Why Understanding a Worked Solution Doesn't Mean You Can Do It Yourself

One thing I've noticed when tutoring Year 11 and 12 Maths and Chemistry is that students often look at a worked solution and think they understand how to do the question. However, when they try a similar question on their own, they sometimes struggle to remember the steps or know where to start, especially if its not fully identical to what they've seen before.

The problem is that following someone else's working is often much easier than figuring out the method yourself. When the solution is already in front of you, each step can easily make sense, but that doesn't necessarily mean you would have thought of doing those steps independently.

This is why I encourage students to attempt questions properly before looking at the solutions, even if they're finding them difficult.

If they do get stuck, I suggest looking at just the first step of answer or just the part they're struggling with, rather than reading through the entire solution straight away. They should then cover the solution and try to continue the question themselves.

Another useful habit is to return to the same question later and attempt it again without any help. If a student can complete it independently after a few days, it's a much better indication that they've understood the method rather than just remembered the answer.

This is particularly important in Maths and Chemistry, where questions can test the same concepts in slightly different ways. Being able to follow a worked example isn't always enough when an exam question is presented differently.

Overall, lookinng through worked solutions are a really useful learning tool, but students should still make sure they're using them to understand the process instead of just simply copying the steps. The goal is to eventually be able to solve similar questions independently.