A hint ladder can stop before it gives away the answer

Prepare a broad strategy cue, a more focused prompt and a specific deduction. Ask which level the learner wants, keeping support optional and preserving as much of the useful thinking as they prefer.

To hand: A puzzle and three prepared hints.

Offer a broad strategy. Name a relevant area. Explain one deduction.

Offer the smallest helpful cue

'Check the column' provides less information than naming the missing symbol.

Offer the least revealing help the learner wants. A hint ladder works best when support remains optional and easy to request.

Ask whether the learner wants a hint.

Which level is enough? Make hints available as cards.

Resources

• My Puzzle Strategy — Record a strategy and one specific observation about how it helped.

Further reading

• Australian Curriculum Version 9 — Critical and Creative Thinking

Read next

• Revise an elimination game so participation can continue
• A solution explanation should let the reader verify it
• Cross out a logic possibility only when a clue allows it

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