The Importance of Checking Thinkster’s Teacher Solutions

If you have regular conference calls with your Thinkster coach, then you’ve likely heard them mention again and again the importance of your child checking the teacher solutions and corrections. So where exactly do you find these teacher solutions and why is it so important that your child checks these regularly?

Why is it important to check the teacher solutions?

We don’t mind when your child makes mistakes in their Thinkster work. Mistakes in math are an opportunity to learn. However, if your child repeats the same worksheet or the same topic over and over again without looking at their coach’s feedback and the teacher solutions, they are missing out on the chance to master that topic quickly.

Let’s look at 2 students – one who checks the corrections and solutions and the other who doesn’t:

Child 1 –  completes the worksheet and makes some mistakes. The next day, before trying that worksheet or that topic again, they check the teacher solutions and corrections and see where they made mistakes. They then try that worksheet/topic again, getting much better results this time and are able to move on to another topic or worksheet.

Child 2 – Completes the worksheets and makes some mistakes. They then attempt the same worksheet or topic again without having looked at the teacher solutions or corrections. As a result, they make the same mistakes again because they didn’t fully understand the topic and they repeat the worksheet/topic again and again without learning from their mistakes.

Child 1 will make much faster progress through the Thinkster program

Where do we find the teacher solutions?

Parent and student action plan

1. Once your child finishes a worksheet – encourage them to take a look at the questions they got wrong and see if they can spot where they made an error.
2. If they want to complete another worksheet straight away – get them to try a worksheet on a different topic while they wait for the teacher solutions to come through.
3. Once the teacher solutions/corrections are uploaded (usually within 24 hours) have your child work through them. If they need further support, they can contact their Thinkster coach or ask for further help during the regular conference.

Bonus Tip: Some students keep a notebook where they copy corrections and solutions to tricky questions.

Try making the review process a regular part of your child’s Thinkster routine. Even if they only review their corrections once a week or so, they’ll soon see the difference it makes to their overall progress through the grade.