Lessons from the Secondary Classroom

Our team of ex-teachers share a few of their most important takeaways for the smooth running of CENTURY in your classroom.

As with all classroom activities, some students may rush through CENTURY learning activities without fully engaging with the material. To improve this, a set of expectations can be established to enhance the use of CENTURY:

1. Engaging with the Learning Material

• Teachers are able to see how much time students have spent watching the videos or looking at the slides. It is worth encouraging this behaviour by offering incentives using the school’s behaviour policy.
• Remind students to use headphones and activate subtitles to better follow along.
• Encourage students to pause the video and make notes. For example, one effective strategy is asking students to summarise each nugget with a set of 5 bullet points or similar in their book or on a whiteboard before proceeding to the questions.

2. Improving Scores

• A “Go for Green” rule can be adopted, encouraging students to aim for at least a 70% score. This approach motivates them to take their time and improve their performance. Students can be expected to try again if they do not achieve a green score the first time round, and this often leads to better engagement with the learning material when retrying.

3. Rewards System:

• Rewards can be introduced for students who re-watch videos and improve their scores, with these efforts monitored in the Markbook.
• Rewards such as a postcard to the student’s home can provide additional motivation and engagement, but schools are also encouraged to use their own rewards policy. Speak to your Account Manager to get hold of some CENTURY chocolate!

By following these expectations, students make the most of learning time and resources, and developing these habits leads to more independent learners.

Top tips for launching CENTURY in your classroom:

1. Explicit Instructions and Modelling: The teacher demonstrates how to properly note-take as students often need guidance and reminders when using a new piece of technology.
2. Effort Focus: Rewards are not just for high scores; they also recognise the effort put into redoing tasks, watching videos, and spending time on questions. CENTURY’s tools make it easy to track and reward these behaviours.
3. Content Access: Students may gravitate toward easier tasks, so the teacher can manage access via Assignments to ensure focus on the appropriate level of work. Setting a few nuggets for students to complete and then using Smart Assignments or their Recommended Path helps fill in gaps, while the Markbook ensures they are not spending too much time on easy content such as multiplication tables.
4. Interventions: Use CENTURY’s live data to identify students with misconceptions and work with this group while the others progress on their own individual pathway.