No Series: Hint Cards

Hint Cards

Lesson Objective: Build in supports to help students work independently

All Grades / Math / Scaffolding

2 MIN

Discussion
Supporting Materials

Thought starters

How does Ms. McPhillips decide what hints to use?
What are the effects of using hint cards?
How does Ms. McPhillips use hint cards to scaffold understanding?

17 Comments

Christopher Sch... Jan 3, 2023 12:57pm

I noticed that each hint card had a different hint or theme. That can be very effective for scaffolding. One hint card could have the final answer, another could provide verification that some of the items involved are correct, and others could pose leading questions. Then, students could choose a hint card that might help them in the step that they are in.

Recommended (0)

Karen McElhenny Dec 27, 2016 5:51pm

I love your suggestion of using hint cards to discretely offer help to students too shy to ask for it. You could expand on this by offering a problem that students earn a certain amount of points but gradually decrease the value if one hint is used, a little more if two hints are used, etc to encourage students to not depend on the hints once they master that skill.

Recommended (0)

Adam Hopson Aug 27, 2016 5:21pm

Learning is very much a discovery process, and teachers need to let that process play out; but, leaving a few breadcrumbs, like with Hint Cards, can help facilitate that process without giving students too much of a crutch to stand on. I love this idea and plan to use it in my classroom.

Recommended (0)

Janie De La Cerda Apr 8, 2015 12:21pm

LOVE this simple but fabulous idea! It is a great way to provide support---and coach the student's thinking.

Recommended (0)

Brenda Hunter Mar 31, 2015 8:26pm

Thanks! I would like to try this in my primary (third grade) class during problem-solving phase of math workshop.

Recommended (0)

Materials

Transcript: Hint Cards

Transcripts

Hint Cards Transcript

+++ 00:00:13.28 +++
Audra McPhillips: Hint cards are very valuable because when you throw out a difficult problem,

View More

Hint Cards Transcript

+++ 00:00:13.28 +++
Audra McPhillips: Hint cards are very valuable because when you throw out a difficult problem, lots of hands go up immediately and you're very reactive in the classroom. I feel like hint cards allow me the time to teach.
Audra McPhillips: Remember with the hint card, you take it back to your seat, talk about it, put it back. So other people can have it.
+++ 00:00:29.25 +++
Audra McPhillips: Student can get up and use a hint card first, use their partner, obviously, in conjunction with that. And then if they get stuck, they can call on me. So it allows me to ask questions during the lesson instead of answer questions during the lesson.
Audra McPhillips: What do we know about this - how many minutes?
+++ 00:00:43.06 +++
Student: 2
Student #2: 1
Audra McPhillips: It's very helpful with kids because you control what's on the hint card. Some teachers fear, with hint cards, will I be giving them too much? Well, I try to think about where the students usually get stuck. Where do they struggle, what are the misconceptions? And what I put on the cards are actually the probing questions I would ask them when I get there. It's nothing different than what I would normally give them.
Audra McPhillips: You have pattern B and patter C that you can look at a hint for.

+++ 00:01:11.10 +++
Audra McPhillips: All right? Take a look.
Audra McPhillips: One of the things that I've noticed using hint cards, students that would normally have their hand go up immediately because they're struggling with a problem, when it's a hint card day, will actually want to do it without the hint. And then also, you have students in your classroom - we all have them - who are shy and who don't want to ask those questions out loud, so I will strategically place the hint cards near them during the lesson because I've noticed they're more apt to reach over and use a hint card than publically ask the question that they're not comfortable asking.
Audra McPhillips: Hint cards allow them to go to a source other than the authority - the teacher - to get some information. So that's really what I'm asking them to do: go to a source, synthesize the information and then apply it to the problem in front of them.

View Less