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One of the main things about being a teacher is making sure that the students are achieving their full potential and keeping up with the classwork. This is often tracked with tests and quizzes, but there are various other ways to keep track of how well students are comprehending the material. Here are some ways to monitor a student’s progress in the classroom.

Write Down the Objective

A good place to start in monitoring any progress is making a plan of how it will be monitored. A teacher should have a plan mapped out of what they will teach and how it will be taught, along with another plan for how they will prove that their students have grasped the material that was taught. The typical way of doing this is monitoring students at the beginning, during, and after a lesson.

1) At the beginning of the Lesson

During each part of a given lesson, there are a few ways to track students. In the beginning, some examples are giving out entry slips, grading work out loud of past lessons, or asking review questions. These are given in a way so the students can prove they comprehend a past lesson as well as prepare them for a new lesson.

2) During a Lesson

A key practice to remember is to always observe your students. Every student has certain tells or signs when they don’t understand something or aren’t engaged in what is being taught. It is also important to occasionally take a break from the actual teaching and give the students a chance to answer some questions about the lesson or to directly say what they do or do not understand.

3) After the Lesson

At the end of the lesson is where students can usually be given more in-depth exercises of the material that was just learned. These exercises may include asking multiple-choice questions, giving out individual/group projects, exit slips, and homework. These will help the students to review everything as a whole on their own and then further ask the teacher for extra help if needed. However, while these tips may be helpful, there is always room for plan adjustments as every classroom is different.