Hint Button

Most of MathFactLab's activities provide hints. This is a way to help students better understand and be more successful with the strategies that they are practicing.

The hint button appears two seconds after a new prompt is given. This delay is to discourage over-reliance on this tool.

Automatic hints are given:

When students respond incorrectly.
On the first five problems of each activity set, after the number of seconds of a student's assigned fluency rate.
- For example, if a student has a fluency rate of 6 seconds, the automatic hint will appear after 6 seconds have passed, but only for the first five problems in an activity set.
- The reasoning for the automatic appearance of the first five is to fully familiarize the student with the strategy at hand and to encourage them to use the hint when needed.
- Automatic hints are limited to the first five to balance the need for the above with the potential for frustration if students are still working out the solution and don't want the hint.

Note: Most, but not all, activities offer hints. Some activities offer two.

Hiding Hints

We generally recommend that hints be visible to students. However, teachers now have the option to hide hints. This feature is only for those students who regularly overuse the hint button. Turning this option on will hide the hint button. This option is only available in the 'Edit Student menu', and not in the 'Group Edit' menu. The default setting is to have the Hide Hints option turned off.

Note, to help students better understand the strategies/models they are working on, hints will still show on the first 5 problems in each activity even if hints are hidden.

To turn on the Hide Hint option:

Start on either the Performance or the Informative side of the Students tab.
Click on the Edit Student icon.

Switch the Hide Hints switch from 'off' to 'on'.
Click on the Save button.