-pager lists six things to check so that every student, not just a few, is attending, thinking and making meaning.
FreeOpens at jamieleeclark.com
Shaun Brien · Substack · 2026 · Australia
Practical advice on using a document camera to model live, show student work and give feedback without clunky transitions.
FreeOpens at mutallyassuredinstruction.substack.com
Craig Barton (Tips for Teachers) · Substack · 2026 · UK
Barton explains a study testing whether students improve after discussing a concept question because they understand it or copy classmates, and what it suggests about using peer discussion in lessons.
FreeOpens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
Chartered College of Teaching (Impact) · Practitioner article
Opens at my.chartered.college
Substack · Australia
Opens at rebeccabirch.substack.com
Conversations and podcast · Australia
Opens at bronwynryriejones.com
Blog · UK
Opens at teacherhead.com
Blog with video · USA
Opens at teachlikeachampion.org
Substack and podcast · UK
Opens at tipsforteachers.substack.com
Substack · UK
Opens at dylanwiliam137385.substack.com
Substack · UK
Opens at carouselteachlearnlead.substack.com
