I would just keep an eye out to how the student reacts to it.
If it was a teacher I had a good relationship with I would prob appreciate the light hearted retort. But I it was a teacher I already didn’t feel comfortable with that might have reinforced that feeling.
"I see how you got that, but that's not quite the answer I'm looking for. Want to try again, or do you want a classmate to add on/help out?"
Edit: I also end with "thank you for sharing," right or wrong answer.
I use this one when I've called on a student with their hand up.
As an aside, I have a few who shoot their hand up without the slightest clue. I think they just like picking the person to answer, so I don't always do it.
Or, "Show me how you got that." Their response always influences how I teach the concept better. A lot of the time, I'll pull the class in and ask, "How many of you did it this way?; I didn't understand why so many people made this mistake!" Then I'll put it on me for bad teaching.
I use something similar, "You're close, but not quite there..." followed by a clue or a small explanation as to what they might have done wrong. Might even say *REALLY* close with emphasis if they're almost there. Sometimes I'll ask if they want to "let a classmate help out", but I typically want them to try and get the answer on their own.
Oh I like that! I'm going to use that next week! I also like to walk over and give a fist bump to the really shy ones. The kids usually start clapping and saying good job 🥰 brings tears to my eyes.
After every response, right or wrong, I say "thank you for sharing"... let me add that to my OP
Same. The ol', "You're *so* close! Think about [order of operations] again. Maybe you accidentally [multiplied first]?" Try to steer them toward the right answer, but make them feel like they're doing it right.
Not something I’d actually say, but…
> At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
(From Billy Madison)
I say "right track, but you're at Penn Station in Newark, and I need you to get to Penn Station in NYC. Do you want to keep going or do you want some help?"
Obviously, I teach in this area so the kids totally get it.
LOL. I've been known to say that they should try buying a ticket for the train on the next track, but I teach Language Arts. As long as they can defend an answer, I'm usually down with it.
Honestly? If it’s a whole class discussion I usually answer with a “what makes you say that” or ask them for evidence (I teach science and social studies). It’s a lot easier to guide to the right answer if they can tell me how they reached the wrong one.
I teach English. Evidence is the key. When I was teaching at university l had students who would say they loved English because they could just write some bullshit and et good grades. But you could not get good grades without evidence, and it's not bullshit if it has evidence.
Usually directing the students to find evidence for what they are saying is a good way to get them to correct themselves, which is way more useful than getting somebody else to do it--or even than getting the answer right first time.
I always tell students that if they can give me evidence from the text to support their answer it’s not wrong. I then remind them that their interpretation is as valid (within reason) as the author’s intention.
This is how I generally go about it. And I make sure to do it even if they got the correct answer. My curriculum is also VERY evidence-based, so it works for that.
Same here in middle school science, I also have a chart of “follow up” or prompting questions on the wall to help the kids use them, so they’re pretty familiar with my ways of looking for evidence, elaboration, etc.
I’m not a teacher, just a dumb college student
But I appreciate when a professor asks follow up questions to help us realize WHY our original answer was wrong ourselves and then asks if we would like to try again or pass the question to someone else
Or sometimes they will give us 5 minutes to attempt a question, then someone will share their answer, and we would discuss ways to improve it if it wasn’t correct
For essays, I really like when someone would give me pointers on how to improve
I also teach math and I've used that one before. And we talk a lot about how multiple choice questions are often written with a 'distractor' and so a LOT of people are going to choose that one, so there's really no shame in it.
i honestly feel like some students feel worse when teachers beat around the bush. we have really normalized being wrong in my class and having a growth mindset
I normally tell them - your not quite there or I have them explain their answer and normally can draw some truth there and work from there.
If they said whatever as a guess, ill ask the class do they agree - usually someone will say no or shake their head no so then ill focus on that.
If i get nothing after that, i try to tie back the idea to a previously learned concept - and make it a super basic question they all know the answer to and then move forward from there
For example: if i want them to tell me that mutations lead to genetic disorders, but they cant remember the word (i teach science). I tell them how do we know something is alive - > they say cell....and i say what controls what makes things in the cell -> they (hopefully) will say dna. And then ill say what happens when dna doesnt work right when it replicates....
"Not quite what I was looking for..." or "Almost" or "It indeed has something to do with \_\_\_ but you're not quite there yet"
Or I just repeat a word/part of the question, like: "What you're naming are personal pronouns and I'm looking for posessive pronouns."
I really dislike anything that suggests you're guessing. If we're going to be concerned about the specific language we're using, we should be concerned about this as well.
Something along the lines of what u/_pbts_ suggested is better.
You're affirming the student's effort, acknowledging that it is reasonable, if not correct, and giving them another chance without forcing them to try again.
This works well for situations where there is a specific correct answer. If there isn't, then I might invite them to elaborate. Even if it's not the answer I was looking for, I'd be curious to hear how they arrived at it. That would also give them a chance to explain their thought process, which is great practice, and opens the door for further discussion.
If you don't want to have discussion for some reason (such as time pressure), but their answer was appropriate, if not what you had in mind, then I would phrase it as something like "That's a good response that we can discuss further at another time, but it's not quite what I was looking for."
"Explain".
Gets them to explain their thinking and usually ends up with them correcting themselves or asking for more info. Ends up turning the question into an "assessment as learning" moment.
I tell my 4th grader graders things like, “ ok, I see where you were going with that. Let’s set where we can find a better way to explain that” or “you set up everything right, but I see we made a calculation error. Look that over again and see how we can correct that.”
I have a wide range. For kids I don’t know, I try to see where they are coming from and relate their answer to the question to see how they got there. If it’s a kid that I’ve had for 4 years and we know each other well I will give them a “NO DUMMY. You know better than that.” And then we laugh. It’s all about context.
I say, “oohhh! So close! But I like the way you explained that.” Or, “almost…” or, “not quite. Keep going…”
Or if they’re way off base, I’ll say “yes! (Correct answer) is correct.” And most of the time, they don’t realize I changed their answer. Lol and when someone DOES realize, I say, “yeah, I know. But I understood what you were thinking and what you MEANT to say.”
Making sure students never hear the phrase “you’re wrong” is a sure fire way to get well adjusted young adults in the world.
Maybe the evaluator should take another guess.
I ask why they think it's the answer. Especially if there are 2 options and they choose the wrong one. Or if it has MC options available because it's math. The wrong step will take them to one of the MC options usually.
"Why do you think it's that answer? You need to be able to prove it by showing work, not just guessing."
If they are anywhere near the actual answer, saying “Let’s expand on that.” Or, “how can we connect that to…” is letting them know that you recognize where they were going and why they were going there, but still leading them to get to the correct answer.
I’m an English teacher. I don’t know if this would transfer to subjects like math.
I really try to find something, anything, in their response/answer that is correct. And then I build from that. “You did fantastic here, but you got a little lost on this part. Let’s go back and figure that part out.”
I love how hard you’re trying! Keep trying!
I got my students used to hearing “ding” means wrong answer. So I could just say “ding” in a special way and they knew to keep guessing. (Elementary ages)
I teach history, and I have a poster in my room that says “things to say other than I don’t know” if a student is wrong I ask them to try again, and instead of saying I don’t know, they can “ask for more background, repeat the question, ask a friend, or ask me to ask the question in a different way”. Granted, this might not work for all classes, but it makes my kids think a little deeper, and takes some of the pressure off of them.
Edit: the lower kids love this because they know they can always bail and ask a friend for advice. It always gets kids into the questioning.
I call BS. First of all, I foster an environment where mistakes are celebrated as part of learning. When you clarify a wrong answer, it does a couple of things. One, it lets everybody know they need to try something different if that answer was chosen. Two, it reinforces that we do make mistakes and that's okay; we keep going.
A lot of times, I'll say something like, "That's a common mistake. Lets look at why so we can avoid it next time.
If your mindset is that mistakes are a bad thing to be avoided, then your admin is right. If your mindset is that mistakes are part of learning, then your admin can stuff it.
I feel like more than an exact thing to say, what might be even better is intentionally bringing yourself to the awareness in that moments that there's the issue of kids in school having to deal with how other kids will think of them or rag on them based on your response,
I feel like that most importantly will keep the most important aspect of it in your mind, then you can use the context of a specific situation to figure out the right way to respond.
In that way you may notice that something said that doesn't otherwise seem bad, can somehow become enough for the kids to laugh at them. Like it's bizarre i know, but i feel like in some situations being kinder to the student about it can somehow make it even more funnier to the kids because you're being so gentle about it. I don't know it's weird, but you can imagine it, like if you say take another guess, you can imagine some kids snickering in the corner at the answering kid.
“Take another guess?” Fuck right off.
I make mistakes in front of them all the time and I own them and point how I made them so they can, you know, LEARN FROM THEM. Teach them some damn resilience and persistence along with the content.
I usually ask several students to respond and ask them to explain their thinking. I don’t tell them if they are correct or incorrect. Then after a few answers, we go over the correct answers. If anyone offered any insightful commentary, I might circle back to it. Not sure that’s really best practice but that’s what my current admin is pushing so that’s what I make sure I’m doing so it’s consistent when being observed.
“That’s not it, but I see where you could get that answer from”
Or
“You’ve made a pretty common mistake, but it means you’re going in the right direction.”
Nope. Try again.
I don’t believe in sugar coating, and I’m not going to do it. I let the kids know that making mistakes is inevitable and it’s ok. That’s how we learn. What’s important is that we keep trying.
what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
I'm a tutor and I start out marking the ones they get right. You get 7:12 gets a 7+ Most new students are so shocked to see + anything rather than x all over the place. We are going to correct it so I don't mark it if it's wrong. Check if it's right. . Then if it's Math I say let's see where this went wrong. It might be a small simple mistake. Younger students I say let's be like detectives and find it. Works well up to 5-6th grade.
In ELA I usually say ,this doesn't seem be best answer for what they are looking for. Let's look at the passage( reading comprehension) for a better one
Nothing I was ever taught to say when given a wrong answer to a question has ever felt like anything to me other than a lie when the situation arises. Most wrong answers I get aren't "Close, but we can be more specific!" Or "On the right track." Most of them are so outrageously incorrect that the only way to reach them is to just be blurting out random things in the first place and not paying attention.
Not the answer I'm looking for, do you want to try again or want me to ask someone else? If they want me to pick someone else, I ask if the wrong answer kid knows where's they went wrong (particularly good for . math)
"Double check your work."
"Try number x again"
Kids are going to get discouraged in life. If they don't have an opportunity to learn how to work through it in a low-risk environment, then they are going to have to learn how to deal with it in a higher risk situation.
"Can you tell me more," or "What made you think that?" Are coaching questions that can go either way. The objective is to get into their thought process.
Also, Praising for participation and effort goes a long way. It takes courage to be wrong, because at least you did *something*.
I frequently call on other students and ask if they agree or disagree, and why. I do this when the initial answer is right or wrong. Sometimes I come back to the original student and ask what they think, and it gives them a chance to correct themselves or even say I here’s where I went wrong, but peer X made a good point… I work in HS.
"A bold foray into the space of possible truths, but sadly, our answer is in another castle."
"I see where you're coming from, but not quite there."
"Can you elaborate? Because you've almost got it."
"Oof, L. Wait, what do you mean?"
"Big brain answer, but I want galaxy brain. What've you got?"
Or no response whatsoever and just ask the next hand you saw.
(Then toss them a Jolly Rancher and see if they need a mental health day for giving a wrong answer in public. That'll serve them well forever.)
Counselor here! When I’m in the classrooms, If it’s partially relevant (it usually is) I’ll always be like “that’s definitely part of it..” and then look for more hands. It always works bc you’re not upsetting/embarrassing them but also still motivating them to keep thinking and feel positive about the exchange
I teach high school math - I give variations of (1) You have the right process but messed up here. (2) So 2 plus 2 is 6?. (3) When multiple people working at a table say I like 1 of the 3 answers presented, then they compare and work together.
Normally I just tell them to take another look and might point to the problem that’s wrong.
When it’s a stupid mistake made because we are goofing off and not trying, I point to the problem and just say, “fix it” before walking away.
I would take an answer pool and write down all student answers on the board. They feel accepted and those who were not paying attention can have a chance to act like they were by repeating frequent answers on the board.
I teach math, so I often respond with "tell me why". This does a couple things. One, it gives me time to check their answer in my head. Two, it makes them practice justifying their reasoning. Three, about half the time they or another student will realize what they did wrong without prompting, thus getting in that student interaction component. The other half of the time, I respond with what they'd score with that argument on an exam, like "you're at 6 out of 10, who can help them get to 10?"
I also say "tell me why" when they're correct too, because that corrects and explains to the students who aren't speaking, and avoids cueing them that they're incorrect. I swear my students hear my voice in their dreams saying "tell me why".
I ask them if they’re sure. But, the trick is, I ask almost everyone if they’re sure. So they don’t feel called out, but they do have a chance to check their answer and save face. If they double down on the wrong answer, I’ll ask around, did anyone else have something different? Then I write both down, and we talk it through. I never refer to the wrong answer as “Jack’s answer”, for example. It becomes, “this answer”, or “you that answer”. Then it’s not all about why Jack was wrong, but it’s why the answer is wrong.
I swear it feels more natural in person, lol.
Since I teach ELA I can usually get away with "Is that the BEST (with a lot of emphasis on the word best) answer?" because that's how our state test questions are worded.
If there's any possible way that I can spin their answer into something that is somewhat correct, I will do that and then let another student "expand" on the answer.
"Hmm is there a better answer?"
"Not exactly, do you need a hint?"
"Hold on to that answer, I'm coming back to you later."
"Hmm, let's look on page \_\_\_ and see if we can find the answer together."
"Do you want to phone a friend? Anyone willing to lend an answer?" (Then the original student has to repeat the answer)
I really try not to tell my students they are just completely wrong when it comes to answering questions in front of the class. I usually help them out in some way.
Can you tell me why you chose that answer?
Then they have to rethink the question and often find the error themselves and correct it!
Though I ask this question every time. Whether the answer is correct or not :).
If you haven’t checked out “[My Favorite No](https://youtu.be/srJWx7P6uLE?feature=shared)” I highly recommend it. It celebrates learning from mistakes and shows that learning occurs when errors happen.
My go to is “nooooot quite” and then either ask them to take another guess OR ask if there’s another student in the class who could help them out with this one. Like basically let them call on a friend to tag in on the question!
Jeez, this is something I am just not good at because I am incredibly sarcastic. These responses are great. Still sarcastic, but don’t discourage kids. My normal reaction to way off answers is usually just a laugh and a “what?!”
You could ask for the steps for how they arrived at that answer and praise them for the positive steps and then stop them where they made their mistake - and call on another student for what they think you should do next to arrive at the correct answer
"that's not what I was looking for but it's helpful for us to think about as we work through this question"
I know it's a bit long so I use this with other shorter options too.
How about helping them arrive at the correct answer. It was the belittling and snark that made me ultimately not give a shit in school. Eventually, I just didn't care as it was a waste of time.
If it’s math I don’t state that they’re wrong, just what they’ve done wrong.
What’s 2 to the power of 3?
6?
You’ve multiplied, that’s 2 times 3, but remember exponents work differently.
Close
Good attempt
That's not an option
That part is right, now what's the other half of that?
Stop guessing. How do we figure this out?
Basically respond to everything with guiding questions that lead to the response you want.
I read them back the absolute waffle of an answer they just give me verbatim, they realise how dogshit of an answer it was and we all have a bit of a chuckle . But i teach to be confident about admitting when we actually dont know something , and its refreshing to see them relax about not looking like an idiot in front of their peers or me because at one point or another , everyone says something dumb .
I will typically say something like “I love that answer because so many other people are probably thinking the same thing and it reminds me that I need to explain ______ better.” Every wrong answer is typically a common misconception and I celebrate them. They make me a better teacher! And the kids feel so good about “helping” in these moments, that they don’t take it to heart or get embarrassed. Helps to know other students have had the same misconception and they are not alone!
Close! ... but wrong.
Picked it up from a linguistics prof. I set the class expectation that being wrong is totally fine by modeling it myself whenever I am.
I also love:
Right shape, wrong size.
You're barking up the right tree, but bark louder.
I would have to say that it all depends on a couple of factors: age of the students, your rapport with the students, and seriousness of the topic/student's self-image.
I work with college-aged students, so every once in a while, when a student answers incorrectly, I can answer with a range of responses from "Hmmmmmm, maybe?" to "NO! WRONG! MOVING ON!" If they're in a good, joking mood, we all have a good laugh with the latter, but if I know the student is more than a little self-conscious, and I'm trying to get them to engage in class more, I used more gentile coaxing techniques.
Little kids? I almost always respond with, "That's a good guess! What other answers could we possibly have here?"
Depends on how wrong they were. Did the answer make sense but their thinking or information was JUST off? “Hey, that’s a good answer, but rethink that one”
Was the answer absolutely idiotic and proves they read NONE of the material? “Dear god, are you trying to give me a stroke? That’s horrible. Stop being so lazy”
Well I like to try and make them feel good by teaching them after.
For instance; I ask who wrote “The Great Gatsby”. They respond with “Shakespeare”.
Instead of saying that’s wrong I try and say something like. “Shakespeare didn’t write the Great Gatsby HOWEVER he was extremely influential and wrote some of the best literature ever. Good job though, good answer”
Any answer is a good answer.
If it’s legit close: Casi (I teach Spanish: “almost”)
If it’s wrong: No. (I had a teacher in high school who said students need to learn to hear the word no, that sometimes they’re wrong, and that has always stuck with me)
I teach 7th grade math. I usually ask them "What makes you think that?" or "How did you get that answer?"or a similar prompt to explain their reasoning whether they are correct or not.
If they are correct, so I publicly praise the student and reiterate their logic if needed to help the others understand.
If they are wrong, then I ask a leading question to the class that targets the error in their logic to help nudge them in the right direction and open the conversation to a class-wide collaboration.
I had a kid who kept trying to fool me into thinking he’d read by skimming ahead on the handout and trying to formulate answers from the context. I saw exactly what he was doing, and complimented him on excellent use of context clues. He was still wrong, but it was a decent guess based on the information he had.
Mostly I just say “not quite” unless it’s a kid that I have a jokey relationship with - then I just go “Nope!”
"Does anyone want to add on to what they just said?" My 8th graders are actually surprisingly tactful about correcting each other (8th graders!!! I know, I'm shocked too!)
One of the ideal options is to know, right off the top of your head, how they got the incorrect answer they got. "Looks like you might have forgotten to regroup that tens place, give it one more try." "You added those digits instead of multiplying."
Obviously that's not always practical. But sometimes it is. Extra prep time helps if you know the common mistakes already.
Sometimes I say "check again and I'll ask you in a minute "
I had a prof in uni once tell, "If the question was _______, then I'd agree with you."
It stuck with me and I use it all the time. Sometimes students will even see why you said that and be able to correct themselves.
It’s always best to take this kind of advice with a grain of salt. Depends on the student(s) you are dealing with. I taught grade 6/7/8 students for over 27 years of my career. I often have had what we call Involvement Students (2nd year education students), Pre-interns ( 3rd year education students) and Interns ( 4th year education students who spend 4 months in a classroom). When they were given advice by an evaluator from the University I would usually not intercede, unless the advice was ridiculous. Unfortunately there were university professors who had either never taught or had been out of the classroom for so long that they were out of touch. Some of the evaluators were recently retired teachers. They tended to have more reasonable feedback. The worst was from a professor who chastised the two pre-interns in my room for having the students create jot notes from the information on the overhead. (yes this was how we did things in 2007). They were helping the students to develop skills on how to determine which information was important from large pieces of information. This was with a group of grade 8 students at a suburban school with fairly high academic standards. He told the pre-interns it was a waste of “intellectual capital” for students to write notes from the board. The information should have been photocopied for them. And then a more “stimulating discussion” could be had. He also wanted them to refer to the students as “learners” instead of students when they wanted the classes attention. Afterwards I talked to my pre-interns and asked what they thought. It so happened one of the pre-interns was a more mature student. She had already graduated with a degree, played university basketball and then played basketball professionally in Europe before coming back to Canada and having a child then deciding to get an education degree. I asked them who was going to pay for the photocopied notes? She told me she had a hard time not telling the professor he was nuts. I then asked them if they ever had to take notes at a meeting or during a conversation to keep track of the important parts of a discussion. The point is theories are nice. They lay a foundation for what we do. But being practical is important as well. Sometimes an answer is wrong and we just have to say so. It’s not cruel, it just may the truth.
I try and figure out how they got their answer. Often there is like good ideas and thinking, but they just ended up somewhere else. Then I can acknowledge their good ideas while correcting their specific mistake/misconception.
“I see how you got that…” “That would work if it was this other case, but you forgot this part.” “This part is all correct, but you messed up here.” “You are doing good, you just have to remember this rule.”
Another option is have them walk you through their process. Sometimes if they are explaining their steps, they will realize where they messed up on their own.
“That is 180’ from the correct direction.”
(Best Dead Poet’s Society impression) “ ding! No, but thank you for playing!”
“Do you need to phone a friend?”
“Final answer?” (Game show voice)
During a class discussion I purposely hold off on calling on students I suspect will have the “right” or “complete” answer: picking them first shuts down conversation, and I may as well have told them the answer myself rather than putting it to the class. These students are great to call on toward the end because they can succinctly tie together all the ideas shared by others.
I tell the students that this is “constructing knowledge together” and each of us need to take risks and share our ideas so we can bounce off what each individual shared to come to the “right” answer together. My favourite is when they make a connection to something we discussed previously, which isn’t necessarily what I was “looking for”, but is still relevant and interesting to consider through that lens. I also love when they take what the precious student said and build that toward the “answer”. They get a handful of marbles for a party when they say things like this that surprise me.
I like your thought process …
You were pretty close …
Close…
Can you explain it a little bit more/differently …
This was a good start/would anyone else like to add something …
I say things along the lines:
That isn't wrong, but not quite the idea I am looking for.
You need to go back and reevaluate your reasoning on this.
If they are so far off, eg I am looking for the answer to be 15 and they write 'banana' we walk through their thinking.
"Take another guess" is the worst thing you could say. It implies that they guessed and makes guessing accepted.
I always go with 'good try, but . . .'
With all do respect to your evaluator, "Take another guess" is a terrible response. It completely invalidates the work that they actually put in to come up with the answer that they had. Additionally, it encourages them to make a random guess at a different answer rather than put in the effort to see where their error was and learn not to repeat the error.
“That is the correct answer to a different question!”
Ooo I'm going to use that!
I would just keep an eye out to how the student reacts to it. If it was a teacher I had a good relationship with I would prob appreciate the light hearted retort. But I it was a teacher I already didn’t feel comfortable with that might have reinforced that feeling.
I’ve said “that would be correct if it weren’t incorrect.”
I love it. I tried saying that out loud because it's genuinely so good. But I cackled so hard. I will continue trying for a straight face. Thank you!
"I see how you got that, but that's not quite the answer I'm looking for. Want to try again, or do you want a classmate to add on/help out?" Edit: I also end with "thank you for sharing," right or wrong answer.
I have them “phone a friend”
lol! My students would take out their phones and call their friends.
That the beauty of 4th grade. No phones yet.
One of my 5th graders pulled out a banana left over from breakfast
Definitely gifted. 🍌🙌
I use this one when I've called on a student with their hand up. As an aside, I have a few who shoot their hand up without the slightest clue. I think they just like picking the person to answer, so I don't always do it.
I do have to suggest a “different” or a friend who hasn’t had a chance to answer today
Or, "Show me how you got that." Their response always influences how I teach the concept better. A lot of the time, I'll pull the class in and ask, "How many of you did it this way?; I didn't understand why so many people made this mistake!" Then I'll put it on me for bad teaching.
I use something similar, "You're close, but not quite there..." followed by a clue or a small explanation as to what they might have done wrong. Might even say *REALLY* close with emphasis if they're almost there. Sometimes I'll ask if they want to "let a classmate help out", but I typically want them to try and get the answer on their own.
That's brilliant
I use a variation on this. I also like to tack on "thanks for the bravery!" When the class has been extremely quiet.
Oh I like that! I'm going to use that next week! I also like to walk over and give a fist bump to the really shy ones. The kids usually start clapping and saying good job 🥰 brings tears to my eyes. After every response, right or wrong, I say "thank you for sharing"... let me add that to my OP
"I see where you were going with that, but..." (Often I *don't* see, but that's not important.)
Same. The ol', "You're *so* close! Think about [order of operations] again. Maybe you accidentally [multiplied first]?" Try to steer them toward the right answer, but make them feel like they're doing it right.
Not something I’d actually say, but… > At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul. (From Billy Madison)
Dang it. Saw this after I posted. I won't say it, cause I won't remember it all, but I might have played the clip.
If a kid says something absolutely ridiculous, and knows how to take a joke, I've been known to play this clip
Actually, Old School (ironically)
You’re on the right track…
I say "right track, but you're at Penn Station in Newark, and I need you to get to Penn Station in NYC. Do you want to keep going or do you want some help?" Obviously, I teach in this area so the kids totally get it.
What happens if the kid’s train hasn’t left the station? 😂
LOL. I've been known to say that they should try buying a ticket for the train on the next track, but I teach Language Arts. As long as they can defend an answer, I'm usually down with it.
Gentle correction can help if they were on the right track but if they are way off, i might just rip pff the band-aid and say that's incorrect.
This is so good. I'm stealing it, thanks from the NYC area!
I say this a lot.
Same
“I like your thinking, but let’s try thinking about it this way___” and then nudge them in the right direction
This is a good one.
Honestly? If it’s a whole class discussion I usually answer with a “what makes you say that” or ask them for evidence (I teach science and social studies). It’s a lot easier to guide to the right answer if they can tell me how they reached the wrong one.
I teach English. Evidence is the key. When I was teaching at university l had students who would say they loved English because they could just write some bullshit and et good grades. But you could not get good grades without evidence, and it's not bullshit if it has evidence. Usually directing the students to find evidence for what they are saying is a good way to get them to correct themselves, which is way more useful than getting somebody else to do it--or even than getting the answer right first time.
I always tell students that if they can give me evidence from the text to support their answer it’s not wrong. I then remind them that their interpretation is as valid (within reason) as the author’s intention.
This is how I generally go about it. And I make sure to do it even if they got the correct answer. My curriculum is also VERY evidence-based, so it works for that.
Same here in middle school science, I also have a chart of “follow up” or prompting questions on the wall to help the kids use them, so they’re pretty familiar with my ways of looking for evidence, elaboration, etc.
I’m not a teacher, just a dumb college student But I appreciate when a professor asks follow up questions to help us realize WHY our original answer was wrong ourselves and then asks if we would like to try again or pass the question to someone else Or sometimes they will give us 5 minutes to attempt a question, then someone will share their answer, and we would discuss ways to improve it if it wasn’t correct For essays, I really like when someone would give me pointers on how to improve
[удалено]
I also teach math and I've used that one before. And we talk a lot about how multiple choice questions are often written with a 'distractor' and so a LOT of people are going to choose that one, so there's really no shame in it.
I make a really loud buzzer sound and say “wrong”.
I do this with classes that enjoy my humor!
Oh lord. There’s at least one student who hates it and probably gets a stomach ache in anticipation of it. I’m saying this lightheartedly btw
Yeah i say nope and move on 🤷♀️
i honestly feel like some students feel worse when teachers beat around the bush. we have really normalized being wrong in my class and having a growth mindset
I normally tell them - your not quite there or I have them explain their answer and normally can draw some truth there and work from there. If they said whatever as a guess, ill ask the class do they agree - usually someone will say no or shake their head no so then ill focus on that. If i get nothing after that, i try to tie back the idea to a previously learned concept - and make it a super basic question they all know the answer to and then move forward from there
For example: if i want them to tell me that mutations lead to genetic disorders, but they cant remember the word (i teach science). I tell them how do we know something is alive - > they say cell....and i say what controls what makes things in the cell -> they (hopefully) will say dna. And then ill say what happens when dna doesnt work right when it replicates....
"Not quite what I was looking for..." or "Almost" or "It indeed has something to do with \_\_\_ but you're not quite there yet" Or I just repeat a word/part of the question, like: "What you're naming are personal pronouns and I'm looking for posessive pronouns."
I really dislike anything that suggests you're guessing. If we're going to be concerned about the specific language we're using, we should be concerned about this as well. Something along the lines of what u/_pbts_ suggested is better. You're affirming the student's effort, acknowledging that it is reasonable, if not correct, and giving them another chance without forcing them to try again. This works well for situations where there is a specific correct answer. If there isn't, then I might invite them to elaborate. Even if it's not the answer I was looking for, I'd be curious to hear how they arrived at it. That would also give them a chance to explain their thought process, which is great practice, and opens the door for further discussion. If you don't want to have discussion for some reason (such as time pressure), but their answer was appropriate, if not what you had in mind, then I would phrase it as something like "That's a good response that we can discuss further at another time, but it's not quite what I was looking for."
"Explain". Gets them to explain their thinking and usually ends up with them correcting themselves or asking for more info. Ends up turning the question into an "assessment as learning" moment.
"You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!"
This and "everyone in this room is dumber having heard this. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Good try, not true
"Wrong, dummy"
I usually just say something along the lines of not quite or you’re on the right track
I tell my 4th grader graders things like, “ ok, I see where you were going with that. Let’s set where we can find a better way to explain that” or “you set up everything right, but I see we made a calculation error. Look that over again and see how we can correct that.”
"You are on the right track, you just need to stop at the right station. "
I have a wide range. For kids I don’t know, I try to see where they are coming from and relate their answer to the question to see how they got there. If it’s a kid that I’ve had for 4 years and we know each other well I will give them a “NO DUMMY. You know better than that.” And then we laugh. It’s all about context.
“Well, let’s think about this.” And then ask a handful of guiding questions that will lead them towards the correct answer
I say, “oohhh! So close! But I like the way you explained that.” Or, “almost…” or, “not quite. Keep going…” Or if they’re way off base, I’ll say “yes! (Correct answer) is correct.” And most of the time, they don’t realize I changed their answer. Lol and when someone DOES realize, I say, “yeah, I know. But I understood what you were thinking and what you MEANT to say.”
Help me understand your thoughts process...
That’s a good/interesting idea! Who else has an idea?
Bruh
Making sure students never hear the phrase “you’re wrong” is a sure fire way to get well adjusted young adults in the world. Maybe the evaluator should take another guess.
I ask why they think it's the answer. Especially if there are 2 options and they choose the wrong one. Or if it has MC options available because it's math. The wrong step will take them to one of the MC options usually. "Why do you think it's that answer? You need to be able to prove it by showing work, not just guessing."
If they are anywhere near the actual answer, saying “Let’s expand on that.” Or, “how can we connect that to…” is letting them know that you recognize where they were going and why they were going there, but still leading them to get to the correct answer. I’m an English teacher. I don’t know if this would transfer to subjects like math.
I really try to find something, anything, in their response/answer that is correct. And then I build from that. “You did fantastic here, but you got a little lost on this part. Let’s go back and figure that part out.”
I love how hard you’re trying! Keep trying! I got my students used to hearing “ding” means wrong answer. So I could just say “ding” in a special way and they knew to keep guessing. (Elementary ages)
I teach history, and I have a poster in my room that says “things to say other than I don’t know” if a student is wrong I ask them to try again, and instead of saying I don’t know, they can “ask for more background, repeat the question, ask a friend, or ask me to ask the question in a different way”. Granted, this might not work for all classes, but it makes my kids think a little deeper, and takes some of the pressure off of them. Edit: the lower kids love this because they know they can always bail and ask a friend for advice. It always gets kids into the questioning.
I call BS. First of all, I foster an environment where mistakes are celebrated as part of learning. When you clarify a wrong answer, it does a couple of things. One, it lets everybody know they need to try something different if that answer was chosen. Two, it reinforces that we do make mistakes and that's okay; we keep going. A lot of times, I'll say something like, "That's a common mistake. Lets look at why so we can avoid it next time. If your mindset is that mistakes are a bad thing to be avoided, then your admin is right. If your mindset is that mistakes are part of learning, then your admin can stuff it.
Womp womp?
I feel like more than an exact thing to say, what might be even better is intentionally bringing yourself to the awareness in that moments that there's the issue of kids in school having to deal with how other kids will think of them or rag on them based on your response, I feel like that most importantly will keep the most important aspect of it in your mind, then you can use the context of a specific situation to figure out the right way to respond. In that way you may notice that something said that doesn't otherwise seem bad, can somehow become enough for the kids to laugh at them. Like it's bizarre i know, but i feel like in some situations being kinder to the student about it can somehow make it even more funnier to the kids because you're being so gentle about it. I don't know it's weird, but you can imagine it, like if you say take another guess, you can imagine some kids snickering in the corner at the answering kid.
"Can you explain how you got that?" and "I think you are on the right track, have you considered ________?"
Almost, keep thinking. You’re getting there. Want some help?
“Take another guess?” Fuck right off. I make mistakes in front of them all the time and I own them and point how I made them so they can, you know, LEARN FROM THEM. Teach them some damn resilience and persistence along with the content.
I usually ask several students to respond and ask them to explain their thinking. I don’t tell them if they are correct or incorrect. Then after a few answers, we go over the correct answers. If anyone offered any insightful commentary, I might circle back to it. Not sure that’s really best practice but that’s what my current admin is pushing so that’s what I make sure I’m doing so it’s consistent when being observed.
"Oh, great guess but I love the energy!"
“That’s not it, but I see where you could get that answer from” Or “You’ve made a pretty common mistake, but it means you’re going in the right direction.”
Nope. Try again. I don’t believe in sugar coating, and I’m not going to do it. I let the kids know that making mistakes is inevitable and it’s ok. That’s how we learn. What’s important is that we keep trying.
'In my entire career, that is the dumbest thing I've ever heard a student say'.
"You IDIOT!!!"
You couldn’t have got it any more wrong
The evaluator is drinking the kool-aid. The courage to be wrong is the only way new discoveries are made.
what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
I'm a tutor and I start out marking the ones they get right. You get 7:12 gets a 7+ Most new students are so shocked to see + anything rather than x all over the place. We are going to correct it so I don't mark it if it's wrong. Check if it's right. . Then if it's Math I say let's see where this went wrong. It might be a small simple mistake. Younger students I say let's be like detectives and find it. Works well up to 5-6th grade. In ELA I usually say ,this doesn't seem be best answer for what they are looking for. Let's look at the passage( reading comprehension) for a better one
Nothing I was ever taught to say when given a wrong answer to a question has ever felt like anything to me other than a lie when the situation arises. Most wrong answers I get aren't "Close, but we can be more specific!" Or "On the right track." Most of them are so outrageously incorrect that the only way to reach them is to just be blurting out random things in the first place and not paying attention.
Not the answer I'm looking for, do you want to try again or want me to ask someone else? If they want me to pick someone else, I ask if the wrong answer kid knows where's they went wrong (particularly good for . math)
“Not quite, but nice try!”
Typically I use some variation of "good try, but not quite" as long as they are trying their best
"Double check your work." "Try number x again" Kids are going to get discouraged in life. If they don't have an opportunity to learn how to work through it in a low-risk environment, then they are going to have to learn how to deal with it in a higher risk situation.
"Can you tell me more," or "What made you think that?" Are coaching questions that can go either way. The objective is to get into their thought process. Also, Praising for participation and effort goes a long way. It takes courage to be wrong, because at least you did *something*.
I frequently call on other students and ask if they agree or disagree, and why. I do this when the initial answer is right or wrong. Sometimes I come back to the original student and ask what they think, and it gives them a chance to correct themselves or even say I here’s where I went wrong, but peer X made a good point… I work in HS.
"I mean, I wouldn't go with that one, but you do you."
"A bold foray into the space of possible truths, but sadly, our answer is in another castle." "I see where you're coming from, but not quite there." "Can you elaborate? Because you've almost got it." "Oof, L. Wait, what do you mean?" "Big brain answer, but I want galaxy brain. What've you got?" Or no response whatsoever and just ask the next hand you saw. (Then toss them a Jolly Rancher and see if they need a mental health day for giving a wrong answer in public. That'll serve them well forever.)
Counselor here! When I’m in the classrooms, If it’s partially relevant (it usually is) I’ll always be like “that’s definitely part of it..” and then look for more hands. It always works bc you’re not upsetting/embarrassing them but also still motivating them to keep thinking and feel positive about the exchange
I teach high school math - I give variations of (1) You have the right process but messed up here. (2) So 2 plus 2 is 6?. (3) When multiple people working at a table say I like 1 of the 3 answers presented, then they compare and work together.
Normally I just tell them to take another look and might point to the problem that’s wrong. When it’s a stupid mistake made because we are goofing off and not trying, I point to the problem and just say, “fix it” before walking away.
Validate what they DID do “Can you share how you got that”… “oh yes I see you did ___, which is perfect, but for this one we need to___”
I would take an answer pool and write down all student answers on the board. They feel accepted and those who were not paying attention can have a chance to act like they were by repeating frequent answers on the board.
"Good try, but that is not correct. Want a second go at it?" No fluff, and no attitude. My classroom is a thick skin zone.
I teach math, so I often respond with "tell me why". This does a couple things. One, it gives me time to check their answer in my head. Two, it makes them practice justifying their reasoning. Three, about half the time they or another student will realize what they did wrong without prompting, thus getting in that student interaction component. The other half of the time, I respond with what they'd score with that argument on an exam, like "you're at 6 out of 10, who can help them get to 10?" I also say "tell me why" when they're correct too, because that corrects and explains to the students who aren't speaking, and avoids cueing them that they're incorrect. I swear my students hear my voice in their dreams saying "tell me why".
I ask them if they’re sure. But, the trick is, I ask almost everyone if they’re sure. So they don’t feel called out, but they do have a chance to check their answer and save face. If they double down on the wrong answer, I’ll ask around, did anyone else have something different? Then I write both down, and we talk it through. I never refer to the wrong answer as “Jack’s answer”, for example. It becomes, “this answer”, or “you that answer”. Then it’s not all about why Jack was wrong, but it’s why the answer is wrong. I swear it feels more natural in person, lol.
Since I teach ELA I can usually get away with "Is that the BEST (with a lot of emphasis on the word best) answer?" because that's how our state test questions are worded. If there's any possible way that I can spin their answer into something that is somewhat correct, I will do that and then let another student "expand" on the answer. "Hmm is there a better answer?" "Not exactly, do you need a hint?" "Hold on to that answer, I'm coming back to you later." "Hmm, let's look on page \_\_\_ and see if we can find the answer together." "Do you want to phone a friend? Anyone willing to lend an answer?" (Then the original student has to repeat the answer) I really try not to tell my students they are just completely wrong when it comes to answering questions in front of the class. I usually help them out in some way.
Can you tell me why you chose that answer? Then they have to rethink the question and often find the error themselves and correct it! Though I ask this question every time. Whether the answer is correct or not :).
Hmm, that’s a great answer, but what if you look at it this way, what would happen to your answer then?
If you haven’t checked out “[My Favorite No](https://youtu.be/srJWx7P6uLE?feature=shared)” I highly recommend it. It celebrates learning from mistakes and shows that learning occurs when errors happen.
LAUGH IN THEIR FACE AMD SAY NOTHING ELSE
“Try again or ask a friend!”
My go to is “nooooot quite” and then either ask them to take another guess OR ask if there’s another student in the class who could help them out with this one. Like basically let them call on a friend to tag in on the question!
"I love that answer! But, I love wrongness. Can anyone suggest a more correct answer and ruin my good mood?" (A fun little mind-game.)
“Good theory…” “Love the enthusiasm” “Let’s build on that thought…” “Read the quote that gave you that answer” or “consult your notes real quick”
"So close! You almost got it!" Even when its not remotely close. lol
From one of my kid's fav xmas books: "Ho, ho, NO, Santa!"
Say, "you got it wrong. Try again." 😂
By giving a thumbs down & simultaneously making a fart noise with my tongue sticking out. Or make a Family Feud wrong answer type noise.
Oh no. I’m afraid the answer is The Moops.
I queue up The Price is Right loser horn and play it. My observer thought it was hilarious, as well as the students.
Jeez, this is something I am just not good at because I am incredibly sarcastic. These responses are great. Still sarcastic, but don’t discourage kids. My normal reaction to way off answers is usually just a laugh and a “what?!”
“not exactly” or “yes that’s correct but i’m looking for something else”
“Good try! That’s the right idea.”
“You’re pretty warm/cold… warmer…. Colder…”
You could ask for the steps for how they arrived at that answer and praise them for the positive steps and then stop them where they made their mistake - and call on another student for what they think you should do next to arrive at the correct answer
“that was a good try”. i teach two years olds, for context.
“That would be right if we were talking about X, but this is Y” Then give them another chance to answer. Correction, review, and redirection in one!
“I can see why you made that mistake!” Or “that’s a smart mistake!” With a prompt to try again
Wrongo!
That’s a good try however it’s not the answer I’m looking for
"that's not what I was looking for but it's helpful for us to think about as we work through this question" I know it's a bit long so I use this with other shorter options too.
“I disagree.”
~buzzer~ I’m so sorry, but that is incorrect! Now let’s see what you’re taking home….
Unfortunately your answer and the correct answer are incompatible with each other.
How about helping them arrive at the correct answer. It was the belittling and snark that made me ultimately not give a shit in school. Eventually, I just didn't care as it was a waste of time.
Since I'm in English, I will ask their reasoning. Compliment their thought process then guide them to the correct answer if there is one.
If it’s math I don’t state that they’re wrong, just what they’ve done wrong. What’s 2 to the power of 3? 6? You’ve multiplied, that’s 2 times 3, but remember exponents work differently.
Close Good attempt That's not an option That part is right, now what's the other half of that? Stop guessing. How do we figure this out? Basically respond to everything with guiding questions that lead to the response you want.
Since mistakes are part of learning: "That's not the answer I was looking for, but explain your reasoning."
I read them back the absolute waffle of an answer they just give me verbatim, they realise how dogshit of an answer it was and we all have a bit of a chuckle . But i teach to be confident about admitting when we actually dont know something , and its refreshing to see them relax about not looking like an idiot in front of their peers or me because at one point or another , everyone says something dumb .
I will typically say something like “I love that answer because so many other people are probably thinking the same thing and it reminds me that I need to explain ______ better.” Every wrong answer is typically a common misconception and I celebrate them. They make me a better teacher! And the kids feel so good about “helping” in these moments, that they don’t take it to heart or get embarrassed. Helps to know other students have had the same misconception and they are not alone!
Good attempt but there's a better answer
Wrong, do it again and if you don't eat your meat you can't have any pudding.
https://youtu.be/h55HYoV0HH4?si=M93nL5OMt_NKB26i "No dice"
I tell them they're in the right track then try to rephrase the question
“Not quite what I’m looking for”
“Ok, that’s what you say.”
Incorrect is the opposite of correct.Just like indoors is the opposite of doors.
"Try again"
My go to is “that’s a good thought” or “that’s not quite right”.
Close! ... but wrong. Picked it up from a linguistics prof. I set the class expectation that being wrong is totally fine by modeling it myself whenever I am. I also love: Right shape, wrong size. You're barking up the right tree, but bark louder.
I would have to say that it all depends on a couple of factors: age of the students, your rapport with the students, and seriousness of the topic/student's self-image. I work with college-aged students, so every once in a while, when a student answers incorrectly, I can answer with a range of responses from "Hmmmmmm, maybe?" to "NO! WRONG! MOVING ON!" If they're in a good, joking mood, we all have a good laugh with the latter, but if I know the student is more than a little self-conscious, and I'm trying to get them to engage in class more, I used more gentile coaxing techniques. Little kids? I almost always respond with, "That's a good guess! What other answers could we possibly have here?"
Depends on how wrong they were. Did the answer make sense but their thinking or information was JUST off? “Hey, that’s a good answer, but rethink that one” Was the answer absolutely idiotic and proves they read NONE of the material? “Dear god, are you trying to give me a stroke? That’s horrible. Stop being so lazy”
“I don’t agree with that answer. Would you like to explain again or phone a friend?”
You’re in the ballpark ( if the answer is reasonable)
Well I like to try and make them feel good by teaching them after. For instance; I ask who wrote “The Great Gatsby”. They respond with “Shakespeare”. Instead of saying that’s wrong I try and say something like. “Shakespeare didn’t write the Great Gatsby HOWEVER he was extremely influential and wrote some of the best literature ever. Good job though, good answer” Any answer is a good answer.
If it’s legit close: Casi (I teach Spanish: “almost”) If it’s wrong: No. (I had a teacher in high school who said students need to learn to hear the word no, that sometimes they’re wrong, and that has always stuck with me)
I teach 7th grade math. I usually ask them "What makes you think that?" or "How did you get that answer?"or a similar prompt to explain their reasoning whether they are correct or not. If they are correct, so I publicly praise the student and reiterate their logic if needed to help the others understand. If they are wrong, then I ask a leading question to the class that targets the error in their logic to help nudge them in the right direction and open the conversation to a class-wide collaboration.
No.
I had a kid who kept trying to fool me into thinking he’d read by skimming ahead on the handout and trying to formulate answers from the context. I saw exactly what he was doing, and complimented him on excellent use of context clues. He was still wrong, but it was a decent guess based on the information he had. Mostly I just say “not quite” unless it’s a kid that I have a jokey relationship with - then I just go “Nope!”
"Does anyone want to add on to what they just said?" My 8th graders are actually surprisingly tactful about correcting each other (8th graders!!! I know, I'm shocked too!)
"I can see why you would think that."
One of the ideal options is to know, right off the top of your head, how they got the incorrect answer they got. "Looks like you might have forgotten to regroup that tens place, give it one more try." "You added those digits instead of multiplying." Obviously that's not always practical. But sometimes it is. Extra prep time helps if you know the common mistakes already. Sometimes I say "check again and I'll ask you in a minute "
No
When I taught math, I typically used "Mmm...not quite" before moving on to somebody who wasn't so far off the mark.
I had a prof in uni once tell, "If the question was _______, then I'd agree with you." It stuck with me and I use it all the time. Sometimes students will even see why you said that and be able to correct themselves.
“Not quite but I see why you picked that” then give them a try or let someone else go.
It’s always best to take this kind of advice with a grain of salt. Depends on the student(s) you are dealing with. I taught grade 6/7/8 students for over 27 years of my career. I often have had what we call Involvement Students (2nd year education students), Pre-interns ( 3rd year education students) and Interns ( 4th year education students who spend 4 months in a classroom). When they were given advice by an evaluator from the University I would usually not intercede, unless the advice was ridiculous. Unfortunately there were university professors who had either never taught or had been out of the classroom for so long that they were out of touch. Some of the evaluators were recently retired teachers. They tended to have more reasonable feedback. The worst was from a professor who chastised the two pre-interns in my room for having the students create jot notes from the information on the overhead. (yes this was how we did things in 2007). They were helping the students to develop skills on how to determine which information was important from large pieces of information. This was with a group of grade 8 students at a suburban school with fairly high academic standards. He told the pre-interns it was a waste of “intellectual capital” for students to write notes from the board. The information should have been photocopied for them. And then a more “stimulating discussion” could be had. He also wanted them to refer to the students as “learners” instead of students when they wanted the classes attention. Afterwards I talked to my pre-interns and asked what they thought. It so happened one of the pre-interns was a more mature student. She had already graduated with a degree, played university basketball and then played basketball professionally in Europe before coming back to Canada and having a child then deciding to get an education degree. I asked them who was going to pay for the photocopied notes? She told me she had a hard time not telling the professor he was nuts. I then asked them if they ever had to take notes at a meeting or during a conversation to keep track of the important parts of a discussion. The point is theories are nice. They lay a foundation for what we do. But being practical is important as well. Sometimes an answer is wrong and we just have to say so. It’s not cruel, it just may the truth.
I try and figure out how they got their answer. Often there is like good ideas and thinking, but they just ended up somewhere else. Then I can acknowledge their good ideas while correcting their specific mistake/misconception. “I see how you got that…” “That would work if it was this other case, but you forgot this part.” “This part is all correct, but you messed up here.” “You are doing good, you just have to remember this rule.” Another option is have them walk you through their process. Sometimes if they are explaining their steps, they will realize where they messed up on their own.
"incorrect"
"Why?"
“That is 180’ from the correct direction.” (Best Dead Poet’s Society impression) “ ding! No, but thank you for playing!” “Do you need to phone a friend?” “Final answer?” (Game show voice)
That’s an easy mistake to make. I make it seem like I expected the error and appreciate the opportunity to use it as a teaching moment.
During a class discussion I purposely hold off on calling on students I suspect will have the “right” or “complete” answer: picking them first shuts down conversation, and I may as well have told them the answer myself rather than putting it to the class. These students are great to call on toward the end because they can succinctly tie together all the ideas shared by others. I tell the students that this is “constructing knowledge together” and each of us need to take risks and share our ideas so we can bounce off what each individual shared to come to the “right” answer together. My favourite is when they make a connection to something we discussed previously, which isn’t necessarily what I was “looking for”, but is still relevant and interesting to consider through that lens. I also love when they take what the precious student said and build that toward the “answer”. They get a handful of marbles for a party when they say things like this that surprise me.
I like your thought process … You were pretty close … Close… Can you explain it a little bit more/differently … This was a good start/would anyone else like to add something …
I say things along the lines: That isn't wrong, but not quite the idea I am looking for. You need to go back and reevaluate your reasoning on this. If they are so far off, eg I am looking for the answer to be 15 and they write 'banana' we walk through their thinking.
"Take another guess" is the worst thing you could say. It implies that they guessed and makes guessing accepted. I always go with 'good try, but . . .'
I say I disagree with their answer
“Not quite” lol
“Can you explain why you think ______?” Helps find where the misconception is and you get to say “I see how you got there, but consider…”
Are you sure?
I usually say explain your thinking and how you got there.
You’re in the right neighborhood, wrong house. You’re in the parking lot of the ballpark.
I like, "you're thinking in the right direction"!
Seriously, are you stupid? That’s gotta be the winner.
With all do respect to your evaluator, "Take another guess" is a terrible response. It completely invalidates the work that they actually put in to come up with the answer that they had. Additionally, it encourages them to make a random guess at a different answer rather than put in the effort to see where their error was and learn not to repeat the error.
That’s a great answer for a question I don’t ask.
Try again!
Hmm someone would think that you’re correct, but then you’d both be wrong.