Wednesday, January 13, 2010
IDK
IDK are three letters that I wish students did not know how to use. With the end of the quarter and semester upon us, these letters are the scariest letters in the alphabet. Winter break is responsible for an increase number of students using these letters as their answer to math questions. I guess my main problem is why they are using the letters. Is it because they really don't know or is it because they just didn't try? How do you fix the problem? Do you increase review time before exams or hold after school sessions? Does anyone have any ideas on how to decrease the use of the dreaded letters and increase student retention?
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You may want to try pairing students for review. Be sure your students know that when the class discussion occurs, both partners should be able to explain how he/she got the answer. That means they will need to teach each other!
ReplyDeleteI see the dreaded IDK with most of my students when it comes to word problems. they are scared of them because of the words and quite a few have difficulty reading. We work on word problems all year long so that they aren't quite as intimidating in hopes of reducing the amount of IDK.
ReplyDeleteHow about "I don't get it."? Those four words drive me crazy. I always make my students tell me what "it" is. They usually understand more than they think they do.
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