Achieving Outstanding Independent Learning with Doddle Science

Helen Wesson, Science Faculty Leader at Baxter College, wanted to encourage independent learning with her Year 10 cohort to ensure they got into the habit of studying from home in preparation for Year 11. Providing personalised guidance to make sure this work was directed to target weak skills for each student was an important hurdle to overcome. On top of this, Helen wanted to make sure that her efforts to better resource home learning weren’t reliant on an increase in staff workload. This is why she chose to use Doddle.

“Doddle helps us to track our students’ knowledge and helps them to understand what they need to do to improve. The resources on Doddle provide an excellent opportunity for students to work independently on their weaknesses, check their understanding, review and consolidate their learning.”

By using self-marking quizzes for regular low-stakes testing, teachers at Baxter College get an insight into the weak skills which are holding their students back and can easily assign meaningful intervention. With over 23,000 resources across 18 subjects at KS3 and KS4 at their fingertips, Doddle provides them with quality resources to engage students and promote meaningful independent learning.

Helen planned an action research project to measure the impact of a competition on the level of independent learning and revision completed by Year 10. Over just two weeks, in the run-up to the Easter holidays when it can sometimes be difficult to motivate students, teachers noticed impressive improvements in students’ independent learning, with marked increases in the time spent working from home through Doddle!

The Competition Winners

Anya came 1^st, having revised from an impressive 33 resources at home over the course of the two-week competition.

“I enjoy the quizzes as they help me to test my understanding and correct my mistakes.”

Following very closely in 2^nd place was Rayan, who came to England 18 months ago from Syria. Rayan learned from a fantastic 27 resources at home over the two-week competition.

“The resources, particularly the presentations, have helped me learn the key terms. As English is my second language, Doddle is very clear so I am able to understand and make progress.”