Teach Back is a practice where the teacher asks his/her students to explain a concept from the lesson by taking on the role of teacher. This practice allows the teacher to gauge the student’s understanding of a topic or concept as well as determine how effectively the topic was explained. Students who are able to Teach Back are more likely to retain information because they must truly understand the material. In order to teach a concept to someone else, the student has internalized the material.

• Determine the concept or skill in your lesson you want students to Teach Back.
• Determine if students will Teach Back in small groups, pairs or whole group.
• Explain the procedures for the activity and behavior expectations before using the Teach Back practice. If students are in groups, they will need explicit directions about who is the “teacher” and when. Everyone should get a chance to be the “teacher” at some point in the activity.
• Present information to students in small chunks during the lesson.
• Ask students to Teach Back to the teacher, their partner, or to their group.
• Identify and correct any misunderstandings. If the students are working in partners or groups, have a student share the discussion in their group. This gives the teacher the opportunity to observe student responses, and reteach if necessary.
• Add additional information or reteach depending on student responses.