Confused About What You're Asking
A student who 'doesn't know what the question is asking' really wants to be told the steps, which the teacher hadn't realized.
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Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2019-11-11-confused-about-what-you-re-asking/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
A: "I have no idea what you're asking for!" B: "That's OK! Should I explain the question again?" A: "No, I get that. I just need you to tell me what I should do." B: "Ah. I guess I was also confused about what you were asking for."