top of page

Encouraging Independence

  • Writer: PixiMaths
    PixiMaths
  • May 4, 2017
  • 2 min read

Each time I finish explain a new topic, I set the students off on task feeling confident that there’s no way they could have not understood my explanation. However, as I walk away from the board…

“I don’t get it!”

“Which bit?”

“All of it!”

I find it really frustrating that many students won’t even attempt tasks without me sitting next to them talking them through. They can be given clear steps, several examples, and shown exactly why every step needs to take place. It seems to make no difference.

In an attempt to get students to become more independent, I have made some “Question” cards.


Each student will receive two of these at the start of each lesson. The idea is that if a student wants to ask a question, it has to be a valuable one as they are limited to only two questions per lesson. All my classes know that I encourage brains, book, buddy, boss anyway, so really this is nothing new to them. It’s just more concrete than before.

I’ve only tried it with year 9 so far, but I’m happy with the independent work combined with pair/group discussions that went on in today’s lesson. We are fortunate enough to be an iPad school, so the majority of students have their own iPad to support with learning. This, in effect, adds an extra step in between ‘buddy’ and ‘boss’ as they are able to research online further if they are still unsure.


Today’s lesson was an assessment review. After each assessment, I ask my students to look back over the assessment to correct their mistakes. Obviously they often don’t know what the mistakes or misconceptions are to begin with (otherwise they would have got it right in the assessment!) so they skip out the ‘brains’ stage. The question cards meant that today my year 9s didn’t ask me for help with EVERY question (this is often what has happened previously).

By the end of the hour-long lesson, all students had corrected their errors and the majority were using their books or iPads to practise skills they had forgotten. They’re possibly not independent learners yet, but I’m hoping these question cards will help them get there.



 
 
 

19 Comments


kycopefiw
May 06

전문적인 손길이 느껴지는 관리였습니다. 이용으로 편안함과 효율성을 동시에 수원출장마사지 얻을 수 있었고, 몸 상태도 많이 좋아졌습니다.

Like

Leo Michael
Leo Michael
Mar 30

Hello everyone, just sharing a quick observation. I was looking for platforms with a similar feel to Bounty Reels but wanted to compare a few options first. I ended up on a comparison page that lists similar sites based on real visitor data. I spent some time on https://similarsites.co.uk/bounty-reels/ and found a handful of alternatives I hadn't heard of before. The layout was clean and the suggestions were surprisingly accurate. Saved me a lot of clicking around. Thought this might help someone else.

Edited
Like

fnfunkin
Mar 06

I like this idea—limiting questions with cards seems like a smart way to encourage students to think first and rely on their resources before asking for help. It reminds me of games where progress comes from figuring things out step by step, like fnf , where the boyfriend has to beat each opponent in rhythm battles to win the girlfriend’s love. Sometimes a little challenge is exactly what pushes people to learn and improve. 📚🎵

Like

thomasfrank1803
Jan 26

Retro Bowl College feels different when you stop chasing perfection. Managing flaws becomes the real strategy.

Like

Funny game
Funny game
Oct 10, 2025

Brat Generator makes it easy to design custom Charli XCX brat cover style images in seconds, free and online.

Like
bottom of page