“Ask Before Tell”
Before you explain how to do a homework problem, you should ask your student to first explain how they did it . This might help the student in figuring out the answer or you can use what you heard to help provide assistance by asking the following questions:
- What do you need to figure out? What is the problem about?
- What words are confusing? What words are familiar?
- Did you solve problems like this one before?
- What have you tried so far? What else can you try?
- Can you make a drawing or chart to help you think about the problem?
- Does your answer make sense?
- Is there more than one answer?
- What math words or steps do you use in class?
Adapted from book,”Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics”
