Students Having Trouble Answering Questions Correctly?!
I am a middle school science teacher that also happens to tutor high school and college level students. I have come to see that it has been alarming how common it is for students NOT to comprehend what a question is asking, which leads to answers that don’t completely fit the question. For example:
Question: What is the name of the process that keeps the air in our atmosphere warm and occurs naturally?
Student Answer: Glaciers melt and will flood coastal cities.
Correct Answer: Global warming.
They seem to be confused and answer a WHAT question with a HOW, etc! I explain to them that it is like answering the question of “What is the address of your house?” with the answer “My house is close to a supermarket.” That is my famous stock answer to a student that does not properly answer the question when we are, for example, reviewing homework questions in class. Unfortunately it causes these same students to lose points on tests as their answers skirt the correct answer.
Does this happen often in your class? Is this a prevalent problem from elementary all the way through to university level students in other parts of the country or world? How have you combated this habit of not answering questions properly in your class or on tests?
