Promoting Independence Amongst Sixth Form Learners I introduced

Promoting Independence Amongst Sixth Form Learners I introduced my y 12 AS Level class to two websites to use for independent learning and got them to keep a ‘Learning log’ in conjunction with this.

www. mathsgeeks. co. uk • This website provides students with access to a bank of past papers for each module and the accompanying mark scheme for each. • Pupils are encouraged to work through the past papers and use the mark schemes to correct their work as they go. • I have tried to ‘train’ pupils to use the mark scheme to aid their revision also, so that when they are struggling to answer a question they can use the mark scheme to provide them with hints and tips as to how to start off their solution.

The Learning Log Module Paper Problem questions Asked Mr Mc. Millan C 1 June ’ 12 Q 3 – nature of roots Yes – remember to find the number of real roots we must use the discriminent Students are encouraged to keep a learning log like the one above. They record all past papers attempted and note any problem questions that they may have encountered. They bring their learning log to myself and we go through the question together and I fill in the final column giving any pointers that may help them.

www. examsolutions. net • If students continually have trouble with the same topics while doing past papers, they are encouraged to use the above website. • This website orders exam style questions by topic and each question has its own video showing a step by step worked solution.

With regards to using the past papers and keeping a record of work completed in a learning log, pupils had the following comments to make: “This way I can work on the questions (topics) that I find most difficult and get help from the teacher if I need it” “By having the mark scheme available I can use it to give me hints and tips if I don’t know how to start a specific question” “This way of working means I don’t waste time going over questions that I already know how to do” “The learning log lets me keep note of all the questions I have done and it means I don’t waste time doing questions twice” “I can mark my own work straight away and see how I am doing”

Some students used the Examsolutions website in addition to the past paper website: • “This site helped me work through difficult questions when I wasn’t at school to ask the teacher for help” • “The little videos really help as they take you through it step by step” • “These videos are really helpful as you can pause them as you go through to do the working out”

Teething Problems: • Students were made aware of the times they could come for support after attempting the questions on their own. Due to time constraints in class, students can come after school on a Monday or at lunchtimes on a Wednesday or Friday. • Initially students continued to ask for help at the beginning of lessons but were made aware that there wasn’t enough time in class for this. • They soon got the message and started to attend the extra sessions as and when they needed it.