A way of teaching that actively invites students to convey what they are thinking. Good questions, prepared before a lesson, will also help a teacher determine whether students use varied approaches to a problem and how well students can explain their own thinking. This process complements observation.Rubric: A hierarchy of performance standards and expectations used to evaluate student performance on a task. Either task-specific or general, the rubric makes it possible to determine a student's score based on overall performance, as opposed to simply the number of correct or incorrect items. A sample rubric could consist of a scale of three to six points that are used to rate performance. If they are shared with the students, rubrics can engage and empower students in the learning process.