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Before you try to explain a problem, ask yourself "What is the point of this problem or experiment?" Is it to show how to use a formula? Get certain facts or relationships straight? Gain familiarity with a concept or procedure? Make certain distinctions clear? Once the answer is clear in your own mind, it will be much easier to explain the problem and much easier for you and the students to see what is important and what is trivial.
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A common response to a complicated problem is, "How the *?#*#*! am I supposed to answer/solve this?" So go over (a) what information is needed to solve the problem and then (b) explain how you use the information. Students often know the right information but they know so much irrelevant information that they can't pick out the right pieces. So go over how you figure out the answer to "What do I know (or need to look up) that's relevant?" Once you have shown the students what information they need, go over how to use the information to get the solution. It is important to realize that explaining how you get the solution is different from explaining the solution itself. So be sure that how you got the answer is just as clear as the answer.
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