A hinge question or short exit task is useful when it changes what the teacher does next. It should reveal whether pupils understand the central idea, not simply whether they completed the activity.

Use a hinge question during teaching

Place a hinge question before the lesson moves to a dependent idea or independent task. Design the possible responses so that they expose a useful misconception.

Ask every pupil to respond at the same time using mini whiteboards, cards, an online poll or another method that shows the whole class. Do not rely on volunteers.

For example, after teaching place value, ask pupils to choose which expression equals 3.04. Include options that reveal confusion between tenths and hundredths.

You do not have to write every hinge question yourself. Eedi's free question bank has maths and science quizzes with wrong options built around common misconceptions. Its featured sets run from Year 6 to GCSE, so it suits Secondary and upper Primary best.

Decide in advance what each response pattern means:

• if most pupils are secure, move on;

• if responses split around one misconception, address it with a contrasting example;

• if understanding is weak across the class, reteach the central idea before continuing.

Use exit evidence for the next lesson

An exit task comes at the end of learning and should inform subsequent planning. Use one or two questions that reveal whether pupils can apply the important idea independently.

For example, after a history lesson on source reliability, ask pupils to identify one factor that affects reliability and explain how it changes their judgement. Use the responses to decide whether the next lesson needs retrieval, further modelling or more demanding application.

Keep collection manageable

Do not gather more evidence than you can use. A single well-designed response is often more informative than several routine questions.

Record the main class pattern, not every minor error.

Further guidance

• EEF: How checking for understanding can guide teaching

• EEF: Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning

Talamo has no commercial relationship with any of the organisations named here. We suggest them only because we think they could be useful to schools.