Independent learning with Tassomai
By James Stradling, Head of Science at All Saints CE Academy
After having spent fourteen years as head of science in a mixed comprehensive on the beautiful Jurassic coast, I was well aware of the juxtaposition between this natural oasis and the challenges facing educators on our coastline schools.
A deadly combination of underfunding, poor social mobility and challenging conditions for school leaders had led to sliding progress data at All Saints CE Academy in Weymouth, Dorset.
We had diagnosed a lack of independent study as a key factor in moving our pupils towards meeting their targets. This does not forego the need for high quality teaching, underpinned by higher attendance and improved behaviour but rather, promotes independent study. This is the oil in the gears and in the machinery that creates a culture of self-drive within the complex melting pot of social interactions that influence secondary school life for our pupils.
We were fortunate enough to be introduced to Tassomai by one of our nine head teachers in the last nine years. This turned out to be the fulcrum for change and we have built and built on this platform from that moment to this. I would add that we are not paid by Tassomai to write this, but I am excited by the opportunities it provides and I am happy to share this with readers.
About the software
Tassomai is an independent learning program that encourages pupils to answer questions that are geared to their profile, encouraging daily and habit forming study patterns. The central algorithm to this program continues to extend pupils, to check progress and to build towards mastery. Linked to AQA and Activate at both KS4 and 3, there is no waffle, no bluster and progress is recorded so that staff can monitor progress through the course, progress in understanding, especially with AO1 style responses. Pupils can log on to the app on their phones and complete daily quiz targets easily and accessibly. Questions are automatically chosen but teachers can control the topics that appear, in line with the curriculum. For year 11 pupils, the opportunities for interleaving are enormous and this represents one of the key gains.
Pupils who log in regularly to meet daily goals make the greatest progress because the program learns their strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that no topics are left out and that familiar patterns are challenged and extended.
Helping staff to monitor performance
For staff the benefits are enormous. At the click of a button it is possible for busy staff, with zero marking effort to judge;
Who has done their homework
How successful they have been
What the problems area were
What progress pupils have made
What level of understanding pupils have
Recently, Tassomai founder Murray Morrison has personalised our dashboard to allow me as head of department to monitor the performance of every class every week. This allows me to track homework setting and who is successful or needs support. A fantastic resource that is helping us to reduce workload on tired staff and maintain progress.
The key to developing good independent study habits is through positive engagement
Celebrating achievements in a traditional way through texts and postcards home, assemblies and tutor notices can be supplemented successfully with more out of the box rewards for success, such as hot chocolate at break, pizza parties and Amazon voucher competitions.
In turn, the automatic weekly email function that parents can opt in to ensures 360 degree vision, with parents being made aware of exactly when their child was online, the questions completed, how accurate they were and the challenges faced. It is possible for parents to opt out of this but no-one ever has.
Tassomai’s impact in our school
At a department level we are looking to maintain our improvements for trilogy pupils in the 2018/19 series through increased engagement and independent study
Our internal statistics, based on 125 pupils studying trilogy consistently show that pupils who are fully engaged with the program have a 92% chance of meeting their targets.
Without the support of Tassomai at any level only 2% of pupils are meeting their targets. As soon as pupils begin even a casual* use of the program this figure begins to rise with 50% of users who use the programme twice a week for 30 minutes over a four month period improving their grades.
Typically we have over 25,000 questions answered every week, rising to twice this figure during challenge weeks. The simplicity of this approach means that pupils and parents always know what is expected for homework and this in turn improves the chance of parents being able to embrace the program.
We have found that 100 questions per week is a challenging target although we do vary this for certain pupils or groups using our professional judgement.
Working in partnership with teachers
Being a progressive and forward looking company, Tassomai are constantly looking to improve their product and value input from schools. We have found this to be a very positive experience and one that has helped lead us from the quagmire of underachievement that can result when pupils are lacking that independent spark. This is a well-managed and responsive EdTech company that is focused on the needs of pupils and school staff.
* I refer to ‘casual users’ as people with between 5% to 20 % coverage of Tassomai content between September and January. Committed users are in the 35% plus content bracket by this point.
You can find James Stradling on Twitter @Jurassiccoastc1