Reflections on teaching CENTURY lessons in a Year 4 classroom

Posted on 4th February 2025

Posted by Taryn Davison

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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CENTURY is an AI-powered online learning platform that personalises learning and provides teachers with actionable insights to support their teaching. Taryn Davison, a former primary teacher now on our Customer Success team, leads training on how best to use the platform. Wanting to see how to better incorporate our data insights, she taught a CENTURY maths lesson weekly for half a term to a Year 4 class at St. John’s C of E Primary School, Abram. Part of Quest Academy Trust, St. John’s has been using CENTURY for the past six years. This blog series shares her findings.

What was the easiest way of using CENTURY in the classroom?

Using CENTURY as a class activity. That gave the students twenty minutes of independent work whilst I could target specific groups of students in either planned or impromptu interventions. I also like that after a student completed the nugget I set, they would work through their Recommended Path, so I was using CENTURY’s AI in my teaching to provide that personalised gap-filling approach. 

  • Targeted teacher focus: Using CENTURY as a class activity allowed me to focus on specific groups without having to prepare separate activities. The alignment between the CENTURY activities and the lesson objectives meant that I could spend valuable time creating supportive resources and scaffolds, rather than planning new content. See blog 8 for more information.

Which way of using CENTURY made the most impact?

I would say that using the diagnostic for a pre-assessment was the most impactful. The diagnostic data affected all of my teaching and made it more targeted. CENTURY also allowed me to really target specific groups of children, addressing individual needs for particular objectives. 

  • Data-Driven Interventions: Instead of grouping students broadly by ability, I used CENTURY’s diagnostic data to identify specific learning gaps and tailor interventions accordingly. By targeting individual questions and objectives in the Nuggets Tab, I was able to create more precise groups, ensuring that each student received the exact support they needed. This approach meant that every student was working on their unique areas for improvement, which likely contributed to more significant progress across the board. See blogs 6 and 12 for more information.

How can I map CENTURY to my existing planning?

You can use CENTURY easily alongside any scheme you currently use. We have mapped CENTURY to the White Rose scheme of work here to show you how this can be done. See blog 4 for more information.

  • National curriculum objectives: There is one nugget on every maths objective in the national curriculum at a minimum, so you can easily choose a nugget which will match your teaching. We have included the non-statutory guidance into our content also so you know that the students will come into contact with a range of different question types including word problems, multi-step problems, problem solving and reasoning.

What would you have done differently if the class weren’t familiar with CENTURY?

Not that much! I would, however, have started with ‘CENTURY expectations’ from lesson one. I was surprised at how much I needed to teach the children how to use CENTURY effectively for their learning.

  • Clear expectations and incentives: Setting clear expectations for how students should use CENTURY, and reinforcing these with rewards, ensured that students engaged with the platform in a meaningful way. My emphasis on reattempting nuggets until they achieved a better score helped instil a growth mindset in students, encouraging them to value mastery over mere completion. Positive reinforcement was effective in driving student engagement. See blog 7 for more.

Did the children enjoy the lessons?

Yes, the students did enjoy the lessons and also looked forward to them. It’s worth noting that they were not just sitting on CENTURY for the hour’s lesson, they had very specific activities to match their learning too. See blog 13 for more information.

  • Scaffolded learning resources: With CENTURY providing the core activities, I had more time to develop and model scaffolded resources (using CENTURY learning material) that helped students engage with the material at a deeper level. These resources were crucial for students who needed extra support, as they provided a structured way to approach the learning objectives. The combination of well-prepared scaffolds and hands-on modelling helped students understand how to approach and complete tasks, leading to better outcomes.
  • Quality over quantity: The decision to reduce the number of nuggets students were expected to complete allowed for deeper engagement with each activity. The emphasis on repeating nuggets to improve scores, especially in problem-solving and reasoning, ensured that students were not just passively learning but actively improving their skills.

Did anything surprise you during your time in the classroom?

Yes – I was surprised at the huge gaps in knowledge from early years and Key Stage 1 for many of the students.

  • Impact of COVID-19: Due to COVID-19, many students in this year group missed out on foundational learning experiences, such as using manipulatives in early years, which are critical for building mathematical understanding. Recognising this, I used CENTURY as a tool to free up time for more hands-on, practical activities, which are crucial for this cohort.

Why do you think the students made progress in these lessons?

Because of me! CENTURY is a tool, not a teacher, however, I couldn’t have taught the students without the data that CENTURY gave me and the time saved on planning activities.

  • The progress made by the students was a direct result of the thoughtful integration of CENTURY into the lesson plan. CENTURY’s role in these lessons was as a facilitator of targeted teaching rather than a replacement for it. By using the platform to handle the routine aspects of learning, I could focus on the nuanced, human elements of teaching—scaffolding, differentiation, and one-on-one support.

To learn more about how CENTURY can support teaching and learning in your organisation, click here to book a demo. If you’re an existing CENTURY customer and want to learn more about how to incorporate these teaching practices into your approach, reach out to your CENTURY account manager or email support@century.tech.