FEATURE: BRIDGING THE LEARNING GAP
Closing the gap on summer learning loss
At Whizz Education, we have been able to
conduct more recent research as we are able to track students’ access and learning in maths through our virtual tutoring platform. A virtual tutor is an automated online system
that simulates behaviours of a human tutor. While not designed to replace one-to-one human interaction, virtual tutors can offer teachers and students additional support, providing content which adapts to different levels of attainment and pace of learning. 1.5 million students have now used our virtual tutor across the world. As students interact, it generates analytics in
I
n our third piece this month looking at ways in which schools can help pupils catch
up on lost learning, Fiona Goddard, Education Consultant at Whizz Education, discusses the company’s recent research into the issue of summer learning loss and offers pointers on how to address it.
Summer learning loss is an established phenomenon in education. Research over the years has indicated varying levels of learning loss across different subject areas while students are inactive over the summer. One study (Cooper & Sweller 1987)[1] showed that learning loss was greater in maths than in other topics.
real-time, as an automatic by-product of their learning. This has allowed us to track summer learning loss over several years. Our research[2] shows that when students switch off over the summer, they tend to lose around two-three months’ worth of maths knowledge.
Quantifying summer learning loss in maths We looked at 681 students aged 5-13 who were assessed at the start of the academic years between September 2014 – 2017 and who were not re-assessed until the September or October the following year. The average weekly use of the Maths-Whizz virtual tutor was 30 minutes between September to June – ensuring the student’s Maths age at the end of the academic year was a reliable measure for their true maths
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knowledge at that point. We also ensured the total usage between 20 July – 31 August in the first year did not exceed 30 minutes – so we can assume they did not acquire new knowledge during that time. The results showed an overall average drop in topic age corresponding to 2.4 months of lost learning. A drop was experienced in every assessed
maths topic, and we have been able to break this down. The greatest loss was seen in Pencil and Paper multiplication (0.34 years) and the smallest loss observed in Percentages and Ratio (0.01 years). One contributing factor is the maximum and minimum possible Topic Ages, since Percentages and Ratio starts at a later point in the curriculum, there may be less scope for learning loss for those who have covered the topic. Children studying these topics are generally older. These findings reflect similar studies we have conducted in other regions around the world, where younger pupils with a limited store of knowledge to draw on, suffered a higher degree of learning loss.
The COVID effect COVID-19 has amplified learning loss overall, as students have struggled for access to education. We have also been able to quantify the lockdown learning loss in maths experienced by 5–13-year- olds in the UK in a separate study. Our research
July/August 2021
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