Charlene, Knowing your "students" is key to effective teaching. Many times I use a diagnostic evaluation the first day of class. It can be as simple as one question. "Here's the name of this course. . .what do you believe you already know about the topic?" OR You can have students assess their knowledge (beginner, intermediate learner, master) of the course objectives. This lets you know what they believe they know and you can adjust the timeline of covering course content. Asking students what their "muddiest point" is from a lecture, syllabus review, etc. is also essential. Many times students don't tell you what they don't understand so you have to ask(at times in several different ways). Nice job.