Using support videos effectively
Using support videos effectively
Every question has a tailored support video showing a similar worked example designed to be short and focused on key learning points. Encouraging students to watch the support videos when they are stuck rather than seeking immediate help builds resistance and independence, and will also help us learn more about what questions the student finds challenging.
Where possible, the complete worked example is shown on the first screen of the video, with the audio and animation providing a more in-depth explanation.
In the case of longer, problem-solving style questions, the first screen suggests steps or provides useful information, and students can choose to watch the whole video to access the full solution to the worked example.
Second and third attempts
Second and third attempts
Students get a second and third chance at the same question after an incorrect attempt. This allows them to learn from mistakes and encourages showing working.
After additional incorrect attempts, students receive a slightly different variant to encourage students to start from the beginning and check they are using the correct method.
Hints
Hints
For some questions, we will give the student a hint if they have nearly answered the question correctly but have made a minor error. Some examples of these cases are:
Not writing a fraction in its simplest form
Forgetting the leading zero on a bearings question
Not giving an answer to 2d.p. for questions involving money
Managing the use of cheating tools
The increasing availability, capability and accuracy of AI services mean that it’s becoming more common for students to use them when completing their homework. This challenge is broad-reaching - it potentially affects any work that we ask students to complete at home, be that via worksheets, text books or online services like Sparx Maths.
We’ve been carefully considering the feedback that we’ve been receiving about the impact of this challenge on Sparx Maths homework. Whilst we establish longer-term solutions to this challenge, there are some approaches that you can take to monitor for the potential use of AI services. None of these indicators prove cheating on their own, but when several appear together they can highlight something worth looking into.
Check written workings - Ask to see the students written workings regularly to see if they are writing things down (they are far less likely to be doing so if they used an app to get the answer)
Very low time spent - If a student is completing homework or individual questions very quickly, it can help to consider how long it would normally take to read, process, and answer the question, particularly for more complex problems. Consistently very short times may indicate answers are being copied or sourced elsewhere.
Unexpected lesson quiz performance (if quizzes are used) - Quiz results can sometimes reveal inconsistencies. For example, a student might get questions wrong that they previously answered correctly in homework, or take unusually long on simpler questions. This mismatch between homework and quiz performance can sometimes suggest the homework was not completed independently.
A Sparx level higher than expected - It can also be useful to check whether a student’s Sparx level aligns with what you would expect based on your knowledge of them or the class.
Low bookwork accuracy alongside other warning signs - Bookwork accuracy can be viewed in the Bookwork accuracy column on the Hand-in page, which uses a RAG rating to show how often a student passes their bookwork checks. If a student has an orange or red rating, it means they are frequently failing these checks, which may indicate they are not recording their workings. When this appears alongside other indicators such as very low time spent or an unexpectedly high level, it may suggest the work is not being completed independently.
Consistently perfect first attempts - Sparx homework is designed to stretch students appropriately as they learn. Once a student’s level has been established, it would be unusual for them to answer every question correctly on the first attempt in each homework. If a student is consistently getting perfect first attempts across multiple homeworks, this can sometimes indicate they are receiving outside help.
Looking at these indicators together can help build a clearer picture of whether homework is likely to reflect a student’s independent work.
Lesson Quiz
Lesson Quiz
We have developed a feature called Lesson Quiz, which is designed to give you greater clarity on student effort and to ensure homework is having the impact it should. For more information, see our Using Follow up. You can also watch our video explaining the research we've done, and how we have developed this lesson quiz.
Hide a student from the leaderboard
Hide a student from the leaderboard
Teachers can choose to hide students from the leaderboard if they believe them to have been cheating.
To remove a student from the leaderboard that you believe hasn't done their homework genuinely:
Go Reporting > Student Rewards > Leaderboards
Select the class from the drop down
It doesn't matter which timescale drop down you select (this year / this week etc), it will hide the student from every view in the Maths leaderboard
Click the three dots to the right hand side of the students name
Click on Hide student from Sparx Maths Leaderboards
Ensure you've read the pop up warning message and select Yes, hide this student again to confirm
They will no longer show on the Maths leaderboard to students or teachers.
Changes made in Sparx Maths only affect the Maths leaderboards. To hide them from Sparx Reader or Sparx Science leaderboards, this must be done within each respective Sparx site. The process works in exactly the same way.
Re-add a student to the leaderboard
Re-add a student to the leaderboard
You can visit the Student Details page in Student Manager to see if a student is hidden from the leaderboard. There isn't a way to see a list of all hidden students at once.
To re-add them in the future, you can do this anytime by visiting the Student Details page for the student and unticking Hide [name] from the Sparx Maths leaderboards. This might be a useful first port of call while you investigate any suspicious activity, to reduce the impact on other students.
What a student sees if they are hidden from the leaderboards
What a student sees if they are hidden from the leaderboards
A student will be shown this message if they have been hidden from the Maths leaderboards:
Frequently asked questions
How can I support a student who has become disengaged from their homework?
How can I support a student who has become disengaged from their homework?
Here are some possible actions to help your student re-engage with their Sparx Maths work:
Take the focus away from completing outstanding homework by changing previous homework to optional only so the student can focus on the most recent tasks
Check that the student's difficulty level is appropriate. See Changing homework for an individual student for more information.
Set the student to 30 minute homework or Optional Only homework to make their tasks more achievable. See Changing homework for an individual student for more information.
How can I support a student who has been absent from school?
How can I support a student who has been absent from school?
During long-term absence, you can:
Change the student to Optional Only in their student settings - They will not be set any Compuslory tasks, but they will still be able to access the homework set in XP Boost if necessary. See Changing homework for an individual student for more information.
Change any outstanding homework to Optional Only. See Making changes to upcoming homework plans for a class for more information.
Sparx makes some adjustments to students who have not engaged in Sparx for some time:
If a student has not opened homework for 5 weeks then we will give them 10% fewer questions than usual
If a student has not opened a homework for 6 weeks or more then we will give them 20% fewer questions than usual
Please keep in mind that Sparx Maths is designed for practicing topics already learned in class rather than learning a topic for the first time, so we do not recommend setting a student work in Sparx to catch up on missed lessons.
Why can’t students see the correct answer when they get a question wrong?
Why can’t students see the correct answer when they get a question wrong?
Each question in Sparx has a small number of variations so if students could see the answers, eventually they would have seen all available examples and could start guessing or predicting the correct answers. This would in turn affect our assessment of their ability and level, resulting in diluted personalised homework.