Many teachers are beginning to use skillbuilders in an attempt to help students understand what the question is asking. However students are responding negatively towards them.
Skillbuilders are essentially note packets that teach students how to answer questions. They do this by discussing different types of questions; for example, pure opinion, simple factual, and complex factual. Then they proceed to provide students with methods and strategies on how to answer these questions types. They conclude with an activity so that students can practice the new skill.
“I feel like [skillbuilders] re-teach me things that I learned in the second grade,” said one student who chose to remain anonymous. Other students share similar views and have argued they are a waste of time. Skillbuilders are normally used at the beginning of each new unit and take around half an hour depending on the teacher.
“We have used them in my some of my honors classes, and nobody benefits because it’s an honors class. Honestly, honors students should know the meaning of a question and what it’s asking you to do” said the anonymous student.
On opposite side of the spectrum, teachers have agreed that students would do a lot better if knew what the question was asking. Students often know the answer but fail to apply it to the question claim teachers.
Even though a many students dislike skillbuilders, some still find them beneficial.
“I think they are a little bit helpful; they definitely refresh your tactics to solve questions that you’ve learned before…they are definitely essential skills a high schooler needs to have in their repertoire, but they need to be taught in a freshman English class,” said Wesley Dunn.
Understanding what the question is asking is a vital skill that all students need but perhaps skillbuilders are not the ideal way to help students..
