3-2-1 Summary

At the end of a lesson or text, students produce: 3 things they learned, 2 things they found interesting, 1 question they still have. A rapid formative-assessment routine that gathers information and builds reflective habit.

Procedure

1. After a lesson, a reading, or a listening:
   • Students take 2 minutes to write:
     • 3 things I learned today
     • 2 things I found interesting or surprising
     • 1 question I still have
2. Collect. Scan quickly.
3. Use the data:
   • The 3s reveal what got through (and what didn't — gaps show up by absence).
   • The 2s tell you what captured learner attention.
   • The 1s are immediate teaching material for the next lesson.

Why It Works

• Forces synthesis: "3 things I learned" requires filtering, not listing.
• Metacognition: students notice what they notice.
• Teacher data: in 30 seconds of scanning, the teacher sees class-wide learning gaps.
• Persistent over semesters: a year's worth of 3-2-1s becomes a student's own learning journal.

Variations

• 3-2-1 question bank: across the term, the 1-questions become a class-wide "open questions" Padlet. Periodically resolved.
• 3-2-1 reading: after a text, three points the writer makes, two things you agree with, one you disagree with.
• 3-2-1 listening: after a podcast, 3 key points, 2 surprising facts, 1 question the speaker didn't answer.
• Partner 3-2-1: share with a partner; their 3s you hadn't written become yours too.
• Visual 3-2-1: use sticky notes of three colours (green = learned, yellow = interesting, pink = question).

Adaptations

Subject	3-2-1 prompt
Grammar lesson	3 new forms, 2 examples from my life, 1 rule I'm not sure about
Reading	3 facts, 2 inferences, 1 unanswered question
Vocabulary	3 new words, 2 I'll actually use, 1 I don't fully understand
Listening	3 points, 2 connections to my life, 1 confusion
Discussion class	3 things I heard, 2 things I said, 1 thing I want to explore more

Tips

• Read the 1s before the next lesson. Answer them; or design the next lesson to address them.
• Keep it genuinely short (5 minutes). Over-formalised, it loses the lightness.
• Works at every level. Adapt prompts to learner proficiency.
• A habit, not a one-off. The power comes from weekly use.

Source

Harvey, S. & Goudvis, A. (2000) Strategies That Work. Stenhouse. Widely cited in formative-assessment literature; in Black & Wiliam (1998) Assessment and Classroom Learning.