Muddiest Point

The Muddiest Point strategy is a quick way to hear what ideas are still unclear to your students. Determine what information you want to get from students and ask them specifically about that topic. Then give students a few minutes to jot down what is still unclear at the end of a lesson. Review their responses live or after class and address the misunderstandings and reinforce the understandings of your students. This can be collected with names on the papers to provide individualized feedback or without names to allow for more anonymity.

Tools to Consider Using

  • Paper and pencil (in person)
  • Shared Google Doc (in person and online) – anonymous responses
  • Google Form (in person and online)
  • Jamboard (in person and online) – anonymous responses
  • Canvas assignment – text entry response (in person or online)
  • Top Hat – assign long answer question type (in person or online)

Evaluation: Review responses live or after class and address the misunderstandings and reinforce the understandings of your students.

At a Glance

Muddiest Point

timerClass Time Requirements: < 10 Minutes

timerPreparation Time: Low

Bloom’s Levels:

Create info Putting materials together to form a unique product.
Evaluate info Making judgments based on checking against given criteria.
Analyze info Breaking materials into parts to determine structures and relationships.
Apply info Using procedures to carry out a task.
Understand info Constructing meaning from information.
Remember info Using memory to recall facts and definitions.

Learn more about Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Associated Technology Tools:
VoiceThread VoiceThread Yammer Viva Engage (formerly Yammer) Top Hat Top Hat Piazza Piazza Perusall Perusall H5P H5P Google Jamboard Google Jamboard Google Forms Google Forms Google Docs Google Docs Google Assignments Google Assignments
Associated Teaching Strategies:
Reflective Learning