“I ask ‘does everyone get it?’ and a few hands go up. I still don’t know who doesn’t.”
The course: Questioning and Checking for Understanding
Primary and secondary Sharpening the craft
What you will be able to do
- Write questions that expose misconceptions rather than confirm what is secure
- Gather a response from every pupil without a worksheet
- Decide in the moment whether to reteach, move on or regroup
The programme, unit by unit
42 lessons in 6 units, 9 h 6 min in all. Lessons run about 13 minutes each, so you can fit one into a free period.
-
What a good question is for
-
Hinge questions and multiple choice
-
Cold calling and no-hands-up routines
-
Mini whiteboards and quick checks
-
Reading the response
-
Reteaching in the moment
What is in the course
Streamed video lessons, watched online.
- Short lessons on one technique each, with a filmed example
- A bank of question stems to adapt to your subject
- Practice tasks where you write questions for your own next lesson
- Common errors and what to do when the room goes quiet
Who it’s for
Teachers in their second to fifth year who want tighter lessons, and mentors who need a shared language for observation.
Primary and secondary teaching.
What this course is not
- An accredited qualification. It is professional development, not an award from an exam board or a university.
- Live teaching. There is no live tutor and no timetable. You press play when you are ready.
- Marked or assessed. Nobody marks your work. Practice tasks are for your own planning and reflection.
- A replacement for your school. It does not replace your school's own induction, or a SENCo's advice about a pupil.
- Something to download. Everything is streamed online. There are no files to keep.
Watch it in your week
About 4 weeks at 3 hours a week
The lessons add up to 9 h 6 min, which is 9.1 hours. Give it 3 hours a week and 9.1 ÷ 3 = 3, rounded up to 4 weeks. That is about 14 lessons a week.
You have 24 months of access, so you can stop for a busy half-term and pick up where you left off.
- 1 hour a week10 weeks
- 2 hours a week5 weeks
- 3 hours a weekour suggestion4 weeks
- 5 hours a week2 weeks
Same shelf
More on Sharpening the craft
- Feedback Without the Marking Mountain “I spend my Sunday writing comments that nobody reads.”
- Planning a Sequence of Lessons “I can plan a good lesson. Planning a good half-term is another matter.”
- AI Tools for Planning and Feedback: What Helps and What Doesn’t “Everyone says AI will save me hours. I don’t know what to trust it with.”