Checking for Student Understanding in

Online Learning

Questions by Cognitive Level

In order to ensure your questions are scaffolded from lower to higher cognitive levels, it is useful to identify the
level of each question or prompt you plan to ask. Use this table, from Linda Nilson, to identify question types for
each cognitive level.

Cognitive Level Questions

Knowledge • Who did to ?
• What did you notice about ?
• What do you recall about ?
• What does the term mean?
• When did take place? Where did it take place?
• How does the process work? (Describe it.)
Comprehension • In your own words, what does the term mean?
• How would you explain in nontechnical terms?
• Can you show us what you mean?
• What do you think the author/researcher is saying?
Application • What would be an example of ?
• How would you solve this problem?
• What approach would you use?
• How would you apply in this situation?
Analysis • How are and alike? How are they different?
• How is related to ?
• What are the different parts of ?
• What type of is this? How would you classify it?
• What evidence does the author/researcher offer?
• How does the author/researcher structure the argument?
• What assumptions are behind the argument?
• What inferences can you draw about ?
Synthesis • What conclusions can you come to about ?
• What generalizations can you make about ?
• How would you design (structure, organize) a ?
• How would you adapt (change) the design (plan) for ?
• How can you resolve the differences (paradox, apparent conflict)?
• What new model could accommodate these disparate findings?
Evaluation • What would you choose, and why?
• What are the relevant data, and why?
• Why do you approve or disapprove?
• Why do you think the conclusions are valid or invalid?
• What is your position (opinion), and how can you justify it?
• How would you rank (rate, prioritize) the ?
• How would you judge (evaluate) ?

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 2

Source
From Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors (3rd ed., p. 139), by L. B. Nilson, 2010,
Jossey-Bass. Reproduced by permission.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

Use Wait Time in Synchronous Sessions

After asking a question, it is important to give students time to reflect and prepare a response. The number of hands
raised, after waiting 3 to 5 seconds, should also be used as a form of feedback regarding the level of student
understanding. Fewer hands raised may indicate that students are either confused about what you are asking, or
they may feel they are not able to answer the question correctly (Dailey, 2014).
Research has found that instructors typically wait less than 1 second between asking a question and calling on a
student to respond. Under these conditions, student answers are generally short, and fewer students volunteer to
answer. Pausing 5 to 7 seconds before calling on a student results in an increase in the length of student responses,
the number of students willing to give a response, and student-to-student interactions (Dailey, 2014). Also, let
students know that you are pausing because you care about their answers and want them to have time to consider
their responses.
Source
Dailey, R. (2014, April 21). The sound of silence: The value of quiet contemplation in the classroom. Faculty
Focus. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/sound-silence-value-quiet-
contemplation-classroom/

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

Establishing Expectations for Cold-Calling

Student motivation is a key in helping students achieve their learning goals. To foster motivation, it’s helpful to
encourage and support students to take ownership of the course content, engage with the course material, and
participate in discussions and forums. You can help students take more ownership of their learning by calling on
them for answers, feedback, or responses during synchronous online discussions; just be sure to let them know up
front that you will be calling on students without hands raised and why you are using the practice.
Gathering Feedback on the Lesson
In addition to helping support student success, cold-calling is an effective way to gather feedback from the class in
real time so that you know if you are teaching the current topic effectively or if students would benefit from more
explanation or different examples. Feedback can be gathered during lectures or discussions by asking variations of
questions such as:
• “Why do you think this is true?”
• “What is an example of this in . . . ?”
• “What is your take on this?”
• “How do you think this applies to . . . ?”
Why Cold-Call?
It is important to call on students who did not volunteer to participate because the students who typically volunteer
are the ones who understand the material or assume they have the correct answer. The students who actively
engage may lead you to assume that all students are just as engaged and have a solid understanding of the content.
In reality, there may be other students who don’t volunteer because they are not confident in their understanding
of the material. These are the students we need feedback from so that we can modify our approach to the topic and
ensure that students comprehend the material.
Establishing Expectations for Cold-Calling
Cold-calling students who have not volunteered to participate will not be effective in fostering motivation or success
if students aren’t prepared to rise to the challenge. It is therefore important to establish expectations for cold-
calling at the start of the course.
Within the class participation section of your syllabus, include your expectations of how often and in what ways you
expect students to participate in synchronous class discussions or lectures. Make it clear that everyone should
expect to be called upon to engage whether or not they have volunteered to do so. This sets the expectation for the
remainder of the course and helps to engage students who may generally shy away from participating.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 2

Sample Participation Syllabus Statement

Below is a sample statement that can be included in your syllabus to let students know that they will be called upon
to participate in the class discussions and lectures.
Participating in synchronous class discussions and mini lectures is an important part of learning in this course. I
encourage you to cue me when you would like to respond to a question or prompt, or when you have a question. I
also expect each of you to be prepared for our synchronous sessions and ready to respond to questions or prompts
even if you don’t volunteer to do so. Because I will ensure that everyone is called upon over the course of the
semester, you will all receive a grade for the quality of your participation, which will be equivalent to 5% of your
overall course grade. High-quality participation means that you are prepared for the synchronous sessions, not
that you always have the correct response. Hearing responses from everyone in the class allows us to gain new
perspectives and consider questions that we may not have thought of, and at times helps me understand that
there is confusion and offers me the opportunity to respond to that confusion.

It is important to review this expectation in the first class meeting. Cold-calling can be a challenge for students if
they are not prepared to answer the question or do not expect to be called upon.
Keeping Track of Participation
Once this expectation is set and students know that they may be called upon to participate in the lesson, it can be
helpful to keep a roster of student names on hand so that you can mark off those you have called on and choose
students who have not yet participated. You may also try having index cards with a student’s name written on each
so that once you call on a student, you can make a quick note about their response and then place their card in a
separate pile. This helps you keep track of students you have and have not called on.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

Use Prompts to Help Student Clarify Their Thinking

In discussion forums or live sessions, you can invite students to clarify, expand, and support their thinking by
strategically asking follow-up questions. These prompting questions can encourage students to engage in critical
thinking and lead them to a deeper understanding of the content.
The following chart identifies prompts that can be used based on how students reply to your questions. The
prompting approach can be used in either live sessions or asynchronous chats.
Student Response & Your Goal Prompt
Student Response: No students respond to your This three-step approach is most often used in live
question. sessions.
Your Goal: Elicit responses by supporting and 1. Repeat the question.
guiding students to share an answer.
Provides students with time to think as well as the
opportunity to hear the question again.
2. Rephrase the question.
Consider using different language or emphasizing
different words in the question.
3. Reduce the question.
Break the question into parts or ask a more direct
version of the question.
Student Response: A student provides the correct Clarify the right answer and praise the thinking
answer. behind the answer.
Your Goal: Recognize the response as correct. This “Yes, you’re on the right track because . . .”
gives other students insight into the type of
Or, “You’ve applied the process we learned earlier
answers you’re looking for and also cues them to
in the module, nice work . . .”
focus on the correct content.
Student Response: A student provides the correct Clarify the right answer and encourage another
answer, but there are other possible answers. student to add to the conversation.
Your Goal: Encourage another student to extend “You have uncovered an important aspect of the
or add to the answer. reading. Could someone add to this thinking?”

Student Response: The student’s answer is unclear. Rephrase the answer and ask if that was what the
student meant: “So what I heard you say was you
Your Goal: Coax more out of the student and help
think the author was not being clear in his/her
them uncover the assumptions being made.
description? Is that correct?”
Ask them to consider a different approach to help
them think more deeply. “How might you modify
your answer if you took into account . . .?”
Student Response: The student’s answer is “Yes, and if you come to that conclusion, don’t
incorrect. you also have to assume . . .?”
Your Goal: Lead the student to uncover their “I’m not sure I’m following your thinking here.
error. Could you please clarify your thoughts?”

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

Use Online Polls, Surveys, and Quizzes

Asking students to respond to a quick online poll, survey, or quiz to check for understanding provides instructors
with a clear idea of what students have learned and where they need additional supports.
Use Online Polls to Check for Student Assessment of Their Understanding
Asking students to respond to a quick online poll to check for understanding is similar to asking for a show of hands
in a classroom. This type of feedback provides a general sense of whether the group as a whole thinks they
understand the new material. Asking students to respond to a poll after engaging with content that could be
challenging or confusing can help you address students’ concerns in a timely manner; therefore, it is important to
communicate how you will use their responses to the poll and that you will not be grading the responses.
Online polls typically include a single multiple-choice question. Below are examples of different poll questions for
different situations.
• A poll question following a video lecture: How confident are you that you understand the concepts [you
may choose to list separate concepts in separate questions] discussed in the video lecture? (responses on a
scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = least and 5 = most)
• A poll about assigned reading: How well do you think you understand the significance of the results
presented in the article? (responses on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = least and 5 = most)
• A poll about assignment instructions: How confident are you that you understand what is expected of you
for this assignment? (responses on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = least and 5 = most)
Although the responses to these questions indicate only how well students think they understand, not what they
actually understand, it is still a good method to obtain feedback that lets you know if you need to follow up with
additional instruction for the entire class or offer additional help to the students who have indicated they are
struggling with the material.
Use Online Surveys to Check for Understanding of Foundational Knowledge
While online polls help determine what students think they understand, surveys can identify precisely what they do
and do not understand. You can use tools such as SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, or Google Forms to create surveys with
multiple choice, true/false, or essay questions. Some learning management systems provide a setting so that online
quizzes can be taken as anonymous surveys.
Since surveys can be taken anonymously, they also provide a risk-free way for students to engage with questions
aligned to what they are learning. You may incentivize students to complete anonymous surveys by letting them
know that the questions are similar to what will appear on an upcoming test and that you will use the responses to
determine what you might need to reteach or where you might need to provide additional resources.
After students respond to the survey questionnaire, it is important to share the correct responses. If there are
questions where a third or more of your students struggled, post a written and/or video explanation of the correct
response and include resources for students to find pertinent information. Also offer a virtual help session for
anyone wanting additional support. This type of feedback is also an indication that you should go back and
determine if your instructional methods or materials could be improved.
Use Online Quizzes to Check for Student Understanding of Complex Material
The quiz tools in your learning management system (LMS) can be used to create quizzes with different types of
questions (e.g., true/false, multiple choice, open text, and essay) and offer instant feedback to students, so they
understand why their responses are correct or incorrect and where to find pertinent information in the course
materials.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 2

Provide quiz instructions that explain the purpose of the quiz and encourage students to answer questions based
solely on what they understood from the video lecture(s) and/or selected reading(s).
For example:
The purpose of this quiz is to let me know how effective my online lecture was at explaining the complex process of
cellular respiration. Your responses to the quiz questions will let me know if I need to provide any additional support
or resources. Please do not use notes or refer back to the materials when you take this quiz. You will receive 5
participation points simply for taking the quiz, not for the number of answers you get right. Thank you for your help!

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

One-Minute Thread
The One-Minute Thread is the online version of the One-Minute Paper. While this teaching practice is a helpful
technique to check for student understanding in a fully online course, the One-Minute Thread can also be used in
hybrid or face-to-face courses that use an online platform for class materials and discussions. The One-Minute
Thread offers students more time to formulate their responses, which may be helpful when students are asked to
grapple with complex questions or challenging material, or when they simply benefit from extra processing time.
Instructions
1. Use the questions below for this activity in relation to a module or unit.
a. What was most clear, helpful, or meaningful in this module or unit?
b. What concepts or ideas from this module or unit are still unclear?
c. What additional comments, insights, or questions do you have about this module’s or unit’s concepts
or ideas?
2. You may include all three questions on one discussion forum. However, creating a separate forum for each
question will make it easier to identify patterns or themes in each category.
3. Provide students with instructions that encourage short, concise responses to each question. Consider
offering a point or two for completion as well as an example post from a previous class.
Below are some example instructions:
In order for me to determine how well you understand the content in this module, please post a
response to the question in each of the three discussion forums. Your response should be brief, and
it should not take more than a few minutes to write. For your contribution to our shared
understanding, you will earn 1 point for posting to each discussion board prompt. Below are
several examples from last semester:
• Clear – I now understand both the basic structure of the cell and what keeps a cell alive.
• Unclear – I don’t get the four phases of mitosis/cell division and if the phases are different for
different kinds of cells.
• Comment – Please show more animations and pictures . . . they help a lot.
Once all students have posted their responses, identify patterns regarding what is clear and unclear to
students. Share a summative post that addresses problem areas by providing necessary clarifications and
useful resources. Describe any modifications you will make to course materials or the next module based
on the students’ comments.
Source
From “Evaluating and Improving Your Online Teaching Effectiveness,” by K. Kelly, in S. Hirtz, D. G. Harper, & S.
Mackenzie (Eds.), Education for a Digital World: Advice, Guidelines, and Effective Practice From Around the Globe
(pp. 365–377), BCcampus and Commonwealth of Learning, 2008 (http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/52). CC BY-SA
3.0. Reproduced with permission.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

Including a Question & Answer Forum

Regardless of how diligently we develop assignments, carefully construct mini lectures, or include details in our
syllabus, students will have questions. This is a good sign, as students who take the time to form and ask questions
are generally engaged with the course and invested in their learning. In fact, it is a good practice to thank students
for their questions.
To efficiently respond to questions and help students find the answers they need, it can be helpful to have a
Question & Answer (Q & A) forum where students can post questions. The forum can save you from responding to
the same question several times and help students who might be reticent to ask, even though they had the same
question. It also gives students the opportunity to serve as support for other students when they are able to
respond to a classmate’s question.
Responding in the Q & A Forum
For the Q & A forum to be successful, be sure to set the forum notifications to ping you or send you an email any
time a student posts a question so that you can reply promptly. If the forum or your LMS doesn’t provide the
notifications option, set a reminder for yourself to check the forum at least once each day of the week. You may
even include in the syllabus the turnaround time that students can expect for a response to something posted in the
Q & A forum.
Q & A Forum as Feedback
As you review student questions in the forum, it can be helpful to keep a running list of the topics or assignments
that students commonly seem confused about. This way you can adjust those lessons or assignments for future
classes.
In your current class, if you are finding common areas of confusion or misunderstandings, there are a number of
things that you can do to support your students.
• Provide additional resources
• Create an additional microlecture explaining the content in a new way
• Design an assignment to ensure students have grasped important concepts before moving on to the next
module
You can also scan student interactions in discussion forums to see if there are assignments or assignment directions
that students are struggling to understand.

Creating a Q & A Video

If there is a particular question that you think is important to clarify for the entire class, or a specific topic that many
students seem to have questions about, you can respond by creating a video and posting it for the entire class. The
video or additional microlecture can serve as a response to the question and a way to demonstrate to your students
that you are engaged in the class content and invested in their ability to master course content.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 2

The box below demonstrates the points that you may include in your video response.
1. Acknowledge the student question(s).
2. Recognize why the specific content, topic, or assignment may be confusing.
3. Identify content from an earlier module that, when revisited, may help students better understand the
current content.
4. Briefly explain the foundational concepts from the earlier module.
5. Transition the foundational concepts to the current module’s content.
6. Explain the current content in a new way or through a different approach.
7. Offer a step-by-step explanation for solving a problem.
8. Reiterate to students that you welcome their questions in the forum and they should expect this type of
clarification when you see that many students are struggling with the same issue or concept.
9. Assign a short quiz or reflection assignment to ensure that students understand the content.

Sample Q & A Video

The box below is the dialogue from a sample Q & A video. In this scenario, the instructor of a writing course asked
students to identify the point of view within the assigned memoir. The assignment required students to provide
evidence to support their responses. It seemed to be a straightforward assignment, but several students had
questions such as, “What if the author doesn’t have a point of view?” or “What if the point of view shifts?” These
questions helped the instructor realize that students hadn’t yet developed a strong understanding of or ability to
identify an author’s point of view.
1. I have received several questions about the point of view within the memoir. Some of the questions asked
how to identify the point of view, or what to do if the author didn’t use a point of view.
2. I understand that identifying point of view might be difficult within a memoir because, until now, we have
only worked on identifying a point of view when reading fiction.
3. I think it would be helpful to review what the point of view and central themes are.
4. The point of view in any writing is the form of narration that the author uses. In literature, point of view
can be first person, where the narrator uses “I, me, my”, or second person, where the author uses “you,
your,” or third person, where the author uses “she, he, they, her, his, their.”
5. The important thing to note here is that memoir is personal experience, so the narrator really only has the
first- or second-person point of view to choose from. Fiction often uses third person because the narrator
presumably knows the thoughts, feelings, or intentions of others, and this is not the case in life nor in
memoir.
6. So, as we study memoir writing in this class, we have to keep in mind the importance of having a reliable
narrator. In a conversation with someone, we won’t say, “She felt alone. She chased her friend down and
begged for forgiveness. It was the only consolation she had on a such a rainy night.” Instead, we would say
something more along the lines of, “I saw her chase her friend down the street and say she is sorry and
that she didn’t want to lose the friendship. It all looked more dramatic because it was raining that night. I
don’t know if she meant it or if she just wanted a friend because she felt alone.” Memoir works the same
way. The narrator can’t know what other people are thinking or feeling, so events are written in first or
second person and describe what is experienced or witnessed.
7. So, in the example I just gave, what is the point of view? The narrator used the words “I don’t know if she
meant it” and “I saw her.” Although the words “she” and “her” are used, the narrator is describing a
personal point of view using “I,” which is first person.
8. I hope this clarifies the topic. If you have any questions, please post to the Q-&-A forum. I also have office
hours on Thursday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Please feel free to drop in via chat or video for some additional
help.
9. I have created a short quiz just to let me know how everyone is doing with this content. Please complete
the quiz before 5 p.m. tomorrow.
10. Thank you.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 3

The follow-up can be a short, five-question quiz created in the LMS, asking questions such as which pronouns
correspond with which point of view, and why point of view differs in fiction and in memoir. This will help the
instructor know whether students need further instruction before moving on to the next module.

Source
Adapted from Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes (pp. 38–41), by F. Darby & J. M.
Lang, 2019, Jossey-Bass.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.
 Using
Checking
the Active
for Student
Learning
Understanding
Cycle in Online
in
Online
Courses
Learning

Posting Frequently Asked Questions

With each course that you teach, you may notice several questions that arise frequently. Collecting these will help
you determine if any class sessions or assignments may benefit from an adjustment or redesign. At the same time,
some questions may not relate to things that you can redesign. They may be more general questions or topics that
are of particular concern to students. In such cases, it is helpful to collect these questions and create a Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ) document that you post for the class. This will save you time as you can simply post the
document to the FAQ section each time you teach the course.
The table below presents a sample FAQ document with responses.
LMS Quizzes Assignments
What if I can’t log into the LMS? What purpose do the quizzes What are the consequences of
Contact our Tech Support serve? The quiz feature in the late submissions? As stated in the
department at 800-234-5678. modules allows you to revisit the syllabus, there is an automatic
Please note this number so you most important concepts. This deduction of 5 points from the
have it available without going process of having to recall assignment grade. If you are
into the course. information strengthens your anticipating that you will have
ability to recall this information difficulty meeting a due date,
later on. please contact me so we can
discuss options.
What if I don’t have internet Can I take a quiz after the Sunday Are you available to help with
access so I can’t get into the LMS? night deadline? No, there are no assignments before they are due?
I recommend that you go to a late submissions for quizzes Yes, that is a great reason to log
space you can use that has shared because this information is used into my virtual office hours. If that
internet access. If this is an to inform our work in the next time is not convenient, email me
ongoing problem, please contact module. and we will schedule another
me so we can discuss your time.
options.
What if my assignment isn’t What if I miss a quiz? You are What differentiates an A paper
posting to the LMS and it is due? allotted one dropped quiz. You from a B paper? Refer to the
You can email the assignment to can decide which quiz to drop, rubric for more detailed
me while you contact the Tech either because you missed one or information, but generally an A is
Support department at 800-234- didn’t score as high as you would given on an essay when it is well
5678 and have the issue resolved. have liked. You will receive the full organized, the thesis is clearly
10 points for the quiz you choose stated, all references are
to drop. appropriately cited, and the topic
is carefully chosen and
researched.

Sources
Bowen, J., & Watson, E. (2012). Teaching naked techniques: A practical guide to designing better classes. Jossey-
Bass.
Darby, F., & Lang, J. M. (2019). Small teaching online: Applying learning science in online classes. Jossey-Bass.

www.acue.org | [email protected]

Copyright © 2020 Association of College and University Educators (ACUE). All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be disclosed to a third party without the prior written consent of ACUE.