Using support videos effectively
Using support videos effectively
Every question has a tailored support video showing a similar worked example designed to be short and focused on key learning points. Encouraging students to watch the support videos when they are stuck rather than seeking immediate help builds resistance and independence, and will also help us learn more about what questions the student finds challenging.
Where possible, the complete worked example is shown on the first screen of the video, with the audio and animation providing a more in-depth explanation.
In the case of longer, problem-solving style questions, the first screen suggests steps or provides useful information, and students can choose to watch the whole video to access the full solution to the worked example.
Second and third attempts
Second and third attempts
Students get a second and third chance at the same question after an incorrect attempt. This allows them to learn from mistakes and encourages showing working.
After additional incorrect attempts, students receive a slightly different variant to encourage students to start from the beginning and check they are using the correct method.
Hints
Hints
For some questions, we will give the student a hint if they have nearly answered the question correctly but have made a minor error. Some examples of these cases are:
Not writing a fraction in its simplest form
Forgetting the leading zero on a bearings question
Not giving an answer to 2d.p. for questions involving money
Managing the use of cheating tools
The increasing availability, capability and accuracy of AI services mean that it’s becoming more common for students to use them when completing their homework. This challenge is broad-reaching - it potentially affects any work that we ask students to complete at home, be that via worksheets, text books or online services like Sparx Maths.
We’ve been carefully considering the feedback that we’ve been receiving about the impact of this challenge on Sparx Maths homework. Whilst we establish longer-term solutions to this challenge, there are some approaches that you can take to monitor for the potential use of AI services. None of these indicators prove cheating on their own, but by looking at these indicators together, it can help build a clearer picture of whether homework is likely to reflect a student’s independent work.
Check written workings - Ask to see the students written workings regularly to see if they are writing things down (they are far less likely to be doing so if they used an app to get the answer)
Monitor students' difficulty levels - If you see that their level is above that which you would expect, then this may indicate that they are using an app to answer questions
Both time taken and the accuracy of answers power the algorithm to find the optimum working level for a student. Therefore, regularly using an app to answer questions in Sparx will see a student quickly advance to a level of work that would ordinarily be inaccessible
Monitor working times - If students aren’t completing their homework independently, you may notice them spending far less time than you would expect on questions, and taking fewer attempts than you would expect
Test the class using the lesson quiz - The quiz will be based on questions from their homework, so if they have used maths apps to do their homework, being asked to answer these could highlight gaps in their knowledge.
Lesson Quiz
Lesson Quiz
We have developed a feature called Lesson Quiz, which is designed to give you greater clarity on student effort and to ensure homework is having the impact it should. For more information, see Sparx Maths Lesson Quiz. You can also watch our video explaining the research we've done, and how we have developed this lesson quiz.
Hide a student from the leaderboard
Hide a student from the leaderboard
Teachers can choose to hide students from the leaderboard if they believe them to have been cheating.
To remove a student from the leaderboard that you believe hasn't done their homework genuinely:
Go to Reporting > Student Rewards > Leaderboards
Select the class from the drop down menu
It doesn't matter which timescale drop down you select (this year / this week etc), it will hide the student from every view in the Maths leaderboard
Click the three dots to the right hand side of the students name
Click on Hide student from Sparx Maths Leaderboards
Ensure you've read the pop up warning message and select Yes, hide this student again to confirm
Changes made in Sparx Maths only affect the Maths leaderboards. To hide them from Sparx Reader or Sparx Science leaderboards, this must be done within each respective Sparx site. The process works in exactly the same way.
Re-add a student to the leaderboard
Re-add a student to the leaderboard
You can visit the Student Details page in Student Manager to see if a student is hidden from the leaderboard. There isn't a way to see a list of all hidden students at once.
To re-add them in the future, you can do this anytime by visiting the Student Details page for the student. Select No - do not hide student from leaderboards from the drop down box under the title Hide from the Sparx Maths Leaderboards?
This might be a useful first port of call while you investigate any suspicious activity, to reduce the impact on other students.
What a student sees if they are hidden from the leaderboards
What a student sees if they are hidden from the leaderboards
A student will be shown this message if they have been hidden from the Maths leaderboards:
Frequently asked questions
How can I support a student who has become disengaged from their homework?
How can I support a student who has become disengaged from their homework?
Here are some possible actions to help your student re-engage with their Sparx Maths work:
Take the focus away from completing outstanding homework by cancelling previous homework for the student to focus on the most recent tasks
Check that the student's difficulty level is appropriate. See Changing homework for an individual student for more information.
Set the student to 30 minute homework to make their tasks more achievable. See Changing homework for an individual student for more information.
How can I support a student who has been absent from school?
How can I support a student who has been absent from school?
During long-term absence, you can:
Turn homework off in their student settings - They will not be set any homework tasks. See Changing homework for an individual student for more information.
Cancel any outstanding homework for the student. See Making changes to upcoming homework plans for a class for more information.
Please keep in mind that Sparx Maths is designed for practicing topics already learned in class rather than learning a topic for the first time, so we do not recommend setting a student work in Sparx to catch up on missed lessons.
Why can’t students see the correct answer when they get a question wrong?
Why can’t students see the correct answer when they get a question wrong?
Each question in Sparx has a small number of variations so if students could see the answers, eventually they would have seen all available examples and could start guessing or predicting the correct answers. This would in turn affect our assessment of their ability and level, resulting in diluted personalised homework.