🗑 Why I'm loving "The Last Question" strategy

💻 NEW PD SERIES: Capture and hold student attention

You know what’s tougher than ever right now? Capturing — and holding — students’ attention.

The good news? We’re not helpless.

This fall, I’m teaming up with RocketPD for a brand-new five-session cohort called:

Tech Like a Pirate: How to Create a Buzzworthy Classroom That Captures Students’ Attention — and Holds It.

We’ll talk about attention, relevance, and motivation — and how to connect your instruction with the digital world your students actually live in.

This isn’t about gimmicks or tech for tech’s sake. It’s about using platforms, tools, and strategies with purpose.

📅 Starts November 5, 2025
💡 Five live virtual sessions + access to recordings
🎟️ Discounts available for teams of 5+

Hope you’ll join me — or pass this along to someone on your team who’s ready to rethink student engagement.

PS: Let me know if you’ve got questions — just hit reply and ask!

💻 TECH TIP 💻

💻 Find free, pre-made digital content for class

What if you could just grab an article — a video — an interactive digital experience — and share it with your students?

There are TONS of great sources of pre-made, free content like that all over the web. The hard part? Finding them!

In this post — 20+ sources of free digital content for your class — I share some of my favorite places to find pre-written lesson plans and easily shareable digital resources for students.

Some of my faves on the list include:

• PBS LearningMedia (pbslearningmedia.org)

• The U.S. National Archives (archives.gov/education)

• The Smithsonian’s digital resources (si.edu)

• Google Arts and Culture (artsandculture.google.com)

BONUS: Another that’s not in the post that I love: The Achievery. It has video clips plus full lesson plans to teach a variety of topics. Right now, they’re featuring a partnership with Disney and Pixar’s movie Elio!

Check out the whole list …

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

Why I’m loving “The Last Question” strategy

A few weeks ago in my class, I just couldn’t quite tell if my classroom storytelling was hitting the mark.

One of my favorite ways to have students practice Spanish in my class — and get practice with their listening skills — is to tell stories.

• We come up with the details together as we go (like improv).

• We incorporate the target vocabulary and grammar as much as possible.

• We cook up fun plot twists.

• Often, the students are the stars of the story.

• When we’re done, students retell the story in their own words.

In the past, students have enjoyed these stories and have found them effective for learning Spanish.

But with this class, for some reason … I just wasn’t quite sure.

So I asked.

We did the retell activity on paper. Most of them were already finished. So, in the last couple minutes of class, I said …

“Give the storytelling a rating out of 10 on how well you think it helps you learn Spanish.

“Then, give it a rating out of five stars on how much you like it.”

The results? I averaged about an 8/10 for how well it helps them learn Spanish. And I probably averaged 4/5 stars.

I was satisfied.

But I was also hooked. I wanted to use “The Last Question” all the time!

Other “Last Questions” I’ve tried

This was fun! So I kept experimenting. I mean … what did I have to lose? It was a little addition to any assignment. It wasn’t for a grade. I could ask them pretty much whatever I wanted.

• I asked them how prepared they felt for an upcoming test — and what we should review more.

  • The result: Most told me they felt ready, but they helped me focus on two particular areas that needed more attention.

• I asked them for new plot twists for a series of stories we were making up about a fictitious student and his daily routine.

  • They suggested some funny things — and that I include activities they love, i.e. outdoorsy activities like fishing.

• I even asked a special question to a student who was new to our school. On the back of his paper, I wrote … “How are things going for you here? How’s Spanish class?”

  • I hope that it made him feel seen and noticed.

The whole concept was kind of like an exit ticket … just added to the bottom of an assignment they were already doing. It could be added to the bottom of anything — an essay, a quiz or test, even a simple worksheet.

Why “The Last Question” works

There’s lots of research on the impact of formative assessment, building relationships, student voice, self assessment, etc. … all of which could apply to “The Last Question” (depending on the questions you ask).

• It’s a connection point: “The Last Question” shows students that they matter … that you value their opinions and lives beyond the assignment.

• It creates a feedback loop: “The Last Question” gives you quick data about what’s working in class so you can make adjustments.

• It highlights student voice: Students feel heard.

• It’s low prep with high impact: It’s one sentence you tack on, and many times, you can do it on the fly.

To connect it to research, let’s use the Visible Learning effect sizes by John Hattie as an easy way of categorizing the effectiveness of these different questions you might ask in “The Last Question.”

About the effect sizes: This is an enormous meta-analysis was updated in 2018 with more than 250 factors that influence learning. Based on existing research, they’re given an “effect size” — how much they impact student achievement.

What to know about the numbers: Hattie set the effect size (d) of 0.4 as the “hinge point” … the average effect size. Put simply … if it’s above 0.4, it’s above average … if it’s below 0.4, it’s below average.

Here are some factors at play in “The Last Question”:

• Evaluation and reflection (d = 0.75) — Students reflect on learning and evaluate their work.

• Classroom discussion (d = 0.82) — Even though “The Last Question” is written, it can simulate elements of a conversation — and can spark conversation later.

• Self-reported grades (d = 1.33) — When students use “The Last Question” to rate their own progress, understanding, or preferences, they’re judging their own learning, which is highly effective.

• Teacher-student relationships (d = 0.52) — Asking students about themselves can build those all-important relationships — and help them to feel noticed.

My class has 34 students (!), so anything I can do to create some simple, personal interaction with them is time well spent.

The Last Question is backed by research by cognitive scientists! It incorporates a powerful learning strategy called "metacognition." Metacognition prompts, like the Last Question, engage students in thinking about their own thinking. Research demonstrates that having students answer reflection prompts about their learning process further boosts their learning of classroom content. You can read more about how to use metacognition in the classroom by cognitive scientist Dr. Pooja Agarwal, including her free PDF practice guide and her new book, Smart Teaching Stronger Learning.

Other ways to use “The Last Question”

Here are some other “Last Questions” you can start using right away …

• Feedback on learning

  • Which activity this week really helped you learn?

  • What’s one thing that’s still confusing about today’s lesson?

  • If you had to explain today’s topic to a younger student, what would you say?

• Check-ins / SEL (social-emotional learning)

  • What’s something that made you smile this week?

  • If today was an emoji, which one would it be?

  • How’s your energy level on a scale of 1–10?

• Preferences & choices

  • Would you rather practice vocab with flashcards or games?

  • Do you like working in groups or by yourself more?

  • If we could do one review activity again, which would you pick?

• Creative prompts

  • Add a silly detail to our class story.

  • If you could add any piece of furniture to our class, what would it be?

  • Write a three-word movie title about today’s lesson.

• Meta-questions (about school, class, or life)

  • What’s one thing teachers could do to make school better?

  • What’s the hardest part about balancing school and life right now?

  • What’s a goal you have for yourself this month (in or out of our class)?

• Community and relationships

  • What’s something most people in class don’t know about you yet?

  • What’s your favorite place in town to hang out or grab food?

  • If you could swap seats with anyone for a day, who would it be?

• Big-picture school questions

  • What’s one thing teachers could do to make school better?

  • Which class (besides this one) has been the most fun or interesting for you this semester?

How else could you use “The Last Question”?

Hit “reply” to this email and let me know. I’ll share the results in a future newsletter!

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

1. Read one of my six books about meaningful teaching with tech.

2. Take one of our online courses about practical and popular topics in education.

3. Bring me to your school, district or event to speak. I love working with educators!