Homework and incorrect answers

[bethben]

When you correct (if you do) your child's homework and they get a problem wrong, do you have them do it again?  My ds makes stupid computational mistakes often enough - it's not a lack of understanding, just a lack of attention to detail.  So, let's say they get 5 wrong out of 30, do you make them find what they did wrong?  When do they have to correct their mistakes?  The next day?  

 

Beth

[regentrude]

Yes, my kids have to fix every single problem that has a mistake. If possible, the same day.

My kids self-check their math and will correct any problem they did not get right. If they did not get around to checking right away, they do so the next day.

 

I think it is absolutely essential that students correct their work. Even if it is "just" attention to detail - they need to learn. Having to rework the problem is a great tool for teaching them to be more careful

[Hoot]

Yes.  Every incorrect problem in every subject. 

[Candid]

For routine home work,especially math, I am pretty low key. I had enough college classes that never even looked at home work that I see it as the learning to do the task. And although I was pretty good at math, I am not a detail person, and redoing work never really changed that. 

 

On tests, I look for 100%, and up through PreCalculus while I use Singapore's materials, I always have five or six tests available. My deal with them, is we take one test a day until you get 100%. So far, since instituting the rule, I think I've had at most one test out of the year require a second test. 

 

Obviously different children will have different goals and expectations, but in my family nobody is going to be working on the Mars Mission, so an occasional error in noncritical home work is okay with me. 

[kiana]

I agree with regentrude.

[AK_Mom4]

Always correct the mistakes.  It really helps DD12 to catch something where she is not understanding how to work a problem.  At her level, she self-corrects about half her work and I check over the rest (answers are not always clear cut), but anything I find wrong, she reworks right away or we do it together if she is confused.

 

Reworking the problems will help with that "attention to detail" issue in the long run.  DD HATES reworking a problem she already understands, so it helps motivate her to not make mistakes.

[Kareni]

The last math class I oversaw with my daughter was Algebra 1.  (My husband went on to cover Geometry and Algebra 2 before she took community college math classes and a PA Homeschooling AP Statistics class.)

 

For each homework problem that she got incorrect, I had her fix the problem.  I also had her do another problem of the same type.  (That cut down on careless errors!) 

 

She used Lial's Beginning Algebra.  I assigned about 25% of the problems in the book with the exception of chapter reviews and tests which I assigned in their entirety.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pretty in Pink]

In the past I had my son correct all of his incorrect answers, yes. Last year I really dropped the ball and not much correcting got done (see my confessional thread, "9th grade was a complete failure"). Anyway, this year I am planning to check his homework myself and go over incorrect answers with him on a white board.

[Mena]

My high schoolers correct their own math, but they do rework any problems they get wrong. 

[rainforest mama]

Yes, if they make a mistake they have to correct it. They do this for all subjects, except for tests, and for those I make sure to point out what they did wrong.

[JanetC]

I go over the mistakes, but if their work is not at the expected level, I have them do different problem(s), rather than the same one(s) again.

 

By "expected level" -- I think of math as three stages: "learning curve", "mastering",  "review and practice".  If they are on the "learning curve" of a particular skill, some mistakes are to be expected and not made a big deal of.

 

I do have them rework a problem when an answer is completely wrong (as in: if they used common sense, they should have known it was wrong).  In this case,  I only point out that their answer makes no sense, and have them start over.  I do not give them any hints as to where the mistake was, whereas otherwise I might give more detailed feedback.

 

[Mom22ns]

My kids have to correct all missed answers in all missed subjects as well. If they can't find an error, then I have them work the problem on the white board with me watching so I can find the error and then they can complete it correctly.

[bethben]

So, I'm now making sure he gets those problems right.  I had a teacher do this to me in college.  We had to show that we got every problem right on our homework for math. This was a pretty rigorous, math major math class.  The first ever problem I had to prove was 0=0.  It took me the whole semester.  Finally, I think the professor was just so sick of me in his office while he tried explaining this problem to me, he just gave me the answer.  So, I guess I'll give my son that same experience.  I'm sure he'll love it.

Beth

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

For math we correct every problem. Typically the student tries the first correction on their own and if they get no where I step in and help. I've just started letting my high schooler use the solutions manual during this phase on her own. For other subjects it depends. Sometimes I have them correct grammar in written work but I prefer to use an editing process. Geography and science we correct because I don't want them to be left with wrong impressions. (The same with spelling in the early years.)