Independent Learning is a self-directed study area within Sparx Science where students can practice any topic from our extensive content library without needing additional homework set by their teacher. This feature allows students to take control of their learning and work on areas they want to improve.
Using Independent Learning
Students have full access to all of our topics in the Independent Learning section of Sparx Science and can complete as many tasks as they like.
Through the Independent Learning tab, they are able to complete their Independent Learning Weekly Challenge by either:
Using the Personal practice feature to do additional practice on the topics you've set the class for homework in Planner, or
Searching for a topic using the topic name or a topic code.
Students can access Independent Learning at any time by selecting it from the main menu when logged into Sparx Science:
Personal Practice
Personal Practice
Personal practice is a personalised task for students to complete within Independent Learning. This 10 question task is created using the homework algorithm, and will choose questions based on a number of factors including:
Topics seen in homework, but specific skills they may not have covered yet
Questions they have previously struggled on in homework
Revisiting older topics seen earlier in the academic year.
Students can create these tasks as often as they want to.
They will also see these tasks separately in their activity history, to make it easier to continue should they not complete the task.
Choosing a topic
Choosing a topic
When in Independent Learning, students can type one of the following in the 'Search for topics' field:
The name of a topic
A keyword
A topic's topic code
Each topic in Sparx Science has a code (e.g. Z410). These are designed to be an easy way for teachers to direct students to relevant material within Independent Learning.
Alternatively, students can browse topics:
Changing curricula and difficulty levels
Changing curricula and difficulty levels
Students can choose both the curriculum and default difficulty level for the questions that they'll work on. You can find more information on homework difficulty levels in Key Concepts of Sparx Science [Add link]
Curriculum
When first accessing Independent Learning, the curriculum will match the curriculum set for the student's class (automatically detected based on the curriculum that the class's scheme of learning is built upon)
The student can change curriculum if they want to (for example, a higher-level Key Stage 3 student could choose to practice some GCSE content). To do this, they use the Curriculum drop-down
Difficulty level
The initial default difficulty level for questions matches the student's current homework level
Students can adjust the level for individual topics if they find questions too easy or challenging, using the Level drop-down
Some topics won't have any questions at higher or lower levels, in which case they may see that there are no questions available to work on (though the student can switch to another level for that topic if they want to)
Independent Learning Weekly Challenge
Students have a weekly challenge to earn 500 XP in Independent Learning. This is a great way to encourage students to go above and beyond by doing more than their weekly homework.
Students can complete any tasks in Independent Learning (either through Personal Practice or by choosing a topic) to reach this goal.
15 XP per question for personal practice
5 XP per question for other tasks
You can track each student's % completion on the Hand-in page.
How can students view their own progress
Viewing Previous Independent Learning Tasks
Viewing Previous Independent Learning Tasks
Students can view their Previous Tasks at any time by selecting this in the top right of their Independent Learning page:
Seeing their progress as they go
Seeing their progress as they go
Students will be able to clearly see which questions they've completed correctly and can review their results at the end:
How teachers can monitor student's usage
Independent Learning Weekly Challenge via the Hand in page
Independent Learning Weekly Challenge via the Hand in page
You can track each student's % completion of the Independent Learning Challenge from a column in the Hand-in page:
You are able to click directly on the percentage and this will take you straight through to the student's profile where you can view their Activity Feed.
Via a student's profile
Via a student's profile
To see the Independent Learning that a student has completed, you can see this by visiting:
Management > Student Manager
Select the class from the class selector at the top
Select the Summary Tab and scroll down to see their Activity Feed
The Activity Feed shows each time the student has spent time on Independent Learning, including the number of questions correct and the topics they worked on. It also details their normal homework and when they have completed their weekly Indendent Learning Challenge.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Independent Learning impact compulsory homework?
How does Independent Learning impact compulsory homework?
If a student completes work in Independent Learning across topics that are subsequently added to their homework, Sparx Science will consider the student's Independent Learning progress when creating their homework.
For example, if a student has already seen a question in a topic in their independent learning, this will influence the questions from that topic they are shown in future homework.
Work that students complete in Independent Learning does not influence their homework difficulty level, nor how much work they receive in their homework.
Flashcard practice in independent learning will directly affect the state of cards that will be carried over into homework, so if a student is more confident on a specific Flashcard because of practice in independent learning, this card is less likely to appear as consolidation in their homework Flashcards.
Can teachers use Independent Learning?
Can teachers use Independent Learning?
Teachers are able to try out all of the Sparx Science topics using Independent Learning (Management -> Student demo -> Independent Learning).
Can the Independent Learning Challenge column be more than 100%?
Can the Independent Learning Challenge column be more than 100%?
No it won't display as more than 100%. However, if students do more Independent Learning after completing the challenge they'll still get their XP.
How long does the Independent Challenge take to complete?
How long does the Independent Challenge take to complete?
Students need to complete 34 questions of Personal Practice to exceed the target of 500XP. Students earn the full XP when the task is completed and the average time for completion of this package is 15-20 minutes.