Today we had the usual Maths double lesson at the beginning of the day. I must look into some way of helping them become more alert because I think a lot of them had very long weekends.
The main thing we did today was to do a trial test on basic maths. A little late in the term but we have been building up to this point. Some people struggled to complete it in time but most had a good go at it. Another student marked it and then I picked it up so that I could see where they were at.
When we went through the answers, it was quite clear that a number of students were struggling with order of operations. It also became clear on reading their efforts that they were struggling in this area. However, the intriguing thing was that when I asked if they were having problems, nobody said anything. Not one issue was raised and not one example was mentioned.
Two reasons suggest themselves: One - they are too scared to speak in case I bite their heads off or Two - they don't want to lose face in front of their friends so they say nothing. Given that I the last head I bit off was in 1987 it can't be the first reason. So I am challenged to get realistic and useful feedback from them in situations other than in tests. I am not sure how I can go forward unless I come up with a solution.
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