Say something smart about this in the comments. When you’re done, go check out the blog from whence this mistake came.
Here’s the work:
Can you make sense of it? What’s the cause of this mistake? How could you help?
Here are two classic mistakes:
Whenever I see a mistake that recurs at all different levels, and with all different students, I wonder: what makes this mistake so attractive? What’s the misconception? And what can we do about it?
Say something smart in the comments, and then go check out this post from Fawn Nguyen.
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Found: Multiplication Worksheet
My hands were full of groceries as I walked back from the store. I noticed this math worksheet in Spanish on the side of the street, and I brought it home.
Anyway, are there mistakes here? Do they reflect on the student’s understanding, or is her understanding fine? Does this student need help?
What’s the mistake? Where’d it come from? How would you help?
When you’re done thinking about that, go check out where the mistake came from.
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Some analysis: Solving linear equations
We’ve collected six mistakes for solving linear equations. As the posts pile up, I’ll pop in time to time for some analysis of our archives.
To start things off, here’s a question: do you notice any patterns or trends in the mistakes that involve solving a linear equation?
One thing I noticed: most of the mistakes involve combining like terms.
What else?
This one is fun. It comes from a lesson on problem-solving strategies where the focus was on sniffing around for patterns.
This is a great snapshot of student thinking. Here are some questions to start thinking about:
- Is it a mistake?
- Let’s say you want students to focus on a different pattern. How might you modify the problem?
- What general lessons about teaching can you glean from this student work?
When you’re done here, go check out this post.
“Find the mean number of siblings.”
Student 1: (0+1+2+3+4+5)/6 = 2.5
Student 2: (1+4+6+4+2+1)/18=1
Student 3: (1+4+6+4+2+1)/6=3
Student 2: (1+4+6+4+2+1)/18=1
Student 3: (1+4+6+4+2+1)/6=3
Student 4: (0+1+2+3+4+5)/18 = 0.83
What sort of misconceptions can you dig out of these student responses? If this were your class, how would you respond?
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Hexagons!
Define “Hexagon”:
What does this student know about hexagons? What does the student think he knows, but doesn’t? What does the mistake reveal about his thinking, and what would you do to help?