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Doodle is for... children who are falling behind
Doodle is for... children who are falling behind
Amy Hughes avatar
Written by Amy Hughes
Updated over a week ago

During the course of this pandemic, children falling behind has been a big concern for parents and teachers. Latest data in the UK shows that children in primary years were the worst affected by learning loss, and therefore most likely to fall behind in maths and writing according to this new evidence.

Data taken from 6,000 primary schools, and nearly 1.5 million pupils, found a steep drop in the proportion who were reading, writing and doing maths to the level expected at the end of last summer. The report also found that younger children took longer to recover their lost learning after they returned to the classroom in September. ‘Despite the superhuman efforts of school leaders, teachers and families to keep children learning, many pupils are no longer performing as they should be for their age’ concluded the report by Juniper Education, based on data collected from schools using its assessment software.

This study has highlighted a need for access to educational support outside of classroom learning. Parents and teachers are looking for ways to help their children, and we believe this is where DoodleLearning can be really helpful!

Doodle’s super clever algorithm, Proxima, takes the information from the baseline assessment and ensures the child’s work programme is individualised according to their needs. This means that all children are working within their zone of proximal development, with an appropriate level of challenge. It will also seek out any gaps the child may have in their learning that they then need more support with! Think of it as an online tutor! Doodle revises and revisits previous learning in an attempt to close any learning gaps which in turn, supports their learning at school.

We suggest Doodle is then used ‘little and often’. Just ten minutes a day will provide your child with that extra support they need in those grey areas of learning.

Parents and teachers can then access this information through two handy ways. You can either download DoodleConnect, our app designed for parents to support their child’s learning, or you can view all this information on the Parent Dashboard.

Parents can use the online Dashboard to monitor their child’s progress and pinpoint specific gaps in their child’s learning. You can find this information about learning gaps on the Analyse > Understanding page. Topics that children have a good understanding of will be highlighted in green. Others in amber and red are curriculum areas that they need support with.

Doodle has two fantastic features you can use as a parent or teacher to help children who have fallen behind.

The first is being able to set Assignments for your child, if you feel they have fallen behind and need further revision on a certain topic. For home subscribers you can set these through the Parent Dashboard. More information on how to set Assignments can be found here.

The next great feature is being able to set personalised Goals for your child. This is a great way to focus and motivate them by providing an extra challenge. We highly recommend reinforcing this with lots of positive encouragement once they have achieved it! You can view the Analyse > Progress page at any time to keep track of your child's progress towards their goal. More information on Goals can be found here.

When children do need a little help, Doodle is right by their side! If a child gets to a question they are finding a little tricky, a Help icon can be found on their screen, and there is an option to add these questions to a Tricky Question folder or to find out more information. Children can find these in their Learning Zone if they click on the red question mark icon, then they have the options to choose:

  • a Hint

  • an Explanation

  • or add to Tricky Questions

The Hint and Explanation should allow the learner to answer the question independently. However, if they are still struggling they can add to their Tricky Questions. Once added to Tricky Questions, they can then receive help from an adult or peer, without worrying that this will impact their work programme. All saved Tricky Questions can be accessed via the Learning Zone.

These supported Help features will ensure that your child can answer questions as independently as possible, thus boosting their confidence in maths or English.

As children work their way through the work programme they will gain confidence with all the fantastic in app features like Badges and challenges! Doodle celebrates all their little wins, and all their effort as opposed to results! This is what makes Doodle different, and gives children who need that support all the opportunities they need to progress without fear or worry.

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