The Skillful Teacher

Check That Your Intentions Are Clearly Understood
Repeatedly throughout this book I have emphasized the importance
of teachers making their expectations, agendas, and rationales as
clear as possible. I don’t think it is possible to overemphasize why
you are asking students to develop certain skills, explore areas of
knowledge, and participate in activities you have devised. Regularly
collecting Critical Incident Questionnaire responses, administering
an early test on the syllabus, and finding any way you can to check
that students have understood your intentions will help avoid con-
fusion and the needless creation of resistance. Any time you give
out an assignment, distribute as much information as you can about
the criteria, indicators, and grading policies used to judge students’
work. It is often difficult for students to challenge teachers directly
about their actions, and we should never assume they have under-
stood why we are asking them to do something. Check, check, and
check again that students have fully understood what you are ask-
ing them to do.