This past weekend, I sat down with my son to review his addition and subtraction facts. What started as a simple conversation turned into a revealing moment. When I asked him to explain how he had been taught to solve these problems over the last two years, he couldn’t tell me. He was stumped. Not just by the math itself, but by the reasoning behind it.
As a parent and educator, this was deeply concerning.
It reminded me of something I believe at my core. If students cannot verbalize their thinking, they have not truly learned it. Memorization without meaning is concerning. Instruction without articulation is incomplete. And yet, far too often, we assume understanding simply because students complete a task.
“If students can’t explain it, they haven’t truly learned it. Teaching them to talk about their thinking deepens understanding and reveals misconceptions. Make thinking visible.”
#DailyEducatorWisdom, July 11th
What Does True Understanding Look Like?
True understanding is cognitive. It lives in how students process, reflect, and communicate their thinking, not just in what they complete. That is why checking for understanding should be built into every lesson, not as an afterthought, but as a foundation of great teaching.
Too often, checking for understanding is limited to thumbs up, thumbs down, or a surface-level exit ticket. Instead, we should design instruction that:
• Includes pre-planned questions at key points in the lesson
• Encourages student-to-student discussion
• Prompts learners to justify their answers or strategies
• Uses academic vocabulary in context
• Ends with reflection that is visible, verbal, or written
Why Verbalization Matters
When students are expected to explain how or why they solved a problem (or how they executed a skill in physical education), or how they know something is true, they are forced to retrieve information, organize their thoughts, and make meaning. This is where real learning happens.
“Don’t just plan what you’ll teach. Plan what students will do. Learning happens through action, not exposure.”
#DailyEducatorWisdom, July 20th
Think about the cognitive lift required when a student says “I used the making ten strategy to solve eight plus five because I know that eight plus two gets me to ten, and then I just add the leftover three to get thirteen.”
That kind of articulation is not just a performance. It is proof of ownership.
Practical Takeaways
• Plan three to five checking for understanding questions in advance during lesson planning
• Use sentence stems and partner talk to get every student explaining
• Incorporate tools like whiteboards, movement-based checks, or call and response
• Do not assume quiet means comprehension. Listen for thinking!
“Great questions spark great thinking. Don’t just ask for answers. Ask for reasoning, connections, and reflection.”
#DailyEducatorWisdom, July 17th
Final Thought
As educators, our goal is not just to cover content. Our goal is to ensure students uncover meaning. Let’s build classrooms where students do not just complete tasks. Let’s build classrooms where students think, talk, explain, and truly understand.
If my son’s experience taught me anything this weekend, it is this. We must make time to check for understanding and give students space to verbalize their learning.
That is where the real teaching and the real learning live.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to leave a comment below and share how you approach checking for understanding or how students in your classroom make their thinking visible.
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