MMU Research results are in: Students who received FOCUS Tutoring improved their maths by 27% in just 6 weeks!
We now have the official results of our research project with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).
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As parents ourselves, we know the most important question when it comes to choosing learning support is ‘Does it work?’
You can’t afford to waste time (and money) on something that doesn’t deliver results but it’s often very difficult to find any independent proof. That’s why we undertook this research project with MMU – to give you the information you need.
Towards the end of the last school year, we set out to measure how much children could improve their maths skills when using Plytime Learning plus FOCUS Tutoring support over a period of 6 weeks. We also wanted to understand how shorter, more frequent FOCUS 15® Sessions compared to traditional tutoring lengths. From our experience, tutoring in smaller bite-sized sessions is more effective, because children can’t concentrate effectively for long periods of time.
The research project allowed approximately one hundred Year 4 and Year 5 pupils to benefit from weekly tutoring. Half of the students received FOCUS Tutoring in 3 x 15-minute FOCUS 15® Sessions spread across the week and the other half received 1 x 45-minute session per week. Both groups had full 24/7 Plytime Learning access to personalised maths practice and help videos, built around the curriculum, and were encouraged to use the FOCUS Tutoring method of play, review, flag and learn.
Here are the key findings of the project:
On average, students who received online FOCUS Tutoring showed a significant improvement (+27%) in maths over just 6 weeks, with 91% showing an improvement.
In comparison, the control group (with no additional outside school support), showed no improvement between the start and end tests.
“Children who received FOCUS tutoring scored significantly higher on mathematics attainment than children in the control group. The result was statistically significant and suggests that FOCUS tutoring improves attainment.” MMU
Students who received tutoring in 3 x 15-minute FOCUS 15® chunks showed a 25% greater improvement in maths than students who had 1 x 45-minute sessions.
“Children who received 3 x 15 minute tutoring sessions scored significantly higher on a measure of mathematics progress than students in the 1 x 45 minute group. The result was statistically significant and suggests that shorter, frequent tutoring is more effective than longer weekly sessions.” MMU
Students answered an average of 49 questions per week, which equated to approximately 30 minutes of practice per week. Students who spent more time playing challenges and answering questions on the platform improved the most.
- Students who answered less than 25 questions per week (less than 15 minutes across the week) showed little improvement
- Those answering between 25 and 50 questions per week improved by 2 points
- Those answering between 50 and 75 questions per week improved by 9 points
- Students who answered more than 75 questions per week (average of just 1 hour per week) improved by 21 points
In summary, the research project proved the following:
- The vast majority of students benefitted significantly from additional FOCUS Tutoring support.
- Tutoring in short, focused 15-minute chunks is more effective than longer, traditional length sessions.
- The rate of improvement is linked to the amount of time spent practising in between sessions – the more time students spent playing challenges, the more they improved.
Remember, just 1 hour of practice per week is less than 10-minutes per day.
You can read the full report here. And if you have any questions, we’re always happy to help.
Plytime Learning offers 24/7 access to personalised content, performance review and rewards. If you want additional support our flexible subscriptions allow you to add FOCUS Tutoring to meet your child’s needs. Choose any number of FOCUS 15® sessions per week and spread them across the week or have them running consecutively – whatever works best for you – with the confidence that your child will improve.
Try a FREE 7 day trial of Plytime Learning support now and help improve your child’s primary maths.
