Taking learning ‘on the go’ & topping-up lessons anywhere
Scott Clarke, a Science Teacher at Maes-Y-Dderwen School in Swansea talks to us about how Tassomai has made a notable difference to how students are revising and its impact on results…
Tassomai has been used at Maes-Y-Dderwen for several years now with excellent results. Our students are able to take their learning ‘on the go’ and top-up what’s taught in class anywhere: from when they are in the queue for lunch to during their morning commute. Some students have taken motivation from the competitive aspect of the leader boards displayed in the science corridor, while others simply enjoy the short, sharp questioning style and ease of use. Students are attending lessons more prepared and can be heard exclaiming in lessons: “I know this, I’ve already done it on Tassomai!” or, “This is similar to what I saw on Tassomai last night before bed.”
Repetition is key
During the revision sessions that have been running every Wednesday since September, there is always at least one student who attends and uses Tassomai as a revision tool. The algorithm it uses allows students to cycle back to questions they previously had right to ensure knowledge is retrieved, while questions and topics they frequently get wrong are brought back on a more regular basis so that the students get more opportunities to ensure they are learning the correct answers. This enforces accuracy and removes misconceptions with ease as we all know that repetition is key to learning and cementing knowledge.
Friendly competition
Our top five learners over a fortnight earn additional merits online with our positive behaviour policy and additionally go on to receive certificates for continued efforts during the end of term rewards assembly. Our current Year 10 students are very keen to use Tassomai, with the Triple Science class being very competitive in nature and using this as fuel to be the best. We have also had a great deal of interest from our Year 9 students as they look forward to coming into Year 10, with a list of students ready to start the year with a Tassomai account.
Weekly Goals
In the previous academic year, the requirement was to complete a daily goal entirely within each day or not have any of that work contribute to the tally of work done. This was felt to be unfair to many and disincentivised students.
A big change in the system above has been introduced based on feedback from both teachers and students alike. We can now monitor students’ usage more accurately and with greater detail. The entirety of the work students now do will go towards achieving their weekly goal of using it four times per day. Additionally, completing the daily set tasks offer students the chance to complete all the necessary prompts on a single day, or where they have only been able to answer a few questions and left a daily quiz incomplete, this will now be counted towards their weekly achievements.
A tiny science teacher
Student feedback summarising their experience ranges from “fun” and “simple” to “forearming”. They can regularly recognise when a topic they have encountered outside of the classroom is then being explicitly taught during a lesson and apply learned knowledge first hand. It’s like having a tiny science teacher drip feeding knowledge to our kids when we are not around.
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